Nice! Cool lookin' ride. Are those tail lights darkened?- Jim

Sorry, yes, my company in Mich makes the lamps but a contract with the automotive company (in this case GM/Pontiac) would be violated if we sold them behind their back.As soon as I get her all washed up, I'll snap off a few pics. - Jim

I agree about getting around regulation stuff. The custom factor sometimes takes priority. I've just been in the biz for development of lamps for about 10 years and I work hard to make sure the lamps we make pass regulation. I just want to pass on a few words of wisdom for those that are considering...

Well, the dealer sells our lamps made in our plant from regular production. Fit should be good and performance is guaranteed. You're right about the aftermarket stuff. I've seen lamps in the mall parking lot that fit terrible. - Jim

Right... sorry.

I also like the design. It was funny during development, we were working on the '09 Vibe and Matrix side by side. Off the vehicle, the Matrix rear lamps looked so much better than the Vibes. It wasn't until fitting trials in Japan when we got to see the lamps on fixtures and an early body that the V...

Hey Man, the overall look is very cool. Very stealthy. Of the two major concerns (one of which was already addressed) I would have with this mod, how do you plan on verifying that the lamps now conform to FMVSS / CMVSS? In the USA, we have to have exterior lighting that passes FMVSS. In Canada (Ont....

maxx... Sorry, wish I could help. Just curious, pitting on your '03? From general driving or something unique?- Jim

lowincash... Only did the front light for Gen 1.. The '09s were done by a company called Valeo. I ran into their engineers in Japan when we went for some earlier build events. Don't have any contacts though (they're the competition). Again, I would comb over the junk yards to see what I could find. ...

Ned23,a. I read a post on here where a guy used 1000 / 1200 / 2000 wet sanding paper that effectively removed the hardcoat and brought the polish back to it's original shine. He did the entire surfaces of both lamps. If a lamp had an overall yellowing I would follow that plan of attack however, if t...

Regarding new lamps for the Vibe, I would suggest one of the following:1. Scrap yard - find one that was rear ended and junked. Pull them off of that2. Ebay3. This forum4. Buy them OEM from the parts shop (big bucks though)...Remember, the 03-04-05 are the same as 06-07-08 just different color exten...

Sorry, no discount on headlights or tail lights. Wish that were the case. Our contract with the Manufacturers doesn't allow it. - Jim

Good post Whelan... Also remember that a hotter bulb may cause problems inside the lamp (melting/outgassing-fogging). Your pic says MATRIX - you own a vibe or trix?Just curious.- Jim

Hi people, Pretty new here 9 (already posted some things) but wanted to say "HI" to all the Vibe owners. I'm a New Product Development Engineer for headlights and tail lights. I work at a plant in Battle Creek Michigan and we make/made the first gen Vibe headlights / tail lights as well as...

Baking lamps to get them apart. (Type 1 hotmelt)I don't recommend this. Earlier post said "good luck trying to get them sealed again"... concerned over condensation. This is correct. If you feel compelled to do this anyway, at the plant, our warranty engineers place the lamps in an oven at...

Hi there, Regarding any of the OEM tail lights for Vibe/Matrix for the '09 and previous model, I can answer any of your questions. I am a NPD Engineer for the actual lights. I helped develop and mature the lamps to mass production level. Our company still makes the previous model in our service sect...

Covers? Probably look cool but with covers would they still pass FMVSS? The lights perform at different angles and need to project a certain amount of light at different angles. If you cover those up and you don't get the right amount of light in the right places, you might make your lamp non-confor...

Certain bulbs will cause too much heat inside the lamp and the backside of the lamp lens. This may cause spider cracking on the outer lens and / or melt some detail (reflector) on the inside of the lens cause more problems than it's worth. Would also void any warranty.- Jim

You can keep the light mounted and just replace bulbs. The main (low beam) is held in with a spring and hook feature with a compression rubber boot. Remove the coupler, boot, unhook the spring, and remove the bulb. Replace the bulb (careful not to touch the bulb), push the spring back and hook, repl...

Ooooo that's bad. Valeo made this headlamp however in the business, I can tell you with a polycarb lens, you have to have a UV protective coating on the lens surface. That's called "hardcoat". Once you tried to buff this out, you essentially removed the hardcoat. That probably removed the ...

Projectors...A proven projector might be OK but, FMVSS laws require extensive testing of lamps prior to launch. Not to mention that during production, projectors add about $10~$20 per projector cost to the lamp. Considering that the vibe base cost is from $16 to $22 thou... Pontiac wouldn't part wit...

Yes, you're correct, the switch to the extension was around that time. We did however always metalize the extension, mask and then added black paint. During the minor model change, we just eliminated the black paint. My company made this headlamp for NUMMI in SanFran... Everybody that was involved w...

How did you remove the housing and lens? At work, to evaluate warranty with this type of hot melt, we have to heat the lamp to 80 degrees C for about 10 minutes. That's just hot enough to re-activate the viscosity in the hotmelt. Then, carefully remove the hooks holding the housing and lens together...

Which Vibe do you have (model year)? My company made both the earlier models and the latest model. I can probably give you some tips but if you wanted it done right without violating the heat plate seal, you would probably have to do it prior to the heat plate process. Only could be done in the fact...