GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

lowincash/vit/09vGT/All: anyone else have a problem with their volume knob breaking on their 09-10 Vibe? I went to turn up the volume and I heard a spring pop. It spins freely now. I took it to the dealer today. At 55,000 miles, he said he might be able to get GM to do something for me. In short, he said he was pretty confident I would need a whole new radio. I can't imagine that is cheap, so I am not wanting to put another stock radio in. Any advice? Is there a TSB on the volume knob, reading that there have been several of us who have experienced the same thing? Does anyone know if the plate can be taken off to get to the spring on the knob? It does not appear to pull off for an easy repair. Thanks as always.

There is a big thread on it. The replacement knob is about $6-8 depending on the dealer. Takes some work disassembling the radio to replace it properly, but I kind of did it in a shortcut fashion.


Edit: Here is the thread:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=34757" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[quote="trb"]There is a big thread on it. The replacement knob is about $6-8 depending on the dealer. Takes some work disassembling the radio to replace it properly, but I kind of did it in a shortcut fashion.


Thanks trb. There is no way I am going to attempt to take out the radio. I did this on my 03 Vibe when the back lights failed and it ended up making things worse. I'm not sure what the technician at the dealership will do, but I have printed out the coping saw and slip the new one in method in case GM does not want to do anything for me.

It hasn't happened to me yet.... Knock on wood!!!

mine's been failing for a while. it got bad enough the past couple of days that i am finally going to take it in while still under warranty.

Is Toyota still using this radio in other models - or was it unique to the Vibe? I suspect the cost of repair at a dealer, and the chances of it breaking again would be so high that one would be better off buying an aftermarket radio at Best Buy etc.

star_deceiver wrote:It hasn't happened to me yet.... Knock on wood!!!

Same here with both our Vibes. I'm not sure about my mom, but personally I try to use the steering wheel controls whenever possible.

[quote="jake75"]Is Toyota still using this radio in other models - or was it unique to the Vibe?

Yes. I did a search on cars.com and all the 09-10 matrixes have the same radio

Mine was replaced under warranty with a refurbed unit because of the busted volume button. viewtopic.php?f=18&t=37471" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

trb/All: I am a bit confused. I would like to fully understand what exactly is broken on the volume knob? I have a date with the dealer tomorrow, but really don't want to pay for a new radio, nor their tear down time. If they won't do it gratis, or at a discount, I will try the repair myself. I will saw off the top of the knob, snip down one side of the knob, and then remove the "carcas." What I want to know is, has the knob seperated from the metal part shown in the pictures posted in the earlier link? If so, if I buy a new knob and trim off the back section to allow me slip it in, what is the knob supposed to be anchored to? Do I glue it to the metal piece shown?
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=34757" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also: does the square plastic section marked PWR > VOL come off? It looks like they are individual section plates. It seems to be the only thing keeping the back side of the knob on. Remove the small plate, and the know is easily removed.

Based on the pictures in the thread I posted above in my first post, the PWR/VOL section must be an integral base part of the faceplate. That is why you have to take apart the radio and remove the whole faceplate to remove the knobs. And the knob breaks off at the tip of the plastic where it is attached to the radio's metal shaft. That is why the metal reinforcement piece may stay on the shaft and have to be removed separately.

Here is the pic of the broken knob from the thread.

http://forums.genvibe.com/files/importe ... radio8.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And it is obvious GM wants the dealers to replace just the knobs if possible, since they now sell the knobs separately, part #19204643. But I'm sure the labor charge would be an hour or more, making the repair almost as much as buying a new aftermarket radio if you have to pay for it. And I can say it must be a delicate part that breaks unless treated very gently. Mine was replaced TWICE under warranty and it was broken again when I bought the car after only 36,000 miles. I very seldomly use the knob since I have the steering wheel controls, so hopefully it will last a while this time.

Good luck on it!

thanks for that. Forgive my infinite stupidity. Here is what I am deducing. Please correct everything that is wrong:

My volume control knob is spinning freely because it has seperated from the metal clip (shown seperately in one of the photos). That metal clip slides over a metal rod which controls the actual volume. As such, once I remove the old knob, I have to glue the new knob to the metal clip so it can be slid on to the metal rod inside the radio. And the only way to slide the knob in once it has been glued to the metal clip is to trim the back side of the knob so it is flush with the sides of the knob. Once done, the knob will stay in place because it is anchored over the metal rod. An additional amount of light will shine past he sides of the knob due to the back of the knob having been trimmed down.

Do I have it right now?

Not exactly. A metal clip is part of the new knob. The center plastic portion of the new knob sticks out almost to the back end of the outside of the knob. The knob breaks because the plastic encasing the metal clip (which secures the knob to the radio shaft) cracks and then the plastic starts to slip around the metal clip, until it eventually breaks off from the metal clip totally.

hmmm, still trying to capture this in my brain.
1. Are you saying that the new knob is different that the old knob or the same? I'm betting it is the same.
2. The knob breaks because the plastic goo encapsilating the metal clip breaks off of the clip causing the knob to spin. I think I have that right.

So, since the metal clip holds the knob on to the shaft inside the radio, you are saying that glueing is not necessary since the metal clip already comes attached to the new plastic knob. All I need to do is yank the metal clip off of the metal shaft inside, thus allowing the new one to slide onto the metal shaft. If I have that right, it sounds pretty easy, actually. How am I doing now?

I have taken this radio a part, The new knobs are the same as the old, they will fail again at some point. I did not glue anything, they slip on to the metal shaft. I would not recommend removing the head unit and disassembling, unless you are pretty confident in what you are doing, anyway that is my take on the fix.

thanks trask. I think I am armed with a lot of good info thanks to all of you.

The bottom line is that it's a crappy design and is a well known problem.

Caretaker wrote:hmmm, still trying to capture this in my brain.
1. Are you saying that the new knob is different that the old knob or the same? I'm betting it is the same.
2. The knob breaks because the plastic goo encapsilating the metal clip breaks off of the clip causing the knob to spin. I think I have that right.

So, since the metal clip holds the knob on to the shaft inside the radio, you are saying that glueing is not necessary since the metal clip already comes attached to the new plastic knob. All I need to do is yank the metal clip off of the metal shaft inside, thus allowing the new one to slide onto the metal shaft. If I have that right, it sounds pretty easy, actually. How am I doing now?

You got it right! Knobs are the same AFAIK, so I expect them to break often. But even if I have to replace it once a year or two, it is still cheaper than a new radio or paying someone to replace it.

I took my new knob off and here are some pics after the modification and of the inside of the knob.

Brilliant trb, thanks so much. With only 2 hours to go till I leave for the dealer, these two pictures are worth a thousand words. I'm not sure if a dealership will want to perform the frontal assault since it is not a "sanctioned" repair method. If they want to give me a new radio for free, so be it. If they even speak of charging me for a removal and repair or a new radio, I walk out knowing I can do this myself thanks to you.

And many thanks to vit, lowincash, trask and diluth for being brave enough to attempt it yourself and help me as well. I hope I didn't forget anyone in my acceptance speech....................oh, and my parents, my cats, my stage crew, my fourth grade teacher

My SELECT/TUNE knob is the only one that is broken. I use the steering wheel controls almost always for volume, but I've yet had it happen to the volume. The only reason the SELECT/TUNE knob is broken is because a friend of mine was resting her elbow up there and it broke it right off!

Question: Could you just glue it up or something and make it work? IF that is possible, I might try this. IF not, then I'll just use the arrows to skip around channels if need be

Caretaker wrote:Brilliant trb, thanks so much. With only 2 hours to go till I leave for the dealer, these two pictures are worth a thousand words. I'm not sure if a dealership will want to perform the frontal assault since it is not a "sanctioned" repair method. If they want to give me a new radio for free, so be it. If they even speak of charging me for a removal and repair or a new radio, I walk out knowing I can do this myself thanks to you.

And many thanks to vit, lowincash, trask and diluth for being brave enough to attempt it yourself and help me as well. I hope I didn't forget anyone in my acceptance speech....................oh, and my parents, my cats, my stage crew, my fourth grade teacher

I will only add, (because this happened to my radio during my first year more then three years ago) , DO NOT PUSH ON and PUSH OFF anymore. just turn the volume down. That will minimize the stress forces on the plastic knob. (both knobs)

09vGT wrote:Question: Could you just glue it up or something and make it work? IF that is possible, I might try this. IF not, then I'll just use the arrows to skip around channels if need be

There is no way to get to the inside of the knob to glue it except by removing the radio and taking the whole front off of it. If you are going that far, I would just spend the $7 - $8 for a new knob. The only other way is to destroy the knob like I did in the other thread posted above and cut the new knob flange off so it will fit without taking the radio apart.

I will only add, (because this happened to my radio during my first year more then three years ago) , DO NOT PUSH ON and PUSH OFF anymore. just turn the volume down. That will minimize the stress forces on the plastic knob. (both knobs)[/quote]

Agreed ParknVibe. From now on, it is radio on all the time. The volume control knob is very valuable to me since I have the AUX-in port for my MP3 player and the volume needs to be turned up very high just to listen to the songs...................................even higher when I'm listening to Sniff'n'the'tears' "Driver's Seat"

OK, the button is all fixed. I purchased two and had the dealer trim both of them so I have a spare knob. They charged $ 59 for labor; with my $25 coupon for any service, it came to $ 34 for a 30 minute visit. Factor in the free donut and hot chocolate, and I made out like a bandit
I went into the showroom and sat in the new Camaro SS. Very interesting, but just pray that the airbag gets to your head before your head gets to the windshied frame. Also, you practically poke your eye out getting in/out of the vehicle. I'll pass on that one.

lol, you guys have made me paranoid. No problems with mine so far but my basic 3 year warranty is coming to an end in early July. I try and not turn them as much as possible and when I do it's never with force, just one or two gentle clicks at a time. Of course as soon as the warranty expires that's when it'll probably come apart.