Little hole beside auto shifter.

[kevera]

I have a little black thingy to the right of the auto shifter.It looks like there should be a cover over it.I just bought the car and don't know if there should be a small cover over it.any help.

[ragingfish]

That's your shift-lock override switch.There is a cover for it that should've been installed before you took delivery.Using the handy-dandy search feature, I found the lengthy discussion we had on that several months ago: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=369

[joatmon]

ragingfish beat me to it, ...Welcome and congrats on buying a vibe! How do you like it? What color did you get?

[kevera]

I really like it.It's a 2004 Salsa colored vibe.Thanks for the help.I called the dealer and they said that they couldn't find a part # on that part,actually they said that there shouldn't be a cover over it.I,m going to toyota to get the cover.

[joatmon]

I like the Lava Vibes (but I like them all) It's a shame you have to go to a Toyota delaer and spend money on a part that should have come with the car and be available from Pontiac, but if it's only $2, then it's probably easier to just get it and move on

[MA-VIBE-FAN]

quote:I called the dealer and they said that they couldn't find a part # on that part,actually they said that there shouldn't be a cover over it.I,m going to toyota to get the cover.GM Part number is 88970988 and last I heard was $10.85.Maybe if Nummi thought it was so important, they wouldn't wrap it up in the material that they wrap the shift lever up in, so it is commonly thrown away. Just like going thru the trash on Christmas day for a part of a toy that gets lost in the packaging.

[PhiDelt]

Go back to that Pontiac dealer and tell them you want one now. I just got my 2004 vibe and mine had the cover over it. Good luck with it all.

[Jethro]

quote:Maybe if Nummi thought it was so important, they wouldn't wrap it up in the material that they wrap the shift lever up in, so it is commonly thrown away.It's not installed to make it easier for the transport drivers to move the car without having to start it up. It's pure laziness and lack of attention to detail by the dealers service people that cause so many of them to be thrown out.To be fair my dealer noticed mine was missing and has offered to get one for me (my car was dealer traded for and the original dealer pitched it).

[MA-VIBE-FAN]

quote:It's not installed to make it easier for the transport drivers to move the car without having to start it up. So it is just another way the Vibe is different then every other car the dealer has to deal with. Different cruise control, sunroof, radio, anti-freeze, power steering fluid, license plate bolts, and now the car is delivered in a totally different manner then every other car.

[joatmon]

quote:It's not installed to make it easier for the transport drivers to move the car without having to start it up. It's pure laziness and lack of attention to detail by the dealers service people that cause so many of them to be thrown out.There must be some instructions provided to the dealers by NUMMI or Pontiac that give instructions on what to do to prepare the car after dealer receipt prior to delivery to customer. I wonder if the problem is that some dealers did not follow all of the instructions, or that the instructions did not include the step to replace the shift lock cover. If the instructions are incomplete, hopefully some one has taken action to get them corrected and congrats to the dealers who did figure out what to do with the part. If the instructions properly describe installing the cover, then it's an individual dealership issue that the service manager should want to remedy. They say that pontiac folks look at this site, so maybe someone in corporate or a dealership will look into the dealer prep instructions to see if they are adequate and follow through if they're lacking.For two bucks, I'd go to toyota instead of arguing with the pontiac dealer because I'm pure lazy too. At least kevera was able to find the info here. Way to go genvibe!

[MA-VIBE-FAN]

quote:There must be some instructions provided to the dealers by NUMMI or Pontiac that give instructions on what to do to prepare the car after dealer receipt prior to delivery to customer. I wonder if the problem is that some dealers did not follow all of the instructions, or that the instructions did not include the step to replace the shift lock cover. NUMMI/Pontiac dosen't issue any prep instructions to dealers for the Vibe or any other models.The instructions for installing the cap are with the cap wrapped inside blue plastic wrapped around the shift lever.Pontiac did issue a Voice Mail to subscribing dealers the month before the car came out with a quick list of the 11 possible things to look for loose inside a Vibe.And they also issued a bulletin, I think I have been told with several different issues and the cap may have been one of them.

[joatmon]

I believe you, but that sounds stupid. If I were a big company that built such an expensive product and relied on an a large number of agents to represent me to the customer, I'd make sure they knew how to prepare the item for sale. Otherwise, I'd get some agents who did not properly prepare the product, which would lead to customer dissatisfaction, reduced sales, and reduced profits, which is what it's all about.If I were in charge, some things would be a lot better (and everything else would probably be worse)