GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hey guys, I just noticed that my lights on my 09 vibe have stopped flashing when I lock my car using the key fob. The lights still flash when I unlock the car, and the doors are continuing to lock and unlock properly, which I find odd. Also when I unlock my car using the fob normally the interior dome lights will turn on prior to opening any doors but they have stopped doing this as well. I am wondering if the two could be related? I am in and out of my car alot in the dark which is the only reason I noticed this issue. Any suggestions?

Check the fuses... and the dome light itself

This happened on my moms vibe, it was the rear glass that had been unlocked by accident, check to make sure thats closed.

Quote, originally posted by moonstonemike »This happened on my moms vibe, it was the rear glass that had been unlocked by accident, check to make sure thats closed.Good Idea, but I don't think the 2009's rear hatch glass opens separately like the '03-'08's do.

Nope... they don't...

Sorry for the slight gravedig, but did you ever figure out what was happening? This just started happening on my '09 Vibe GT and I want to get to the bottom of it before my bumper-to-bumper runs out. I will check the fuse box tonight. Hopefully that's all it is :/

As a Moderator on a Mazda forum, I see this alot, especially w/the American built 6 series cars.What usually works is resetting the PCM/ECU of the car. This is the main computer and it basically looks at everything and especially, it controls EVERYTHING, including the central locking system.If the fuses turn out to not be the problem, here's what you do (it's simple, so don't worry....)1) You will lose all of your presets by doing this, so if you keep track of your mileage (tripometer, not odometer) write them all down. Radio presets too. And you will have to reset the clock.2) Disconnect a battery cable. The negative is usually recommended, but I don't think it really matters. You can even disconnect both if it makes you feel any better.3) The quickest way is to then connect both battery CABLE ENDS together for 30 secs. DO NOT short the battery terminals on the battery itself. That would be BAD.You might use one clamp of a set of jumper cables, or just hold them together making sure you have good electrical contact. This will completely discharge any capacitors holding power in the system. 4) Reconnect everything, put your presets back in and go!!It will take approximately 100 miles of driving for the ECU to completely relearn, but not to worry.

Quote, originally posted by 06pvibe »As a Moderator on a Mazda forum, I see this alot, especially w/the American built 6 series cars.What usually works is resetting the PCM/ECU of the car. This is the main computer and it basically looks at everything and especially, it controls EVERYTHING, including the central locking system.If the fuses turn out to not be the problem, here's what you do (it's simple, so don't worry....)1) You will lose all of your presets by doing this, so if you keep track of your mileage (tripometer, not odometer) write them all down. Radio presets too. And you will have to reset the clock.2) Disconnect a battery cable. The negative is usually recommended, but I don't think it really matters. You can even disconnect both if it makes you feel any better.3) The quickest way is to then connect both battery CABLE ENDS together for 30 secs. DO NOT short the battery terminals on the battery itself. That would be BAD.You might use one clamp of a set of jumper cables, or just hold them together making sure you have good electrical contact. This will completely discharge any capacitors holding power in the system. 4) Reconnect everything, put your presets back in and go!!It will take approximately 100 miles of driving for the ECU to completely relearn, but not to worry. Thank you very much for the response! How difficult is it to reprogram presets? And are you saying that after 100 miles the odometer and etc should go back to normal? Don't wanna throw my mileage off EDIT: Oh wait...so the odometer will be fine, I will just lose the trip meter? That wouldn't be so bad.

That is correct. The odo will be the same as before but you will lose the less permenant info form the tripo.

Well, the fuses look fine. It appears that the fuse that controls those lights controls like half the lights in the car. So...pretty sure I would have noticed something besides just these lights not flashing when I lock the doors .I will try that reset tonight, time permitting. If that doesn't work, perhaps I'll need to bring it in?

A tip on disconnecting the battery cables;Whether you disconnect one or both doesn't matter but ALWAYS disconnect the ground/negative cable first for safety.

This happens to me occasionally on my '03. Unfortunately, if a door or hatch is resting shut but not latched all the way, the dash light does not indicate a door is open, and yet the lights do not flash when I try and lock the door. Once I go around and firmly close each door and the hatch, it works. Probably not the same problem you have, I'm just adding my semi-related experience to the thread.

Quote, originally posted by Feelin’ The Vibe »This happens to me occasionally on my '03. Unfortunately, if a door or hatch is resting shut but not latched all the way, the dash light does not indicate a door is open, and yet the lights do not flash when I try and lock the door. Once I go around and firmly close each door and the hatch, it works. Probably not the same problem you have, I'm just adding my semi-related experience to the thread. Yeah...I'm fairly certain that my doors are all closed, but then again I am generally the only one that uses my car so it is certainly something worth checking. Thanks for the advice!

Update:I checked my doors and such, all appear to be closed tightly. I also tried the battery thing tonight, but I'm wondering if I did it correctly? I disconnected the negative terminal. I then opened the car door, turned the ignition to "on", and pumped the brakes a few times. I got no lights of any kind anywhere, so after leaving it sit for about 30 seconds I reattached the negative terminal and started up my car.The trip meter and radio presets stayed, but my clock was reset. Does that make sense? Either way, lights not flashing issue remains. Very odd :/

I don't understand the ignition and brakes thing, that accomplishes nothing. Leave the cable disconnected for 30 minutes or more to clear the memory.

... or as I'd said, connect the two cables together for at least 30 secs.And no, if your resets were still there, you did not accomplish a "reboot" of the ECU.

Quote, originally posted by beemerphile1 »I don't understand the ignition and brakes thing, that accomplishes nothing. Leave the cable disconnected for 30 minutes or more to clear the memory.Not trying to be dense I was under the impression from some of the reading I had done that doing those things would help discharge the caps. For instance, in a computer you can discharge the caps after unplugging the PSU by hitting the power button. This was apparently misinformation? I guess I'll do the connection of the two cables tonight. It was cold and I didn't have much time before some errands I had to run, so I was working (failing?) quickly.Will report back. Thanks

Just give me your car... it's a lemon... I'll fix it HAHA

Can you guys please let me know how you solved your problem? My 2010 Vibe suddenly started this problem last week.

Thanks