Another new (to me) Vibe

[Mark]

Just picked up a 2008 Stealth (WA code 928L) with 76k. I figure as great a car as my 04 Frosty has been, I can take a chance on the '08 as well.

Single owner, more or less, and mostly all highway miles. The guy said that the A/C wasn't cooling as good as it should be, and on the way home I noticed an odor. Pretty sure the cabin filter was original, never seen anything that dirty before. A/C works great now with a clean filter in there.

One major thing I don't like, and I'm hoping the Gen Vibers can help me out. My 04 has the double console storage box with arm rest and an AC power outlet inside. This 08 just has a single large box, too low for a good arm rest, and no power outlet. Can I swap the two? Where do I get power? If I find a box on e-bay or somewhere is it fairly easy to swap it out?

I'll post some pics if I can get them copied off my phone, computer's not cooperating at the moment.

[zythr]

Good luck. There was a reason it went to single box for '08 and it is called cost cutting. The box from an 04 may not fit. since there were changes (minor some of them were) with the '08 compared to '04.

[vibenvy]

That's great to hear you got a second Vibe! There are getting to be more and more 2 Vibe families here on GV which is so neat to see! Stealth is one of my absolute favorite 1st gen colors! Definitely post pictures when you get a chance!

[Mark]

Good luck. There was a reason it went to single box for '08 and it is called cost cutting. The box from an 04 may not fit. since there were changes (minor some of them were) with the '08 compared to '04.

Shirley someone has tried? I couldn't find any threads saying as much, so I posted it here. Someone has to have at least tried it?

I guess since it's just four bolts I can try swapping them and see. Or, I can keep the 04 Frosty for me and let my kid drive the '08. Frosty has a sunroof and window tint, the new one has neither. And it's kinda been my baby for seven and a half years now, hard to just walk away.

That's great to hear you got a second Vibe! There are getting to be more and more 2 Vibe families here on GV which is so neat to see! Stealth is one of my absolute favorite 1st gen colors! Definitely post pictures when you get a chance!

Thanks. I bought this one essentially sight unseen, just some pics on Craigslist. But I really wanted another 1st gen if I could find one.

[trb]

Congrats on the second Vibe! I think the people that have swapped in the early consoles have just swapped the armrest portions, not the whole console. Since you have both, why not try it and then you can look for a used one if you want it for both. I do like it in my 2010 GT, and I'm sure my son would like it in his 06.

Good luck on it!

[KITT222]

Everything in my experience says that you can swap the lids. Many have indeed done it, as confirmed by the "Everything You Need to Know" thread in my signature.

[Mark]

Everything in my experience says that you can swap the lids. Many have indeed done it, as confirmed by the "Everything You Need to Know" thread in my signature.

Which I should have read more thoroughly before posting. I just found an 04 in a local salvage lot, going to see if it has the center console still in it. If so I'll grab the top, or maybe the whole thing.

Another question: My 04 doesn't beep when the seat belt is unfastened, which is nice when I drive the <.5 mile from my mailbox to my house. My truck has a dance you do with the key and seat belt to disable the beeper, is there something similar on the 08 Vibe? Or is there a module you can unplug?

Also is there a hand/key dance you can do to change the function of the door locks? One thing I've never liked about GM cars are the automatic locks. On my Dodge truck and Honda CR-V you can change how the locks work through the EVIC.

[Mark]

Ok, should have searched more before asking. I got the seat belt thing after I found the thread from BlueCrush viewtopic.php?f=28&t=14893&hilit=disable+seat+belt. It took about a dozen tries before it worked, but no more beeper.

Bought the center console for $16 and got the arm rest/lid and power adapter, threw the rest away (it was nasty). The arm rest hinges are broken and the latch is missing the part that holds it down, but it's better than what it was before.

Still searching for the door lock solution. I'd like to lock the doors when I want them locked, and more importantly unlock them when I want them unlocked.

[Mark]

Forgot to mention that the harness for the power outlet is indeed there in the 08, and the outlet I got from the 04 popped right in to the hole and connected to the harness and works.

The consoles are identical is size and mount points, so they are fully interchangeable.

[Mark]

The new Stealth


The cabin filter


The 04 Frosty



The new one is going in Monday for window tint and a new windshield.

[creekhed1]

Me Likee Frosty!

The Front grill on the 03-04 is just SOOOOOO much better looking than the solstice grill 05-08 imo

[tpollauf]

Congrats on your second Vibe Mark! Who gets to drive these Vibes? Enjoy them both!

[Mark]

Congrats on your second Vibe Mark! Who gets to drive these Vibes? Enjoy them both!

Well, the intent was for me to drive the newer one, and hand the 04 down to my kids. But I'm still pretty partial to Frosty, 140k now and feels like she's just getting broken in.

[zythr]

Me Likee Frosty!

The Front grill on the 03-04 is just SOOOOOO much better looking than the solstice grill 05-08 imo

So true, especially in blue or red.

[creekhed1]

I wish my car were red. I always hated white cars! lol

[Mark]

The initial gas mileage in the 08 isn't all that good, like low 20's on the first tank. This weekend I replaced the plugs and pcv, cleaned the maf and reset the ecm. Also replaced the serpentine belt, but I doubt that's a factor. Had it checked over last week by my mechanic, and no brake or alignment issues. Also cleaned the throttle body and put a bottle of Gumout in the tank. I'll go another tank or two and see, hopefully things will improve.

I also have a broken fog light lens and bulb on the drivers side, and when I ordered the light assembly from Amazon I also picked up two sets of hyper yellow 9006 bulbs. I went to put them in the 04 this morning and discovered that the passenger side lens is broken on it too. Figures.

[Mark]

The Depo fog light http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I0 ... UTF8&psc=1 snapped right in, and the Nokya http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00158 ... UTF8&psc=1 yellow bulbs look awesome. Hope they last a while.

[vibenvy]

and the Nokya http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00158 ... UTF8&psc=1 yellow bulbs look awesome. Hope they last a while.

We've had Nokya hyper yellow Stage 1 bulbs in the fog lights on both our 2009 Vibe GTs for over a year now and they're still going strong!

[Mark]

Last tank was 29 mpg, still not good for this time of year, but a significant improvement over the last tank.

[Mark]

Changed the oil on the Stealth today, probably should have done it sooner but the seller said he did all his own changes and had just changed it about 1k ago, so I let it go a bit. Can't remember what he said he used, but it was dark and smelly so maybe it was older than what he told me.

Had trouble getting the drain plug out, had to go to a 1/2" drive to get enough torque. The crush washer was beyond crushed and was pretty distorted, so my guess is it had never been changed before and after each change he had to torque the plug a bit more to stop the drips. Wish now I'd have used my torque wrench to bust the plug loose so I knew how tight it was, but I'd say it had to be at least 50 or more ft/lbs. Took a lot more effort than it should have to get the old Fram filter off too.

So now it's got a NAPA Platinum filter and 4.4 quarts of Mobil-1 0w-30. Filter is torqued to where it should come off by hand next time, and a new plug washer with plug torqued to 27ft/lbs.

I'm happy now.

[Mark]

Just found this thread viewtopic.php?f=18&t=22326&p=492225#p492225" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; today, no idea why it wasn't coming up in search before now. The programming isn't in the 08 manual but it works just the same.

Still fighting the wobbly arm rest on the center console, but found a seller on e-bay that will just sell the hinge and latch instead of the whole lid. We'll see how that works out.

[Salsa Guy]

^Goodluck! I found your link very useful.