GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I received a safety recall notice concerning the Power Window Master Switch assembly.
They will send a second letter when the remedy is available.

They will inspect the switch assembly and may apply a specialized grease to it or replace it.

GM Recall #12971

For certain 2009 model Pontiac Vibes.

We discussed this recently in this thread viewtopic.php?f=41&t=39715" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Call your dealer schedule it, and they should have it fixed in about an hour.

By "Certain 2009 model Pontiac Vibes" they mean all of them that fit in a certain build date range.

SeattleJeremy wrote:We discussed this recently in this thread viewtopic.php?f=41&t=39715" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Call your dealer schedule it, and they should have it fixed in about an hour.

By "Certain 2009 model Pontiac Vibes" they mean all of them that fit in a certain build date range.

I knew all about the Toyota recall concerning this issue. Pontiac said they will send me a second letter.
I just wanted to tell all that I got the notice yesterday. Most herein were wondering when GM will make this a Recall as well.
And, now there is the steering system issue. My 2009 Vibe was built in May 2008, so I have one of the early production models and I had it since June 2008.

Yup, I got my letter today as well.

Me three!

Let's see, the list now includes:
Transmission that shifts goofy when coming to a stop...
Floor mats that will get you killed....
Gas pedal that will get you killed...
Windows switches that will burn you to the ground...
Steering column that will drive you crazy at low speed on bumpy roads... but will probably be upgraded to "will get you killed" sometime soon... LOL


I'm at 65k on my '09 base 2.4, 5 speed auto... and I have enjoyed it and the 28mpg I average. Plenty of power, plenty of mpg, plenty of room for a small car... wish they were still building them!

You forgot:
1. a faulty timing gear actuator which could screw up your timing chain and then.............
2. a faulty water pump which could fail

I got my pre-recall letter in the mail today as well. I went to the dealer today to let them know that my camshaft actuator had made the grinding noise for the third day in a row and that I would be coming back in for a visit. I asked if his technicians could take a peek at my water pump at the time they tore into my engine. More fun to come.

Caretaker wrote:a faulty timing gear actuator which could screw up your timing chain and then.............

This is the primary reason I traded my Vibe in instead of selling it myself. Because, Murphy's law states: "Take the car to the dealer and it won't grind for them, even with 5 cold soak starts... but the first potential buyer to turn the engine over... GRRRRRRIND!!!!"

My car never had a steering issue, leaky water pump, or power anything. Even the cam phaser grind, with -18C temps, only ground once in December.

Had the Red truck not been there that day I would still be driving the Vibe.

Although it seems a lot of new vehicles out there has some sort of recall going on....

We received both of our recall letters the other day .

I'm gathering the letter I got means to inform me that my car will need to get worked on at some point. The switch seems normal on my car so do I wait for another letter or call them and schedule a fix for it? The letter seems to imply there will be a fix coming in the future and to wait for another letter.

Got my letter yesterday like so many of you out there. Only got ONE letter though because MINE was originally purchased new. Juniors was purchased used so he may not get a letter. We'll see if I do anything with this issue or not. Never got the first recall done to my gas pedal and will leave it as is

Wait for the actual recall letter (2nd notice) to come out UNLESS you are experiencing a notchy feel to the window levers. Remember, there is a slight notchy feel to the driver's side window lever when engaging the auto down function. If you feel that type of notchiness (not even a real word) in any of the other three levers, then take it in immediately. If the levers feel smooth when depressed and pulled, then there should not be an immediate issue. You can always carry a fire extinguisher if you are really concerned.
As for the gas pedal issue, once you bring your car into a GM dealership for any reason, GM Hqs mandates that the dealer perform ANY outstanding recall repairs before performing any other maintenance on your vehicle. So, if you bring your car in and have not had the lower portion of your gas pedal trimmed off, they will do it whether you ask them to or not, assuming they are not asleep at the switch.

To date I have refused to let them circumcise my gas pedal. But the only "maintenance" I have had done was not covered by any recall or warranty. We'll see. I think that if GM refused to fix the window switch issue because I wouldn't let them tough my gas pedal, and later there was a fire, they would have some serious liability.

Are you saying that you had actual work done at a GM dealership and they did not take care of the gas pedal recall? If so, that is a serious liability issue and I'm shocked that any dealer would be that stupid. If you declined, I would think that the dealer would make you sign some kind of waiver so that the lawsuit bug does not come crashing down on them; no?

Yes, that is what I am saying. Service was merely L-O-F.

jake75 wrote:To date I have refused to let them circumcise my gas pedal. But the only "maintenance" I have had done was not covered by any recall or warranty. We'll see. I think that if GM refused to fix the window switch issue because I wouldn't let them tough my gas pedal, and later there was a fire, they would have some serious liability.

Just in case you didn't know (or any member on here who had the pedal recall done) - if your not satisfied with the modification of the pedal, you can return and request for an new one (the new pedal is a already formed shortened style that doesn't need to be modifed) - I did my recall, then ordered up a new short designed pedal (GM P/N 19205346) - this is stated in the recall bulletin (not available to customers) - but you must let them do the modification first - the new pedal looks the same, just shorter and not cut - so get it done, then return saying you don't like the modification done and your requesting the new short pedal - they will order one and you have a nice new pedal again - they didn't install new pedals due to the amount of vehicles that would require them (not cost effective i guess) and most customers don't even know the difference (including my pedal, I have only done one other replacment) - hope this helps

the replacement pedal info should be on page 27 of the recall notice. My dealer flipped through the pages on his computer saying nothing. I went home, printed it out and found it on page 27. Waste time to fix...then replace.

according to the dealer, GM pays the dealer $20 to trim the pedal. I had already had the metal shank put in a year ago and despite numerous complaints, my pedal was smoother to depress once I got the shank. I would be nervous to have them put in another pedal and find that it is "sticky" to depress. I am willing to leave well enough alone. While the trim job look awful, you'd have to have your face down there to even notice it. It depressed smoothly, so it stays. That is kind of the way I feel about the window switches. They all depress smoothly and I'm not anxious to have someone pull the panel apart to apply some stupid grease. The recall seems to indicate that the fire hazard is from wannabee mechanics like me applying a spray grease to free up the sticky switch. Since I have no intention of doing so, I'm not sure why the switch will fail otherwise.

tpollauf wrote:Got my letter yesterday like so many of you out there. Only got ONE letter though because MINE was originally purchased new. Juniors was purchased used so he may not get a letter. We'll see if I do anything with this issue or not. Never got the first recall done to my gas pedal and will leave it as is

I bought my Vibe used and I still get the recall letters. Maybe its just a bit behind.

Oh, and I got my letter too.

XRVibe10 wrote:
Just in case you didn't know (or any member on here who had the pedal recall done) - if your not satisfied with the modification of the pedal, you can return and request for an new one

Shortly after we bought Juniors 09 Vibe GT, I immediately noticed that the pedal was circumcised and they did a real S H I T T Y job at it It is very stiff and it took quite a while to get used to taking off without making hole shots or spinning some gravel. I told my son that we'll eventually take it back for a replacement pedal. Well that was 20 months ago I've just been too busy to deal with it and seeing how I'm not the primary driver it just may never get done. Mine will stay original forever

XRVibe10 wrote:Just in case you didn't know (or any member on here who had the pedal recall done) - if your not satisfied with the modification of the pedal, you can return and request for an new one (the new pedal is a already formed shortened style that doesn't need to be modifed) - I did my recall, then ordered up a new short designed pedal (GM P/N 19205346) - this is stated in the recall bulletin (not available to customers) - but you must let them do the modification first - the new pedal looks the same, just shorter and not cut - so get it done, then return saying you don't like the modification done and your requesting the new short pedal - they will order one and you have a nice new pedal again - they didn't install new pedals due to the amount of vehicles that would require them (not cost effective i guess) and most customers don't even know the difference (including my pedal, I have only done one other replacment) - hope this helps

This is exactly what I did with both our Vibes. I had them trim the pedals then I said I wasn't satisfied and took them back so they could install brand new pedals. The pedals look great now (not all hacked up) and they feel great too. It was a pain making four trips (approximately 50-60 miles round trip) to the dealer, but it was worth it in the long run.