GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Well, to update, I just sent off a letter to the dealership about this issue happening to my car. I will keep you posted as to what happens.

Nick, My 03 Vibe went in to have the cladding replaced on Monday; I picked it up on Wednesday night. There is a problem in two areas where it no longer contacts the paint. The first thing I noticed is that at the very edge that contacts the paint areas there is no longer a thin 1/8" softer plastic or rubber strip that contacts the paint. Is there suppose to be one ? The two areas that no longer contact the paint properly are at the very top of the rounded (rear seat) door piece where it ends at the middle of the door edge (1/8" to 1/4" gap). The second area is where the rounded edge above the rear wheel well contacts the rear bumper area; it comes to a point in this area and there is at least a 1/2" to 5/8" gap. This job just does not look right / correct.Any ideas or help would be appreciated ! Thank you for your assistance. Regards, Neil D.

take it back they need to correct it. sound to me like they forgot some parts.when they did mine it was perfect.You should expect nothing less then perfect!

sounds like they forgot the rubber strip that goes between the metal and cladding. go back to the dealer

Same thing happened when I took mine in to get the cladding replaced. They had to order those rubber seals (only after I showed them that it wasn't right!). They will need to order more of those "christmas-tree" clips that hold the cladding on as well, because they will have to take off the cladding (again) to put the rubber strips back on. I had to point all this stuff out to the dealer when I took mine in, of course this was the first Vibe they had replaced anything on so it was a learning experience for them.

Thank you to Toasted7 and Scherry2 for replying to my message quickly. I was wondering if those thin rubber seals needed replacement or needed to be reused to complete the job. Do they normally reuse them or replace them ? I am sure they will need more clips, they had to overnight them the first time thus I didn't get my car back until the next day. I do not think this dealer has performed this repair before. Regards, Redbeagle

Mine has already been replaced, it is a really nice look, it makes the cars look like it sits a little lower.

They will need to order in new rubber seals. Over time those seem to crack and fall apart. I would insist on them getting new ones and NOT reusing them. All those should be covered by the TSB.

well, I have a 2004 I bought around May of 2004. It is a two tone satellite. The strip between the wheel arch cladding and the fenders is seriously discolored, and not even a year old!

Toasted7, Mission accomplished ! The cladding job is now complete and looks excellent. The dealer ordered in new rubber seals for the doors and wheel wells and it looks great ! The Body Shop Rep. even apologized for not fixing correct the first time. Thanks again to you and Scherry2 for providing the information to get the job done right.Regards, Redbeagle

Quote, originally posted by redbeagle »Toasted7, Mission accomplished ! The cladding job is now complete and looks excellent. The dealer ordered in new rubber seals for the doors and wheel wells and it looks great ! The Body Shop Rep. even apologized for not fixing correct the first time. Thanks again to you and Scherry2 for providing the information to get the job done right.Regards, Redbeaglecool

That's what I like to hear! I'm glad they got that taken care of for you and I'm glad I could be of assistance.

hey do they replace the rear bumber cladding? or is it just the rockers?

I've been trying to get my Vibes cladding changed since a month after I got the car .I live where gravel roads are not uncommon and the city crews dump gravel on the streets in the winter, anyway I wil get to the point .I had talked to the local GM dealer and they said there was nothing they could do,But I was consitent and kept bugging them they said the regional service agent wzs going to be in town and that she would talk to me about the problem ,when she got to town I showed her the damage to the cladding and to that she said that was normal wear and tear for this part of the country so I didn't bother anymore .That was until I read this thread I am going (well actually I'm sending my wife this time hehe) I wish I could be here for that ,anyway I've been away from the forum long enough .I'm glad the forum is going strong.

They replace the rockers and the rear quarter panels on both sides as well. As for the rear bumper... I can't get them to do anything about that, because the TSB is only for the rockers and the rear quarter panel pieces of cladding that start at the bottom of the rear doors and go half way up the back doors. That's all that really needs to be replaced to fix it right.

That is NOT normal wear and tear... I have a gravel driveway and drive on gravel roads on a normal basis and they still replaced my cladding. They should replace yours... no questions asked (under the TSB)!

Has anyone here been able to get their cladding replaced *without* already having visible damage on the rear wheelwell trim? I have no damage whatsoever; I'm not sure why, some kind of miracle I guess. However, I will be moving to a slightly colder climate in August and there will be a lot more salt and such on the road in the winter, so I'd like to go ahead and have the '04 side panels put on just as a preventative measure before I *do* acquire damage on the rear wheelwells.Does anyone know if TSBs require that actual damage be present, or can they be performed as a preventative measure?

As far as I know, there has to be existing/visible damage to the cladding in order for it to be replaced, but it never hurts to try.

Hmm...well...I guess I'll try it, but my dealer is usually not too receptive to warranty work anyway if it doesn't involve the car not running or falling apart in some way. My factory warranty expires October 31, so I doubt that will be enough time for me to collect any sort of damage. Are TSBs do-able under the extended warranty as well?

i feel sorry for all the vibe owners, GM must hate working on these cars, at my dealer the customer needs to say it happened and the service manager says or the parts and reflash the ecu....sorry everyone, i work at a toyota dealer!! should have said that first

Quote, originally posted by Kari » Are TSBs do-able under the extended warranty as well?TSB's are not tied to the warranty. your warranty can be up and you can still go in tell them the problem. have them check TSB's and you should get the work done at no cost to you or the dealer.hope that helps

Quote, originally posted by scherry2 »TSB's are not tied to the warranty. your warranty can be up and you can still go in tell them the problem. have them check TSB's and you should get the work done at no cost to you or the dealer.hope that helps That definitely helps. Good to know...thanks!

Damn, someone needs to tell my dealer that... Since they said the fart smell TSB wouldn't be covered under my extended warranty... Thanks for that info man, more ammo to use against thse morons!

Sorry to bring up an old thread... but has anyone in the GTA or Canada have this TSB successfully done?? or a helpfull dealer that helped them out without a hassle?? my friend wants to fix his cladding but is getting the runaround by the local dealer.. its really frustrating...Thanks ahead for any help

is this for all the molding or just the rear? I bought a used 03 and all the side molding and bumpers are discoloring.I may just have my buddy paint it all body colored...but the car is white and it may be too much....I guess I could have him paint it a nice glossy gray instead of armor-all every other day.

If the cladding is just fading, then the TSB probably doesn't cover it. Mothers Back-to-Black is the best remedy for that.The cladding issue is in regards to a rippling effect that is seen. Looks like waves of fading...there's a pic of it 'round here somewhere...{Zuben goes diggin' in the older threads...}