GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I've got a 2003 Vibe with the nav system. My wife took it in to a detailing place for me as a treat a number of months ago, and when I got it back there was literally smoke coming out of the nav system from the backlight frying - apparently the detailers got a little overexuberant with the cleaning juice. I never took it back because I couldn't prove it worked before she took it in, but it's really a drag not having the screen. Aside from no screen, though, it works fine.

Is there any way to replace the backlight without replacing the whole bleeping unit? Failing that, are replacement units available at a decent price? (My recollection is that they want $1400 for a new one.) I'm no mechanic, but I might even be willing to take a stab at installing one if I'm convincingly told it's not too hard...

Paul L.

no idea how hard it would be to repair the backlight on one of those.

There are a couple of them on ebay, looks like they're going for around $500. You want to be sure it came out of a Vibe/matrix, and not some other GM product that uses the THEFTLOCK bus, which isn't there on a Vibe

If I remember right, availability of updated map disks was an issue for those. Might be worth at least pricing out a newer aftermarket unit for comparison.

Hi joatmon - thanks for the reply!

Hmm - I have a vague recollection of there being a security code involved when they replaced it under warranty years ago, so even without Theftlock it could still be a hassle. I have no idea what the code is on my unit - the original one might be in my paperwork somewhere, but I doubt it's the original code, since it's not the original unit.

Yeah, the updates were a joke. For years the dealership had no idea what I was talking about when I asked about updates. (But then, they'd had no idea what I was talking about when I walked in looking to buy a Vibe with a nav system either.) They finally told me about the navigation disc center website in 2006, and the site listed an update for it, so I ordered it, and they sent me the one they intended to send, but it was the wrong disc - they hadn't known what disc the thing took! So I sent it back. They took the listing off the webpage. Next year they listed one again. They claimed to have the right disc this time - the woman on the phone was quite indignant at my questioning that - so I ordered it again. And sent it back again when I saw that I'd just paid two hundred bucks for map data that was four or five years old by the copyright date - the data on this allegedly "new" disc was still older than my car! (Oddly enough, in spite of their "no refunds" policy, they refunded me both times.) But I like the system, so I'd like to get it working again. And even if I wasn't using the nav, it'd still be nice to be able to see the radio, the CD, and the clock.

Forgive the newbie question, but is this thing a standard size? Could I get a different unit that fits correctly in the space?