GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Today, I picked up a 3'x5' entry mat from Home Depot with a rubberized bottom for $16.97. I trimmed newspaper to get the pattern right before trimming the real thing using a pair of scissors. I left about an inch to tuck between the rear seatback and the cargo area. Here are some pics: And of course, here is the mat's owner, living it up: It seems to stay in place very well, due to the shape of the cargo area.

looks good! I had the carpet replaced in my house and i took and cut out a mat for my vibe from what was extra. it works

I wasn't looking forward to spending the cash, even though I really wanted a mat - good idea!

an unrelated question. How do you get pictures right in your post, without having to attach a file. I know the button there right above the text box, but do not know how to use it.

Good job on the mat. Nice dog too.

Quote, originally posted by kcinmi »an unrelated question. How do you get pictures right in your post, without having to attach a file. I know the button there right above the text box, but do not know how to use it.They have to be hosted on a server somewhere and then you just put the location in the IMG tags.

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »That is some nice material... I went to Lowes and bought some to make some floor mats for my truck, looks like your material is better. I believe this is the mat I used:http://www.apachemills.com/indoor/apacherib.htmlI left the 1" bare rubber strip intact on the front edge so it could be tucked into the slot between the seat and the cargo area.

I've used that exact material to make floor mats for my S-10. They worked pretty good and are cheap to make. They got stiff after a while though, and started shifting around after 1 year of abuse (snow, mud, construction job)Looks great in your car bro.

Quote »How do you get pictures right in your post, without having to attach a file. I know the button there right above the text box, but do not know how to use it.As someone commented, you need a host server for your photos IF you want to attach multiple pictures to a single message. I use http://www.photobucket.com. It's free, but I understand that sometimes there is a waiting list to join.BUT, if you only want to include ONE photo per post, you can attach it in the normal way when you compose your message, AND THEN go in and edit the posting so that the photo displays immediately. In effect, you are relinking url of the photo into to the message, using the Genvibe server as a host, but just a single photo at a time.Here's how:1. Attach 'photo_1.jpg' from your local hard drive, using the 'Attach' feature.2. Now edit your message. WHILE IN EDIT MODE...A. Right click on the underlined link which includes your attached photo name, and select 'copy'. This gives you the url of your attached photo on the Genvibe server.B. Now click on the yellow 'photo' icon (shows a sun over mountains). This will put 'URL' and '/URL' tags in square brackets into your original message.C. Now place your cursor between the pair of 'URL' tags and right click and 'Paste' the url of your attached photo on the Genvibe server in between the URL tags.D. Click 'SAVE' to finish the process. Voila, your attached pic ALSO appears in the message.Since your question is asked pretty frequently, I'm going to see if the moderators can make this a 'sticky' message among the forum how-to's.

ah!!! great mat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cheap too!!! but will it repell doggy puke!!!!! i have two dogs, and each trip i take one or the other will decide to get car sick.

Ewwww! I'd suggest you stick with a rubber mat.

WOW ! nice work, I may try that

Do you by any chance make these mats and sell them on eBay? I bought mine off eBay and it is the exact same kind! Just wondering. Nice job on your mat by the way!

Nope, I've made exactly one and it was for our Vibe. Out of curiousity, how much did the eBay seller charge?

Quote, originally posted by wolfsburg_de »Nope, I've made exactly one and it was for our Vibe. Out of curiousity, how much did the eBay seller charge?I found one so far in price range between $30-$40....I would buy one from hardware store for good price and do it myself.

Bought it with "Buy It Now" for $29.99 and I don't remember exactly how much shipping was. It arrived rolled up and taped then wrapped in kraft paper. I could have made one myself, but I just ended up buying the one off eBay to save me the work! Looks really good though.

Update: I was originally a bit concerned about fraying on the edges since I just trimmed the carpet with scissors ... no edging. Well, that concern was unfounded. Hundreds of dog-trips later (well, at least dozens) the mat is holding up just fine. The pile is low enough that I was able to clean off straw that had gotten onto it pretty easily.

I just did this mod on both our Vibes. I used a bit of craft paper to get a good template for cutting out both. It works great, looks great, and is 1000 times better when you're haulin' groceries or pets.If I remember correctly I got a 4x6 rug and it didn't reach the very edge of the widest corner in the back (only about 1/2" uncovered... nothing to worry about). 3x5 doesn't sound like it would fit.

I just bought a 3'x5' mat... from SAMS.Binary: do you still have your template? Maybe I could use yours as a template to get mine cut at our meet on Saturday?

Quote, originally posted by zionzr2 »I just bought a 3'x5' mat... from SAMS.Binary: do you still have your template? Maybe I could use yours as a template to get mine cut at our meet on Saturday?Bah, wish I did. but I think I can trace the mat a lot easier than it would be for you do make another template.

I went to Home Depot and all the had was 3x4.The 4' side comes out just short of the widest edge in the vibe so your 4x6 would fit but in the other direction.I do not mind the 1/2" clearance on the sides, makes it easier to pull out later on for cleaning, etc. If they had 3x5 I would have gone that way but I can live with this.My thought though is to eventually cut the sides so that the mat can velcroe to the storage compartment lid and the sides would be separate. Will do the same thing to the back of the seats. If it will not attach well enough with the floppy mat I can always attach the mat to a piece of thin flexible backer board and velcroe the backer board to the seat backs. Of course those would be split as well so the seats can fold independently. Ultimately I would like to lock it into the channels at top and bottom and leave the channel gap open for additional tie points. Will decide the way to go when I have more time to look at it and how feasible it will be and what trade-offs there will be.If I ever get around to finishing the whole project I will post pictures.Quote, originally posted by binary »I just did this mod on both our Vibes. I used a bit of craft paper to get a good template for cutting out both. It works great, looks great, and is 1000 times better when you're haulin' groceries or pets.If I remember correctly I got a 4x6 rug and it didn't reach the very edge of the widest corner in the back (only about 1/2" uncovered... nothing to worry about). 3x5 doesn't sound like it would fit.

binary, trace the mat on edge to edge 8.5x11 pages then scan em for us. Quote, originally posted by binary »Bah, wish I did. but I think I can trace the mat a lot easier than it would be for you do make another template.

Well the new rug is working pretty good.Except for that new Rubberized Carpet stinch.

Well here it is ! The stinch is finally going away...

I too bought a 4' x 6' rubberized mat at Lowe's, however...since I'm a cheap guy and I try to use everything...I decided to cut the mat about fourteen inches longer, so that when I open the hatch, it flops down and covers the bumper. Granted, it's a little trickier to close the hatch now (I have to fold the mat back, close the hatch, pop the glass & then lay the bottom edge against the back of the hatch), but I only have to get back there maybe once a week.Considering that the factor bumper protector is just about useless, I'm pretty happy with my cheap self.

Consider you saved yourself a ton of green not getting Pontiac's rug ... you're still way out in front

Check these out on e-bay...http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...%3AIT

Looks ok, but you can do the same thing with less than half the cash and a piece of carpet.

$25 plus $12 shippingOUCH!!!

Just made one for my Lave 2 tone, looks great, looks exactly like the pics, used exact $16.97 Apache mat from home depot. Thanks for the how-to!!

Got a 4'x6' mat from Home Depot and did this for my Vibe. Couldn't find a 3x5 so I had to spend a few extra bucks. Cost me around $26 CANTurned out pretty nice, I'll try and get some pics soon.Thanks for the tip, much cheaper than $100 for a factory mat.

I did the same thing!I had enough left over to do the back of the seats as well! and even in these canadian winters I put some underneath the floor mats so salt run off doesn't ruin the carpet underneath the mats

Good job!!! Looks good!!!!

Those both look great. Just did one of my own, made of a kitchen rug (40"x60", $14.87, Wal-Mart). 100% olefin mfd. by Mohawk Home.Cut all the parts separately so the storage hatch can easily be opened without lifting the entire mat.I had some scraps left over so I decided to make an insert for the glove box too.

[QUOTE=azsapphire87]Those both look great. Just did one of my own, made of a kitchen rug (40"x60", $14.87, Wal-Mart). 100% olefin mfd. by Mohawk Home.Is that secured with anything or does it just sit there?

Just sits there. Could easily be secured with some Velcro or something. Whatever kind of rubbery stuff they put on the bottom actually holds on to the plastic really well, so it never goes sliding around or anything.p.s. welcome to genvibe!

Quote, originally posted by azsapphire87 »Just sits there. Could easily be secured with some Velcro or something. Whatever kind of rubbery stuff they put on the bottom actually holds on to the plastic really well, so it never goes sliding around or anything.p.s. welcome to genvibe!Thanks! I'm planning on trying to carpet my girlfriends 05 vibe. Still debating on a solid piece or the individual ones like you have. We sometimes have a dog back there that needs the seats folded down too(He's big) so I might do them as well. Just need to figure out if I'm going to secure it or not. I've got a roll of adhesive velcro that I got a sams a few years ago that might work, but then if I ever wanted to take the carpet out to load something(can't really think of a reason to do so) I'd have velcro patches all over.

I made one of these the other day. It is a 3x5 mat at Home Depot, it isn't rolled up in the store though, it is flat. It shouldn't move around too much, it seems like it won't slide too bad. I will post pictures soon.Make sure you get a strong velcro if you velcro, the velcro doesn't stick very well to the plastic in the Vibe.

azsapphire87,that's the same kind of carpet I had in my van. As the backing broke down, it left powder everywhere.Here's my cargo carpet DIY over at MO.comhttp://matrixowners.com/index.php?showtopic=705901

I wish I could show my moms car. She delivers mail with her vibe and keeps the back seats down most of the time. We had our house carpeted and had some left over(good stuff) so we cut it to match the whole back with the seats down. Fold it up when the seats were up. It worked awesome. I just bought a vibe in April and I want to do the same thing. I was actually thinking about putting egg crate padding under it so that the dogs have some cushion. My car is so dirty from them.

Let us revisit this thread as I may be making a cargo mat for my Blue 09 soon.

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »Let us revisit this thread as I may be making a cargo mat for my Blue 09 soon. Really simple and inexpensive. Makes a world of difference. I did one for my car.

one thing you can add, is to let the carpet roll up on all the sides and secure it using a snap fasteners. They are cheap and this way no dirt falls under the mat. I like to go hunting alot and I just snap a moving blanket in place. it stays put because of the snap fasteners and when I pull the entire blanket out. all the dirt is contained. So my mat is actually the entire size of the trunk with the seats folded down. snap fasteners can have male ends as screw in, so its easy to screw that into the plastic sides. and mount the female end on the blanket. It works great on my vibe.

The previous owner of my car had the Pontiac cargo mat so I may use that as a template to make one of these. As much as I'd like to keep that factory look, I also really like the idea of having the mat cut to accommodate the different lifting compartments. I don't want to hack away at the genuine cargo mat so this seems like a nice alternative.I'd probably end up using Velcro on the homemade rug to keep it in place. The mat that's in there right now does not like to stay in place.I'd like to thank everyone that has contributed pictures of their homemade rugs and the original poster for sharing this tip. I look forward to cutting a rug of my own.

Made this a long time ago, but I'm bumping this thread to keep some great DIY action at the top of the forum

I fell lucky. I found a perfectly fine mat in the back of a wrecked Matrix and bought it for $3.

I'm bumping THIS thread because I MAY be doing this REAL soon looks better than OEM in my opinion

I did this for my Vibe as well. I found the mat at Home Depot but it was over $20 so I checked Wal-Mart and found the exact same black 3x5 mat for $10CDN.

Great idea! Thanks for posting this. I just went to HD and did the same thing.