Intro and help with my Vibe

[kmosesltd]

Hi everyone, my names Kevin. I'm new to this site.

I currently own a 2006 Vibe, which I bought brand new 11 years ago. It currently has almost 300k on it. Nice car, I love it and if I can keep it forever I would but.... I've run into so body issues with it.

Recently the liftgate on my Vibe broke off. More specifically the hinges that hold the liftgate to the body of the car broke (one hinge actually has broken off and the other one is very close to it.)

I am currently still driving it even though I shouldn't but I only use it to get to work and back, thankfully I only work 5 minutes from home, other than that I don't use it because it's just too risky.

The hinges that are broken are no longer manufactured through GM, I've looked online on the Canadian GM parts site (I'm from Canada by the way) I've researched other sites include the American GM parts sites and no one anywhere has these hinges. I've checked wreckers and body shops and eBay and Kijiji and so on for the past 3 weeks with absolutely no luck whatsoever.

My only chance is ordering them from Toyota for the 2003 to 2008 Matrix models but I don't know if those hinges will work on a vibe, they aren't external paneling and I've researched the hinges through Toyota and they look identical to the Vibe hinges but I can't be guaranteed that they will work. Toyota themselves won't even tell me.

Anyways, long story short, I want to know if the liftgate hinges for a Toyota Matrix will work/fit my 2006 Vibe. I don't have the money to buy a new car and this is the only actual problem I have with my car.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[petervivian]

I wish I still have these parts. I had a extra pair of the hinges when I bought a lift gate from the yard. But I lived in an apartment and it's hard to keep these parts.

[kmosesltd]

I wish I still have these parts. I had a extra pair of the hinges when I bought a lift gate from the yard. But I lived in an apartment and it's hard to keep these parts.

Yea I'm hoping that I don't have to resort to buying the complete lift gate but my options are limited right now.

[Caretaker]

don't forget this website. Even though it might not list the hinges specifically, call the local parts dealer near you that has a lift gate listed on this site; if they have the gate, they obviously have the hinges:

http://www.car-part.com/

[rmacnamara]

don't forget this website. Even though it might not list the hinges specifically, call the local parts dealer near you that has a lift gate listed on this site; if they have the gate, they obviously have the hinges:

http://www.car-part.com/

A very large salvage yard would UPS them for you.

[kmosesltd]

don't forget this website. Even though it might not list the hinges specifically, call the local parts dealer near you that has a lift gate listed on this site; if they have the gate, they obviously have the hinges:

http://www.car-part.com/

Yea I called a couple of wreakers that were 6 or 7 hours away from me, I can't drive that far with the condition of my car and all of the wreakers I've called won't separate the hinges from the lift gate. All of them have said that the lift gate becomes useless without the hinges.

But this website is really good and I'm finding more places around Ontario, Canada that have similar Vibe models hopefully I will get lucky.

I can get the Toyota Matrix parts brand new but Toyota won't tell me if they will work on the Vibe. Nor will GM tell me. GM is actually trying to sell me a new car when I'm not in any financial position to buy one lol.

[vibrologist]

could you post a picture of the broken/braking hinges?

[kmosesltd]

could you post a picture of the broken/braking hinges?

I'd love to but if I open my hatch the other hinge will break, I can try but I'm not sure I want to risk it. If the other hinge breaks I'm pretty much without a car.

It's the actual hinge that holds the gate to the body of the car, not to be mistaken for the struts that support the gate. The right one has broken clean in half, and the other is nearly broken.

To be honest, this is my own fault, I should have had this fixed a long time ago when I noticed the problem before it broke but I kept it only the back of my mind. The hinges seized up and that's where the problem started.

[vibrologist]

o.k.
I kind of wondered if it would be possible to just replace the hinge pin.

No one wants to guarantee that the Matrix hinges work - neither can I - but if they look alike they work alike.

[kmosesltd]

o.k.
I kind of wondered if it would be possible to just replace the hinge pin.

No one wants to guarantee that the Matrix hinges work - neither can I - but if they look alike they work alike.

Yea if only it were that easy that it was the hinge pin. It's not though, the actual metal on the hinge broke in two.

I compared Toyotas parts images to the GM parts images and they look identical. So I may just risk it and buy them but I wanted to look into first before making a purchase that I can't return. Because I live in Canada, I can only order them from the States so I'd rather not buy something I can't use... but... it may be a risk I'm willing to take at this point.

[vibrologist]

Consider securing the hatch with a cord through the window frame to the roof rack.

I cannot identify any difference between the Matrix hinges and the Vibe hinges when looking at pictures on google.

Matrix:

loadspace Matrix.jpg (40.21 KiB) Viewed 2142 times

Vibe:

Vibe cargo 2 small.jpg (121.67 KiB) Viewed 2142 times

[kmosesltd]

Yea every picture I found showed the parts looking identical. I may just risk it rather than buying the complete liftgate. I appreciate the help! And by the looks of those pictures you're right.

I'll have to see about securing the hatch a bit better. Right now I'm literally only using the car to go to and from work which is only 15 minutes of driving a day. But I still have to be careful.

[vibrologist]

Just a reminder:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=re ... ORM=VDMCNL