Losing that center logo piece of the wheel

[Mattsky]

This morning I found the round center piece that pops into the center of the 17" Aluminum Wheel that has the Pontiac logo on it laying in the street near my car. (see picture) I popped it back in and it seems to hold. I drove the car today and when I got home it was still on the wheel. Is this a fluke thing or do these little centers pieces just pop off the wheel from time to time? If so what do they cost to replace? Also is there a better way to keep it on the wheel?

[bull77]

you're not the first 09 owner to have that happen. I'm sure they will chime in with their tips...

[808 Vibes]

You're lucky nobody drove over it

[Jyik40]

Quote, originally posted by bull77 »you're not the first 09 owner to have that happen. I'm sure they will chime in with their tips...It also happened to me on my 2009 GT. I came home after work one day and noticed that one of the wheel center cap was missing. There were no marks on the wheel (no pry marks) so I guess it just fell off on its own. I went to the dealer and it was around $19 for a replacement. When I replaced the cap, it seemed very secure. I have no idea why it happened. I didn't hit any bumps or curbs when I found it missing.

[lovemyraffe]

I lost a couple of those when I had my Jeep. They are kinda expensive to replace too. For the Jeep, they were around $20 a pop.

[POPPAJ]

I noticed the front two missing on my 09 Gt after going through a touchless auto wash. I checked the other two and they seemed secure but today the rear two came up missing. With less than 3000 miles I hope the dealer replaces for free! Maybe locktite or duct tape? UPDATE: Dealer will replace for FREE!! But, their on back order-I wonder why?

[trask]

Dealer replaced the three I lost under warranty, Dealer put tape around the clips to make them have a tighter fit, said GM is aware of the problem.

[ragingfish]

My G6 has the same design for it's wheel center caps. Thankfully, never lost any.Sounds like a design fluke with whatever secures it in place, be it clips or whatnot. I don't know if they clip in or screw in, but if they lock in, thread lock is certainly an option, if they clip in, perhaps just some foam adhesive tape under the clips that might hold the clip in place or cushion it on bumps?Would have to see one mounted in a wheel from behind to brainstorm any deeper...

[POPPAJ]

Looks like a friction fit!

[trask]

They have plastic clips.

Attached files

[kowell]

Add me to the list, I lost 1 last week. I'm gonna try to get a free one on warranty considering how many people lose them. I saw another 2009 Vibe with 2 missing yesterday.

[VforVIBE]

Other then the OP's, what size wheels is everyone running that's losing these things? I have the 18" and all mine are there with less then 500 miles.

[trask]

18inch wheels. Mine were there until at least 2k miles on the car. I checked mine after reading others were coming off and they seemed to have a tight fit and looked like they were secure, anyway two weeks later three went missing. Dealer is replacing them under warranty, and said that GM is aware of the problem.

[Guss2008]

Check the forum, this is common problem for Vibe 2009http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=33483

[Castille]

I just lost mine the other day on my new 2009 pontiac Vibe.. front left.. and it's not covered with the warranty it came. with.. thanks god i didn't buy their extended warranty i new they cover nothing!! you guys better glue them in.. because they're not $5 aor $10, they're $35!!!!

[kowell]

I just dropped the car at the dealer for my first oil change and my vendor told me it should be covered by warranty. I made sure to mention that I checked Vibe owners forums and that people are losing them all over the place because they are not tight enough and that some dealers are stretching them out a little to get a better fit. The garage guy didn't deny the warranty part but he assures me it's a theft wave....yeah...right.... Guess I'll have an answer this evening when I pick it up.EDIT - They gave me free ones.

[kowell]

This is getting ridiculous.... I found on the street yesterday morning. Nice to have a spare.

[Jyik40]

I just lost another one the other day. Damn, I guess I should add a small amount of glue to the cap before replacing it. This is getting expensive.

[redlava]

I had one of those pop off on my old truck. It cost me $19 from Dodge to replace it.

[Jyik40]

Finally lost the last one. I guess they just fall off when they feel like it. I don't think I am going to replace any of them.

[Danyeln]

I am missing one on my 03. It didn't fall off, it got "lost" by the tire folks and I didn't notice till it was too late to prove they lost it; but anyway. I was quoted almost $40 from the dealership for a new one so I took to looking at Ebay. Mine is the old black version but I saw lots of the pretty silver ones that the 2009s have running around $5 or $6 each, sometimes they were even being sold as a set of 4. Just wanted to share.

[lowincash]

could be one of your own that came off haha reminds me of last time i found a $5 on the street and i thought i was lucky to find it...ended up being my own money that dropped out of my pocket when i was doing something =/