GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

i went to my local Toyota dealership's service/parts dept. to get prices on typical maintenance stuff as well as other things (oil filters, cabin air filters, interior goodies, etc).when asked what kind of car i have, i told the kid i have an 09 Vibe GT. he looked a little puzzled so i explained to him it's the same as a Matrix. after an "oh yeah, i knew that" laugh he punched in some stuff in the computer. he asked if the GT is the same as the XRS and i said that it is as far as i know. he was a little confused as to what the screen was showing. he said some parts for the S would fit but not the ones for the XRS and vice versa. basically, the parts weren't matching like he thought they should, so he brought in the supervisor. the poor kid's boss is an idiot. he tried to berate me saying that a Pontiac is not the same as a Toyota. "The spelling is not even close! Pontiac and Toyota don't even start with the same letter!!" he says with a smirk. I tried to explain to him what the deal is but he wouldn't budge. his "22 years of experience" tells him that he is right and i am wrong. his further attempts to berate me escalated when i just laughed at him and smiled. the poor kid behind him was as red as a lobster and didn't know what to do. for once, my Irish fighting attitude didn't kick in at first. i just kept smiling and laughing at him which made him irate! he stormed off and threw down his notepad which fell off the counter and hit my leg (not hard.) i picked it up and said "souvenir!!!" to which he yelled he needed it back because it had important info on it. i told him "since it hit me, it's mine. if you want it, come around the counter." as far as i know he is still in the back room (not because i think im billy badass, but because i think he is pouting and telling his friends how much of an idiot i am).the poor kid looked like he was in shock. i told him i felt bad for him because he works for a baboon and not to worry and blah blah blah blah. he apologized and i told him not to worry about it.that being said, does the 09 Vibe = the 09 Matrix XRS as far as basic parts go or are they mix-n-match with the Matrix S like the kid's computer was showing?for the record, i thought the XRS and S were the same with the 2.4L engine...

Quote, originally posted by DressedInBlack »"The spelling is not even close! Pontiac and Toyota don't even start with the same letter!!" he says with a smirk. Bwa-hahahahahahhahahahhahahaha.... what a moron!!!! Quote, originally posted by DressedInBlack »he stormed off and threw down his notepad which fell off the counter and hit my leg (not hard.)I would have made a big fuss over that.... something like "did you just throw that at me?" That would have shut him right up. BTW, my run-in with a Matrix owner can be found here... http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=32357Where does Yota find these people?

i used to get that crap all the time in my 03 VGT. My old username: trdvibeI had TRD decals on the side of the car and once had the Toyota dealer in Fbx tell me hey, this isn't a Toyota! So I popped the hood and said, look familar? Maybe you should get more acquainted with the vehicles you sell and their sister cars. LOL

@ VforVibe, hahahaha wow, your lady and my guy should get together and simmer in their stupidity.@AKLGT, i love it! nice move indeed.

You should have taken the guy outside and shown him the many parts stamped with TOYOTA.. what an idiot..

Sorry to hear about your crappy experience. I agree with 09vGT, you should have asked him to come outside so you could show him everything that has TOYOTA stamped on it . I'm sure that would have shut him up pretty quick.This story makes me so grateful for my awesome local Toyota dealer. The parts guys know me well there after only being in there a few times. The last time I went in to pick up a cabin air filter, the parts manager was laughing and telling all the sales guys, etc. that were walking by about how I had a Pontiac and was buying parts from them. He thought it was awesome. I told him, "Hey, the parts are exactly the same only way cheaper here. Why wouldn't I buy from you?!" He told me if I ever need anything to let him know and he'll help me out. Once I'm out of warranty, any dealer servicing will definitely be done at this Toyota dealer.Are there any other Toyota dealers near you you could check out that may provide a more positive experience?Also, to answer your question, yes Vibe GT = Matrix XRS. The XRS has IRS (Independent Rear Suspension) just like the Vibe GT (and AWD) does.

Hey, I thought the cabin air filter was the one thing that definitely did not interchange with the Matrix?

Sorry that you had a terrible experience, but I too agree that you should have asked him to take a look at your car and show him the parts that say "Toyota." I have given up telling Toyota dealers that my Vibe shares parts with the Matrix, so I just order parts for a Matrix now.

Quote, originally posted by Kincaid »Hey, I thought the cabin air filter was the one thing that definitely did not interchange with the Matrix?Apparently the cabin air filters on the older Vibes and Matrices are different, but not on the new ones. I took the original one from my Vibe into the Toyota dealer to double check they were the same size before I bought the new one and sure enough, they were exactly the same size in every way.Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe »I have given up telling Toyota dealers that my Vibe shares parts with the Matrix, so I just order parts for a Matrix now.Every time I have called the Toyota dealer about parts, I just tell them it's for an '09 XRS, but once I go into the dealer, they know what vehicle it's really for . They actually have '09 Pontiac Vibe GT listed with my info in their computer system ! LOL!

Quote, originally posted by 09vGT »You should have taken the guy outside and shown him the many parts stamped with TOYOTA. I do that with some of the wifes friends when they make a runaway toyota joke... for some reason they don't find my "but it only does that about once a week" comment funny!Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...latedSome people in this world are just full of it.... LOL!!!Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe »I have given up telling Toyota dealers that my Vibe shares parts with the Matrix, so I just order parts for a Matrix now.Havn't had to order anything 'yet' but last time I was at the Toyota dealership getting an oil filter, 2 of the 3 people behind the desk were a little confused...

Quote, originally posted by DressedInBlack »the poor kid's boss is an idiot. he tried to berate me saying that a Pontiac is not the same as a Toyota. "The spelling is not even close! Pontiac and Toyota don't even start with the same letter!!" he says with a smirk. I tried to explain to him what the deal is but he wouldn't budge. his "22 years of experience" tells him that he is right and i am wrong. his further attempts to berate me escalated when i just laughed at him and smiled. the poor kid behind him was as red as a lobster and didn't know what to do. for once, my Irish fighting attitude didn't kick in at first. i just kept smiling and laughing at him which made him irate! he stormed off and threw down his notepad which fell off the counter and hit my leg (not hard.) i picked it up and said "souvenir!!!" to which he yelled he needed it back because it had important info on it. i told him "since it hit me, it's mine. if you want it, come around the counter." as far as i know he is still in the back room (not because i think im billy badass, but because i think he is pouting and telling his friends how much of an idiot i am).the poor kid looked like he was in shock. i told him i felt bad for him because he works for a baboon and not to worry and blah blah blah blah. he apologized and i told him not to worry about it. I seriously would have made him CRY. I would have said Ï'm reporting you to the dealership general manager."

i was too shocked, humored, and dumbfounded to really do anything. i expected balloons to drop and confetti to be shot in the air to signal my being on Candid Camera as the millionth customer or something silly. its one of those situations where im going to let the man [hopefully] realize his mistakes.im not going to complain to his superiors either because the way he was acting, half the dealership heard the commotion. plenty of people know that he blew up. yes, his boss might not know the whole story, but he/she probably knows he is an imbecile as well. id hate for the guy to lose his job in this day and age...and i will try the Toyota dealership which is close to my house. the one i went to is on the way home from work. i will go to the other one to see if my luck is any better. this time, im bringing a gorilla with a club just in case. and thanks Carrie.

HEY guys I do not mean to crap on the thread but you all talk about pointing to parts that say Toyota on it. So far on my 09 AWD the only part I even seen that said Toyota on it was the engine filter.What other locations can I look to see the Toyota stamp?

Quote, originally posted by Airmack »HEY guys I do not mean to crap on the thread but you all talk about pointing to parts that say Toyota on it. So far on my 09 AWD the only part I even seen that said Toyota on it was the engine filter.What other locations can I look to see the Toyota stamp?Under the hood, parts labeled "denso"

My experiance with Toyota and Toyota parts has also been less than joyfull. First I went to Toyota service to see if I could have my transmission drained and refilled and have transfercase and rear diff fluid changed. Since at that time I was still pretty proud of my new car and since I had learned that it was mostly Toyota I figured they could sevice it best. But they refused. So I have since just been doing service my self. I guess I should have researched the Vibe better before I bought it, but my dealer told me that it was more Pontiac than Toyota If I would have known how much was Toyota I would not have bought it.Then Toyota parts would not even sell me wiper blades even tough I just went in and asked for blades for a Matrix XR for some stupid reason I had to have the VIN number to buy them.So based on these experiances I have decided to never let my self purchase another Toyota based product. All though I do have to give the Vibe credit for being reliable so far in in 4 1/2 years the only parts I have replaced have been maintenace items.

denso? not even sure what that is or even where to look.

Quote, originally posted by Airmack »What other locations can I look to see the Toyota stamp?MAF sensor, ECU, engine stamp, tranny stamp

I pulled my radio last week and it had a sticker on it "TOYOTA PART NO#" I have also seen it on the ignition wires.

[QUOTE=Also, to answer your question, yes Vibe GT = Matrix XRS. The XRS has IRS (Independent Rear Suspension) just like the Vibe GT (and AWD) does.[/QUOTE]OK, so I do have a 2009 Vibe, but with the 2.4L engine. Is the same as the Matrix XR? If not, what is the exact Toyota comparative?Thanks.

Quote, originally posted by dcbridgwater »Then Toyota parts would not even sell me wiper blades even tough I just went in and asked for blades for a Matrix XR for some stupid reason I had to have the VIN number to buy them.There are several places online that will sell you parts by Toyota part number and all you need is a credit card. I like Metro Toyota in Michigan http://www.toyotapart.com The part number for the rear wiper refill (not the whole blade) is 85214‑12310. $1.90 + S&H

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »MAF sensor, ECU, engine stamp, tranny stampThe alternator also has "Toyota" on the label.

from my 2009 "Pontiac " Vibe

Love the stories!!I'm from Indiana, and when I was travelling (in my '04 which days later got totaled) in North Carolina i started smelling something hot, like burning plastic and saw smoke under my hood. I took the car to the nearest dealership which happened to be toyota. I told them what was going on adn that even though it says pontiac its actually the same as a matrix blah blah blah. The lady at the counter said we are a toyota dealership. I said I know but i'm from out of town yada yada can you work on it - its practically a toyota she asked if I bought it there, no, then you have to go somewhere else. I asked her where the pontiac dealership was and went on my way. The pontiac dealership was much nicer and they took great care of my car. It ended up being a wire had slipped lose and was getting hot on something and melting - explaining the smoke and burning plastic smell.I dunno why no one believes us!! Do the matrix owners have the same issue with pontiac dealerships??

Quote, originally posted by eloi »OK, so I do have a 2009 Vibe, but with the 2.4L engine. Is the same as the Matrix XR? If not, what is the exact Toyota comparative?If you have a 2009 Vibe Base with the 2.4L engine, I do believe the equivalent would be a Matrix XR.Quote, originally posted by ehoff121 »There are several places online that will sell you parts by Toyota part number and all you need is a credit card. I like Metro Toyota in Michigan http://www.toyotapart.com The part number for the rear wiper refill (not the whole blade) is 85214‑12310. $1.90 + S&HIs that part number for older Vibes/Matrices?TRD Sparks is another great website to order Toyota (and TRD) parts from.Quote, originally posted by futureviber »I dunno why no one believes us!! Do the matrix owners have the same issue with pontiac dealerships??It all depends on the dealer. Like I said earlier, my local Toyota dealer is great. They couldn't be nicer or more helpful. Some dealers are lacking severly in the customer service department. I can't stand the dealer I bought my Vibe from. The only reason I bought my Vibe from there was because we knew the salesman (who is actually a Ford salesman, but was able to help us anyway). Since I bought the Vibe, I have only gone there to order parts (that I already had the part number for). Their employees, in general, are rude, unprofessional, ignorant, etc. etc. etc. I prefer to drive about half an hour away to go to another GM dealer that is much much better to deal with (coincidentally owned by the same group that owns the awesome Toyota dealer). I highly doubt Matrix owners would have any reason to even consider going to a GM dealer seeing as there's really nothing GM on a Matrix .

somewhere on this site, i posted a pic of a toyota emblem in plastic pontiac packaging, or vice versa. i always get a chuckle out of that.... but i can't find it!!!

hahaha! found it!!!!next time your toyota parts guys say they don't know what kinda car you've got, show them this:

well, not sure on the new Vibe's but my 03 GT was all Toyota under the hood. it said Toyota this or that, part #'s etc.

What is the phone number and location of the dealership? I would love to give them a call and mess with them.

Well my story is related to that.I called the nearest Toyota dealer when I was about to buy my used 2006 base Vibe as Toyota is much closer than the actual GM dealer who happens to be Chevrolet of course.I wanted to have it inspected before buying and the response I got was sorry you should go to a GM dealer as we are not the best qualified for that ...Stupid when you think Vibe is much more Toyota than GM and they are probably more qualified than any "Chevrolet" dealer when it comes to Japanese engine and transmission...