Driver Storage Compartment?

[johnjely]

Good afternoon all,

I've been lurking on GenVibe since buying my 2009 Vibe in December after an automobile accident that totaled my other car (a '94 Pontiac Grand Prix, the beast). I've been combing through the forums trying to address all the issues that I purchased alongside my car: bad coolant temp sensors, grinding noise on start up, etc., etc. -- all of which I'm fairly certain were known and not addressed by the company who sold it to me, but that's neither here nor there. I'm in the process of having a local dealership (I know, I know, but it couldn't be avoided) replace two cam shaft actuators and the timing chain to get rid of that grinding noise, and I've already had the coolant temp sensor, thermostat, and sending unit replaced during this whole ordeal. HOPEFULLY the end is near

What prompted me to create this account and finally post is this: The darling company that sold me the Vibe said they would mail me the panel/cover for the driver's side storage compartment. They claimed it was simply a fuse box cover, and it might be. The vehicle manual and other posters have referenced a driver's side storage compartment. So my questions:

1) Is there any way I can tell if I need a cover for a fuse box, or for a storage compartment?
2) Do any of you fine forum folks know where I might be able to purchase this cover?
3) Do any of you know the difficulty level of installing the cover?

As it stands now, I have a bad cover that's being held on with black duct tape. I doubt the company (Hoosier Tom of Indiana; perhaps you should be wary of them) will actually send me that part in the mail, so I'm trying to be proactive. I figure I've already spent close to $2000 fixing it to this point, I might as well do the majority of the repairs, including this trivial interior one, to make my Vibe the best it can be.

Thanks for all of your help in advance!

[jake75]

At the lower left on the drivers side there is a small tilt out compartment - it took me a year to even realize it was there. It's not just a cover. I use it to hold a couple of gift cards, Panerea etc. , that I don't use often enough to add to my wallet. I doubt that any thief would know that compartment was there. They'd go for the glove box. I suspect you could get one of those for a $20 bill - don't know if the Matrix had that as well.

[Rayven01]

Even when it works perfectly the compartment/cover you're talking about is FRAGILE! Easily the cheapest feeling part of the whole car. Definitely do not pay very much for it. You could get it at a junk yard for a couple bucks easy if you can find one not broken.

[johnjely]

Thank you both replying! From the sounds of it, checking a scrap yard would probably be the best way to go. I don't know if I'd use it, honestly, but ridding myself of the duct tape may improve my mood at least

[Rayven01]

It pops out easily so I grabbed mine. Here's what it looks like:



Glad I did. That looks like old soda in the bottom of it, yuck! Time to clean it out.

[trb]

My original compartment had a broken latch, and the prior owner used a screw to keep it closed, so i found one at a salvage yard to replace it. Got it with a bunch of other parts that I paid a total of $20 for. GMpartsdirect.com wants like $40 for the compartment by itself, retail is like $65. You can look on http://www.car-part.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to see if a salvage yard close by has a Vibe in their inventory, just look for a few common Vibe parts like doors or motor or trans.

Good luck finding a replacement for it.

[michellem]

That storage compartment is also missing from the Vibe I recently bought, so far I have been unable to locate one at the salvage yards but I'm still looking !