GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hi everyone,
I just picked up a 2004 vibe last week after doing a lot of research. I quickly found that I've become an enthusiast.
I am very happy to find that there is a thriving community around this wonderful little gem.
Now I can share my joy of vibes with others who care.

on a side note I've done a lot with phpbb and have even made several mods that are posted on the phpbb website. So I find two things I enjoy here

Congratulations on the new vehicle. Glad you are enjoying it so much. I feel like anyone who gives the Vibe a chance ends up loving them. I have a co-worker that had an '04 that she recently traded in for a new car (a Nissan Juke) and almost daily she tells me "I just want my Vibe back." Enjoy!! I'm sure you'll get many years of enjoyment out of your new purchase.

Thanks.. I thought I would miss my Honda Civic. I've owned 3 Honda Civics in a row. I switched partially because those cars are so dam over priced it's not even funny.

I do have one question though. Where can I get the best Custom fitted seat covers for my new vibe????

oh and here is a picture.

Welcome to GenVibe Dave! Glad to hear you are enjoying your "new" Vibe and our beloved forum! Props on posting a picture of your Vibe right away! It appears to be in excellent shape for a 9 year old vehicle. I love the color!

As far as custom fitted seat covers go, many owners here have Wet Okole seat covers and are very satisfied with them.

Welcome to GenVibe Dave If that is a recent photo then you obviously aren't from the midwest or northern part of the US. Too many mature leaves on the trees AND the Vibe looks like it's never seen salt! Where you from (update profile please)? Glad to have you on this great site. Visit often

Very nice!!

Welcome to the site.....

Thank you all.
Yes, this is a 2004 Vibe that has been in California for half it's life and in Michigan the other half.
It seems to be in pretty good shape. I am really enjoying it.

So far the only complaints are,
-inside plastics, crack and break easy it seems.
-major blind spot (especially on driver side)
-the rim under the hatchback door on the body collects a lot of dirt. (not really a design flaw, just a fact of life)
-cup holders a little small.
-Turn radius isn't as tight as my old Honda Civic

These complaint's are minor and all things considered I think I enjoy this vehicle more than my hondas. I am a convert and may never return to Civics.

Some special features I have are the moon and tunes package, the AWD, the 16" allow rims and the ABS

I broke the plastic pin on the engine cover when I was replacing spark plugs. It's really unimportant but now I know it's under there broken.
Also the AWD was making a whirring noise. I took it to the shop. They put it on the rack. I saw all 4 wheels spinning as they should but the final diagnosis is that the rear differential needs replaced. I didn't get a quote because I can't afford it but I am guessing it's going to be expensive.

Possible upgrades,.. I am thinking about replacing the stock stereo with an in dash GPS Navigation system/DVD player. Also I am considering those seat covers linked in this thread. However, it will be around $600 which seems like a lot for seat covers.

Another picture. for you all.

dave707 wrote:I broke the plastic pin on the engine cover when I was replacing spark plugs. It's really unimportant but now I know it's under there broken.

You're in good company there. A lot of the how-to's online start with "Remove the engine cover by removing the nuts. There's also a plastic pin but it's probably already broken. Don't worry about it."

No experience with the AWD but from what I have read on this board in the past is that the rear differentials are prone to slowly losing fluid and damaging themselves and no one ever bothers to check the fluid level. Did you check the fluid level or change it while it was on the lift?

At 91K you need to dump and refill all of the fluids and I'd do the transmission two or three times in quick succession. I'm a big believer in fresh transmission fluid, so I change mine every oil change.

I have plain cotton duck material seat covers from Seat Savers Plus, Inc, Miami, FL, but they do have one or two other materials.

http://www.seatsavers.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As far as your other issues............ Yes the cup holders are too small, never noticed any blind spot problems, the interior plastic seems to hold up well for me on my '04 here in the sunny south, and yes the area under the hatch glass really collects dirt, its the nature of a wagon, dirt filters into ever crack and crevice in the back of a wagon type vehicle.

Charles

I've been looking at seat covers too - who knew thin, stretchy material could be SO expensive!!??!

But I've just been perusing eBay. They have really cheap covers that I'm sure are 'really cheap' but they'll work for just something to keep the dirt off the original seats, or, in my case, if you aren't a fan of leather and just want a cloth covering. The nice thing about eBay (that I noticed Amazon doesn't have) is the ability to put in your exact make/model/year/trim and it'll bring up exact matches for your car. These are called "semi-customized" because there's a still a bit of Universal-ness to them (stating things like "high back bucket", or "low back bucket"; "solid bench" or "split bench 60/40", etc) but you don't have to wade through hundreds of styles to find ones that fit your car because of that ability to customize search results so that's at least a nice place to start. I don't think the eBay ones are going to go far in protecting your original seats (again, they are gonna be cheap materials/products), but they will keep the dirt off or protect from pet hair, etc. and won't break the bank to get something on the seats right now until you can save up for something fancier.

Check the fluid in the rear Diff ASAP the rear diff seals are known issues!!! You might get away with filling it back up and if it goes well replace the seals ASAP. Yea a repair on it will be about $2000+. If you are lucky you might find rear diff off a junk 03-06 4WD/AWD Matrix/Vibe.

Welcome to Genvibe, great looking car. Goodluck with the rear diff, the longer you wait the worse it will get.

thanks guys. Well I tried tonight when I got home to get a hold of someone who could check/change the lube. Of course everyone is closed when I get home from work. This might have to wait until Saturday.

welcome and congrats on the purchase! nice vibe! looks like you're missing a headrest back there. I miss my trunk cover. i dont know where i left it but im sure it's miles away from where I am now.

I got myself two new headrests. they are both black and don't really match perfectly. I will have to get seat covers after all to remedy this.

hey welcome to the family!

great vintage you've got there. and its damned clean, compared to mine!

Congrats on your 2004, I've had my Vibe for 7 years now and gotten lots of good advice on this forum too.
I love how the seat covers fit snug and don`t slide around.
I got seat covers from www.autopartswarehouse.com or 1.800.913.6119 for $210.56 in October 2011 and they were worth it to brighten up a black interior. I think it took about two weeks. Tip: put a thick towel over them if you go swimming and then sit in the car in your swim suit. I also put a towel down when I take it in for an oil change so the mechanic does not get grease or dirt on them.

About the dirt that collects inside the rear hatch, I use a soft, dry paint brush to brush that off.

I've got some sad news for all. While I was stopped at a red light today, someone who wasn't paying attention came barreling into the back of my beautiful clean Vibe. Totally smashed the rear end up.

Sad day.

I'm sorry that some dummy did that to you!

Wow, barreling is right, they must have been moving! Sadly with that much crumpled it's totaled for sure. Here's hoping insurance buys you a replacement Vibe!

Thanks guys.
I sure hope they buy me a new one. I am glad I wasn't hurt badly. Just sore.
This guy ruined my Vibe though which is upsetting.
I hadn't yet updated you guys but I got it:

• brand new rear differential
• new struts
• brand new brakes all the way around
• The best Race performance tires I could find. (W spec)
• all cleaned and detailed top to bottom.
• freshly repainted front fascia as there were some small scratches $900
• all fluid systems flushed, cleaned and refilled (including fuel system)
• brand new spark plugs
• fresh 4 wheel alignment.

Car was looking brand spanking new and running like a champ! Now she's in some tow yard waiting to be junked.
So sad really! But such is life. These things happens I suppose.

Sad indeed, glad you're alright, and I hope you're able to find a new ride without much trouble, hopefully a vibe!

You're okay, which is what is important. Insurance check should allow you to get into another Vibe or something else that is not expensive.

For some reason they are trying to fix the vibe.
That's what insurance has decided to do.

Ouch! Sorry to hear that . I guess it will be good if the insurance company fixes it though, as long as it's repaired properly. Keep us posted .

dave707 wrote:For some reason they are trying to fix the vibe.
That's what insurance has decided to do.

Wow, that's really surprising. To correctly fix that much damage is thousands in body work alone by a reputable body shop, and I'd be shocked if the rear suspension wasn't jacked up as well considering how far the bumper got crammed in there. I personally would make sure and get an independent second opinion before signing off on the completed work.

I hear that a rear end collission like that can make the rear diff make noise and therefore need replacing by insurance co!!!! LOL!!!!!

Here are a few more pictures before they start working. Hoping for some magic.

one more, front end has damage also

Ya right they're trying to fix that!!! That is a lot of damage.