GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

joatmon

Well, 1320 is back with their annual July 4th vehicle drop from Alaska w/ another 1st gen Matrix. FF to around 16:50 if you don't want to watch the full video. Thats a blast, Not vibe/matrix related, but if you want to see cars get wasted, there's a bunch of youtube videos showing over the top car ...

joatmon

unlikely to find a private owner with a spare one, but you never know

I'd try https://www.car-part.com/ , a searchable database of junkyard inventories, might get lucky and find one nearby in the right color

joatmon

I agree with jolt, except the 03/04 Matrixes used the GM radio. 05+ toyota used their own radio

joatmon

mmmason23 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2026 2:04 pm Compressor is shot ugh

Is it the whole compressor or just the clutch solenoid? Solenoid would be easier and cheaper to replace than a whole compressor

joatmon

Google makes me think its an aftermarket remote start module

joatmon

I'm not sure if the dealer is going to be messing with the driver's airbag or not, but I wonder if I could somehow persuade them to install a new cover I provide (with intact emblem) for me? Of course, they will most likely say no, but I have nothing to lose by asking. c If you buy one off ebay, I'...

joatmon

I don't think you'd need a new wheel, from that ebay listing it looks like it fits through the airbag cover, which is something I try to avoid messing with. You might consider just getting a decal to put over it, such as https://www.grafxwerks.com/pontiac/vibe-2003-2004/steering-wheel-arrowhead-over...

joatmon

in https://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=160235#p160235 Josh wrote Called Toyota yesterday...With a little digging they found this P/N82166-01010-Wire $16.26 This is SUPPOSED to be the harness from the chassis wiring harness to the 12vdc socket. Here are the P/N and prices for the socket...

joatmon

The 03 (and possibly 04) Matrix had an optional radio with cassette deck. I have bought and installed them in three Vibe/Matrix, to support one of those tape to phono plug adapters for playing music on the phone through the car radio. Was never an option on Vibes, but fully interchangeable. My under...

joatmon

I once bought one of those bezels. Turns out to not really be interchangeable on a Vibe. The radio hole is a little bit too short for the Vibe radio, and leaves a big gap on the side of the radio. You can kind of get it to fit by trimming off some of the back side bottom of the bezel. The switch ass...

joatmon

I agree with andrewclaus, sounds like the compressor clutch is shorted If it was my car, I'd do a quick elimination test. Put good AC fuse in, do not press the ac button, and see if the rear window defogger works. If so, then that means the wire going to the center dash is not the problem. Then, tur...

joatmon

I did not. I had a hard time reading the diagram. Anyone have photos? acfuseloc.jpg It doesn’t seem like the compressor kicks on, but if the fuse is blown I’d imagine it wouldn’t? My thinking is that if the AC button doesn't light up when pushed, then its not getting power, and its not sending the ...

joatmon

Wouldn’t the recirc button be on the same fuse? That one works. The wiring diagram doesn't provide detail on the inner workings of the switch. That switch has two electrical functions: AC on/off and recirc on/off. It seems to me that if the recirc function was powered by the AC fuse, then there wou...

joatmon

Sometimes its hard to move on from a a car you've had for so long, my son's Matrix recently died after he had it for 18 years, and like yours, its just not economical to fix at this point. The 4Runner should do you well, hope you get the same service as the Vibe, and the tech upgrade of ~10+ years w...

joatmon

not looking for any parts, but how did the 09 die, and what did you replace it with?

joatmon

I found a 2003 Vibe AC wiring diagram at https://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=1733 (and for an 03 matrix at https://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=5890 ) The Vibe diagram doesn't specifically show the light in the AC switch (the matrix one does), but it does show th...

joatmon

i'm inclined to think that the ABS and non-ABS master cylinders are different. Looking at ebay listings, there seem to be ones that list compatibility with ABS models, and different ones for non-ABS models. This, however, doesn't address the compatibility of rebuild kits between the two types. Ebay ...

joatmon

hard to say

I'd probably empty out all those under tray spaces and behind trim of the extra stuff, wipe up all the moisture you can, and check it a week or two later to see if its still dry or if its wet again

joatmon

The car has about 135k miles on it. I'd have expected struts to last more than 135K miles. Do you think its because of hard driving, weather, bad roads, or just general age of the parts? My reason for wanting to replace the rear struts is that the car looks uneven now with just the new fronts. Perh...

joatmon

if you do mess it up, let me know, I'm pretty sure I have a spare one of those around here somewhere

joatmon

saw a new Mustang Mach-e in the wild today, I had to look at it for a while before deciding that it had not, in fact, been rear ended

: newstang.jpg (79.12 KiB) Viewed 25718 times

joatmon

found this in an old thread

Remove the one screw in the sunroof control cover, then pull the whole cover off (If you try to pry up just the clear plastic lens you'll mess it up)

joatmon

If you don't let us know what you replaced the Vibe with, I'll call you a chuzzlewit

joatmon

Using the tire size calculator the tire comparison is sparecomp.jpg the key differences are the 125/80d16 is a half inch larger diameter and about half inch thinner than the 135/70r16. Can't remember how tight a fit the factory spare is in the hole, but seems likely there's enough clearance to accep...

joatmon

as highlighted by tpollauf in https://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=539868#p539868, in the Maintenance Bay area, the thread What did you do to your Vibe today? currently has 3714 replies, and 16777215 (HEX FF FFFF) views and is not accessible. It gives an error: General Error SQL ERROR [...

joatmon

The shifter is free floating. It has two cables attached, effectively one that controls left to right, and another that controls forward and back, limited in movement only by the levers on the tranny. If the shifter was disconnected from the tranny, you could swing it in a circle. There is nothing a...

joatmon

Hi Joatmon, Thanks for responding. When the engine is off, the shifter goes like the first pic you have (5 spd original). So, I’m just confused because there’s a stamp of c60 on the tranny casing when I bought it. What do think that happened or done wrong? Thanks again. 🙏🏼🙏🏼 Trix04 Just to confirm,...

joatmon

For the first gen Vibes and Matrixes, the manual transmission gear ratios are : 5 speed 1st : 3.17 2nd : 1.90 3rd : 1.31 4th : 0.89 (overdrive) 5th : 0.73 (overdrive) Reverse : 3.25 Final Drive Ratio: 3.94 6 speed 1st : 3.17 2nd : 2.05 3rd : 1.48 4th : 1.17 5th : 0.92 (overdrive) 6th : 0.73 (overdri...

joatmon

I have no experience with the 2010's, but I don't remember seeing a lot of posts here about them failing the tensioner. I'd be inclined to not replace it at only 115K miles unless you think it is noisy or bad. Welcome others to disagree.

joatmon

I'm not good enough to interpret the graphs Does the engine surge cause an increase in power or acceleration, or does the engine speed jump up with no noticeable increase in output? I suppose it could be a bad MAF. I don't know enough about smoke tests to say, but these older 1ZZ engines are likely ...

joatmon

I was thinking maybe a motor mount, but since it does it most at a certain speed, then maybe something like a CV joint/wheel bearing/tire imbalance, something that resonates at those frequencies

joatmon

one problem with posting in multiple threads is that replies can get scattered Hello, I have a 2008 vibe - 161,000 mile on her and been incredible dependable car with minimum maintenance issues. Back in September my AC stopped work then the heater. I turn in on now and hear it clicking or whatever t...

joatmon

I tend to think that white smoke is water/coolant and blue/gray smoke is oil, but if your oil and coolant levels aren't dropping then I don't know what to say. Maybe check the spark plugs, there are lots of sites online that show pics of spark plugs and what causes different deposits, might offer a ...

joatmon

gas jumped about $0.65US/gal so far here since the beginning of Operation Epstein Shield

joatmon

sucks to have to put the time and money into doing a repair multiple times. I have had similar circumstances, and it hurts to support a loved family member's car and have it fail on them, and also to suspect that person's unspoken reproach for not being able to provide a reliable car. Hope your wife...

joatmon

I haven't been able to find any directions for that, although earlier in genvibe there were people who were swapping them out for billet grills and such, but nobody mentioned how to do it. I imagine if you took off the whole nose it would be fairly apparent, but that would be more involved (although...

joatmon

I only recently heard about a problem in some of the 1ZZ engines used in the 03-08 Vibes where coolant could get in the timing cover from the water pump ( viewtopic.php?t=49467 ), but have no idea if such a thing is possible in the 09's engines

joatmon

Welcome to genvibe When I looked on amazon for one, I don't find any that mention the VIbe, just the 09-13 Matrix, and I assume they are the same part I've never ordered such a part from Amazon, but if it were me, I'd take a chance on one given the drastic price difference. The ones I saw seemed to ...

joatmon

would be nice but I don't see a way for us users to select it. some phpBB forums seem to indicate that it would require an admin to create a second theme, and then allow users to select desired theme in the meantime, genvibe is a good site to load on your smartphone when you can't find the icon to t...

joatmon

Not many Vibes in the news anymore, but here's two recent ones This article has video of a Vibe cruising down the road dragging what might be a muffler throwing a trail of sparks https://gmauthority.com/blog/2026/01/this-pontiac-vibe-driver-apparently-cant-tell-their-car-aint-vibing-video/ On a more...

joatmon

I'm down in St. Marys, and haven't had a Vibe for a little while. Don't do much in those middle counties except to drive through, so can't offer any useful local resource info, but did want to say:

Welcome to GenVibe!

joatmon

Congrats on having the skill/tools/time to do so much on that poor Vibe. When you bought it, you likely didn't think it would be more of a project than your Cox GTM

joatmon

Why are all links not working and why can't I post a question? welcome to genvibe The previous posts in n this thread are 15 years old, and I guess for the privately posted links, the owner moved on and didn't keep the content on line. For links to vendors, perhaps the vendors no longer support car...

joatmon

One other unprofessional thing to try is to pull the starter relay, and with the key in the On/Run position, use a paper clip to temporarily jumper the holes in the now empty starter relay socket pins 3 and 5. This should put 12V straight from the battery to the starter solenoid, bypassing all the o...

joatmon

welcome to genvibe sucks about the coolant in the oil. I hadn't heard about the timing cover/water pump possibility but google turned up a bunch of hits on that. I can't offer any insight other than I hope that's the cause, would be a lot easier to deal with than a head gasket, or an engine swap. Wo...

joatmon

Welcome to genvibe You've replaced the starter, which would be the prime suspect, but the odds are really low that a new one would also be bad. There is a wiring diagram for the starter circuit at https://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=5873 You said you get 12.4V at the starter solen...

joatmon

I'd say it might be the clutch, but since yours is an AWD that doesn't apply.

Have you checked the transmission fluid level?

When it feels like it's slipping, does it happen when the transmission is shifting, or when just rolling at a steady speed/load?

joatmon

Welcome to genvibe.

That's a lot to have to fix. After all that I hope the car serves you well for a long time.

Too bad the history of the car isn't known, whoever abused the car like that shouldn't be allowed to touch another

joatmon

It might be, but not for me. When i was going to trade in my first Vibe for a different Vibe, I tried and failed to do so, and ended up trading in a car with a nearly full tank of gas. But just because I couldn't do it doesn't mean its not possible

joatmon

A bad time of year to have window issues There was a recall on the 03-04s for that nut coming loose, might be worth looking up your VIN at NHTSA to se if it was ever addressed. If not, I suppose there might be some remote chance you could get GM to pay for the repairs. While I have never personally ...

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