GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Well the Radio Knob issue on the 2009 Vibe struck my GT 2 weeks ago after two years. While enjoying a Sunday afternoon drive I happen to lean over and change the channel with the radio tuner knob and that baby spun like a top. I could not change anything by turning the knob, channels or settings. I could still use the buttons on the steering wheel and the > button to change settings. After reporting it to the dealer and stopping in, they had to remove the radio to get some numbers and order a new one and mentioned this was common on the Vibe. Luckily I'm still under warranty.One week later (today) I stopped in the dealer at 7:00AM and they had a new replacement installed and washed the car in 1 hour. Well everything worked except the MP3 plug was damaged on the replacement and a ding/piece was taken out of the plug and adjacent plastic. What kind of quality control does GM have? None!Well after seeing the damage I contacted the dealer and they wanted me to drive back in to take a look to see if it can be repaired or need another replacement called in. After makeing two calls back and finally getting the technician and service manager involved they are again ordering a new radio. From what I found out they send the old radios to some place in Tampa Florida and they did not know what they do with them. I could not get a straight answer out of the dealer as to if the radio was new or remanufactured. From what it looks like new or repaired no one is doing any quality control. We'll see what the replacement looks like in a week or so.

Lucky you for having warranty!.. I've been out for quite some time now.. So I just have to deal with the spinny tuner knob!

An alternative available on Crutchfield etc.?

They replace it with a refurb. Mine failed 1 month after they replaced it. Same knob. Now it's out of warranty. I bought a used radio on ebay, about 50 bux. Started taking it apart then life got in the way... will get back to it soon. I can say it's just 4 screws to disassemble. The volume & tune "pods" look the same, just rotated 180 degrees. They look easy to unsolder & salvage. What exactly it is that fails I haven't gotten to yet.... stay tuned. AND ***** ABOUT IT TO GM & EVERYONE THAT WILL LISTEN. This is bullsh*t

I saw another thread where they said the knob was a 5 buck item that can be replaced from a used unit, but I have not taken one apart myself. Yeah I will make sure the dealer keeps this on the books for a while in case it happens again. What a pain going back to the dealer several times for something that should be fixed permanently.If it keeps happening all of us Vibe owners need to keep calling GM to complain. I never had a radio break like this before in a car or heard of this issue on another make, must be toyota parts since I have seen the same radio in a Matrix.

Does the radio have to be pulled to remove and replace just the knob? 19204643 Knob part number. Can be ordered online, a bit pricey with shipping but doable.

Quote, originally posted by file014 »Does the radio have to be pulled to remove and replace just the knob?Yes.Also, as far as the price online, it would more than likely be cheaper to just buy them at a local GM dealer. It may cost a few more bucks, but you won't be paying shipping so it should be slightly cheaper.

my volume know is getting wobbly. only 1 year/10,000 left on the warranty. maybe i should lean on it a little...

I'm pretty sure all replacements radios are refurbished. I'm sure they just hope to keep it up until everyone is out of warranty.I took my stock radio out, the day they replaced it, and stuck it in the closet. I figured a good one may be worth something someday, LOL...

Quote, originally posted by Zimm »my volume know is getting wobbly. only 1 year/10,000 left on the warranty. maybe i should lean on it a little...Knock on wood, neither one of our Vibes has had this issue with the radio knobs yet. Our warranties will be up in April and May of 2012 .

I'm now out of warranty on my Vibe, and of course, the volume dial is doing exactly what everyone else is saying.So I'm guessing that with it out of warranty, it's going to be costly to pay out of pocket for such a repair? If so, I'll just deal with it and use the steering wheel volume controls...

Since I have the base 1.8L I don't have the steering wheel controls. I think if that happens to me after 1-12-2012 warranty expiration I will look into an aftermarket radio. But then I might buy an extended warranty. I have only 13,000 miles on my 33 month old Vibe and plan on keeping it many years. Lots of stuff to go wrong - ABS, Stability Control, power windows etc. I know there is someplace that sells the GM extended warranty at a discount. Need to find it.

http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...age=1that thread was linked above but is easy to miss. you can change the knob yourself but yes it looks like a lot or work. I just had mine fixed at a chevy dealer under warranty, but now the knob seems stiff and hard to turn. oh well. when it breaks again out of warranty, I will probably follow that thread but use a generic knob which a) wont break, and b) would be easy to pull on and off if it did break. radio shack or some place like that would probably have a knob that would work fine. maybe something with a set screw.