GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I've had my vibe since '06 and love it except for the fact it seems to have a very light front end. Any start on a hill (straight drive) I have to be careful not to spin out (no I'm not new to a clutch! 35+ years exp.) and have to seriously be careful in rain not to hydroplane.Does this car have AWD? how do I know. THANKS

There are a number of ways to see if a Vibe is an AWD model, such as looking underneath to see if there is a driveshaft from the transmission to a rear differential. You can also tell from the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). From http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=824The first digit is the County of Origin: 5 = USAThe 2nd digit is the Company Built By: Y = NUMMIThe 3rd digit is the GM Division: 2 = PontiacThe 4th and 5th digit are the model: SL = Vibe; SM = Vibe AWD; SN = GTI too find it easy to break loose the front passenger tire on takeoff. Hydroplaning can be addressed with tires, I tried a set of Goodyear tripletreds, they worked great preventing hydroplaning, but they also dropped my MPGs a little, so when I wore them out, I went back to more of a standard duty all season variety.

you don't have awd... awd didn't come with a standard transmission.

I should have seen that. Thanks Keith, (again).

Quote, originally posted by joatmon » I should have seen that. Thanks Keith, (again).No worries... heck if it did come with a standard trans, thats what I would have bought... sadly it only came with a lazymaticas for hydroplaning usually it's a few different things1. your tires aren't up to the task2. your traveling too fast for road conditions3. both 1 and 2I haven't had an issue with my car, as of yet... and today we are expecting 4-6inches of rain.. lol so it's getting a good test.

Thanks, I didn't think it had all wheel drive, but was wondering because of the postings. Looks like a tire issue. I hydroplaned the other morning for almost a second. If I'd gone off the road, or over corrected, I'd have been toast.

honestly, i have owned 2 different Vibes among the 8 different cars i have owned to date. They are very reliable and efficient cars no doubt. In bad weather, the FWD models are abysmal at best in regards to traction. I can deal with the dramatically reduced handling abilities without trouble but it is night and day noticeable when compared to nearly any other car. I run snow tires in bad weather and always make sure my daily driven tires are in good condition so no one should pipe up with "check your tires!". It's just one of the fallacies of the vehicle being so light weight with a very light duty open differential and it is livable since the really bad weather days make up a small percentage of the year. The AWD i drove in once was leaps and bounds better in a straight line but with a turn in slick weather the cars are just too light up front and like to plow or drift a bit. Honestly, i drove my SRT last winter instead on really bad storms with winter tires since is was 100% safer and easier to maneuver than the Vibe. Keep in mind this is a 450whp car with RWD and it got through snow and up hills better than the 5 spd FWD's i have owned. Nothing against the Vibe, it was just built with good weather in mind and pure efficiency.