GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

So, I've been a long-time vibe and matrix owner. Joined this forum over 10 years ago. Had a base vibe from 2002 to 2012. Traded for a Hyundai Tiburon, and dumped it in 5 months. Bought a 03 Matrix Xrs with broken trans and replaced it with a new factory trans in 2012. I had just finished the majority of refurbishing last month, I wanted her to be a 300,000 mile car but only got halfway there.

I got T-boned last month, totaled. A testament to the fantastic side impact rating of these cars. I get the Xrs back home and there is no fluid loss and no damage to the front. She started right up and purred like a kitten. Amazing. Even the power door locks on the impact side still cycle. These cars are awesome. Not even the brakes are an issue. I could drive it down the road right now if I wouldn't get pulled over.

So now I am left at an impasse. I either find a Vibe GT or MAtrix Xrs in Michigan that could use a powertrain, or start parting it out and get something else.

That stinks! Try finding a base Vibe/Trix needing a new engine, and do a full swap. Don't forget the rear discs!

Thanks for the advice bud.
I'm just worried about the added work converting a base to a GT. I'm not positive if the wiring or other details are exactly the same from 03-05 manual trans cars and finding the exact model year is a long shot. I am capable, so it is always an option. Is there much of a difference between years? Can a base manual be converted easily and has anyone here done it before?

Rear Discs? I hear that! I just put on new coated bosch rotors and wagner thermoquiet pads the week before the accident.

Maybe contact the guys at Monkeywrench Racing. They sell 1zz-2zz conversions.

http://www.monkeywrenchracing.com/produ ... ts_id=1788" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Flip Side, There is a 04 Vibe GT for sale down the street from my work place. Dark ( Brick) Red. Has 99K miles. I think they are asking $5500. If you are interested I will get you their number. Car is in Moundsville WV, about 15 min south of Wheeling WV.

WhgVibe wrote:Flip Side, There is a 04 Vibe GT for sale down the street from my work place. Dark ( Brick) Red. Has 99K miles. I think they are asking $5500. If you are interested I will get you their number. Car is in Moundsville WV, about 15 min south of Wheeling WV.

That's too much.

Dealer Suggested retail according to Edmunds is $5750.00. Besides $5500 is what they are asking. No one pays the starting price...LOL. They had it awhile Im sure they will come down.

Sucks to hear about the Matrix, but glad to hear you weren't injured. It sounds to me like you know firsthand just how great Vibes and Matrices are which tells me you will probably end up with another one of some sort . Keep us posted !

Nasmfell wrote:

WhgVibe wrote:Flip Side, There is a 04 Vibe GT for sale down the street from my work place. Dark ( Brick) Red. Has 99K miles. I think they are asking $5500. If you are interested I will get you their number. Car is in Moundsville WV, about 15 min south of Wheeling WV.

That's too much.

How about 142k for $4200?

$5K sounds bout right for that car. Little more at a stealer and a little less private sale.

KITT222 wrote:

Nasmfell wrote:

WhgVibe wrote:Flip Side, There is a 04 Vibe GT for sale down the street from my work place. Dark ( Brick) Red. Has 99K miles. I think they are asking $5500. If you are interested I will get you their number. Car is in Moundsville WV, about 15 min south of Wheeling WV.

That's too much.

How about 142k for $4200?

That's too much as well.

I know the thread is old, but just to update I bought another 03 vibe GT again about 6 months ago.

This will be my third 2003 Vibe/Matrix car. Just have too many spare parts laying around now I guess.

The usual issues were present in this 2zge powered beast:
The sparkplugs were bosch platinums which are awful in this car
1 coil was cracked and failing - replaced with denso (the duralast version was the one that failed)
Radio paint flaked to heck - replaced
Gas door was seizing and nearly broken - silicone lubed and cycled for 10 minutes to bleed out rust
Tiny battery causing starting issues - replaced with better 550 CCA battery
Minor grinding on fast shifts - MT90 smoothed it out in about 3 weeks.
MAF sensor was filthy and causing rough idle - Cleaned and fixed the issue.
Autozone Duralast brake components were grinding all the time (hint...the rotors are always out of spec on our cars before you even install them) - Replaced with Wagner

Love these cars. Getting old yet have very few issues, albeit consistent ones.

Excellent, Flip-Side! The thing that makes me the happiest about these cars is how freaking easy they are to work on. Like, every day I have to work on something with a difficult design, I feel completely smitten by my car again.

Glad to hear an update from you finally! Also, glad to hear you did end up with another Vibe!

Thank you very much for the update. Be careful out there!

lannvouivre wrote:Excellent, Flip-Side! The thing that makes me the happiest about these cars is how freaking easy they are to work on. Like, every day I have to work on something with a difficult design, I feel completely smitten by my car again.

Thanks all, good to be back!

You are very right Lannvouire. It is one of the main reasons I keep going back to this vehicle. I only have a few items of note for the early models I personally owned:

-The non-standard sized cast hex nut used on the belt tensioner - Nothing fits perfect and you can break it off if you are not careful
-Burping air bubbles from the coolant system. Fill, rev, burp, fill, rev, burp, fill, drive like a mad man to increase coolant flow, burp again.
-GT/XRS models break lift bolts after a while, so you should change them out before they do. If they break, usually just lose lift.
-The C56 and C60 final drive and some gears are weak and syncros start to grind if you are not careful, or do not change gear oil regularly. The autos are pretty tough if you take care of them.
-The dang gas door hinge on the pontiac only.
-All the VSVs tend to go bad and clickity clack. Usually do not cause issues, but a pain to track down when they do.
-The fan speeds always go out on me, but the part isn't too bad to replace.
-The A/C clutches tend to fail/fall off, also a fairly cheap fix since the compressors rarely die.
-Drivers window always had issues until the recall for the rivets.
-Had 1 airbag module paid to replace prior to the recall.
-The oil pump is weak, mis-shifting can blow it apart and the engine is pretty sensitive to oil level.
-Different tire type in front and back handle awful. Pretty much all econo-tires handle/wear poorly for me.
-The exhaust donut tends to leak/make noise over time, and most big chain autopart stores have the wrong part# in their system for the Vibe/Matrix. Cheap fix though.

I digress. I honestly have so many miles on this platform, I can't believe how reliable they are. I've had many vehicles in between. Tiburon, riviera, soul, subarus, caravan, etc, and they all came and went from reliability issues.

Long winded I know but don't forget, much of my experience was originally gained from this very forum and it's members. Thanks again!

Flip-Side wrote:

lannvouivre wrote:Excellent, Flip-Side! The thing that makes me the happiest about these cars is how freaking easy they are to work on. Like, every day I have to work on something with a difficult design, I feel completely smitten by my car again.

Thanks all, good to be back!

You are very right Lannvouire. It is one of the main reasons I keep going back to this vehicle. I only have a few items of note for the early models I personally owned:

-The non-standard sized cast hex nut used on the belt tensioner - Nothing fits perfect and you can break it off if you are not careful
-Burping air bubbles from the coolant system. Fill, rev, burp, fill, rev, burp, fill, drive like a mad man to increase coolant flow, burp again.
-GT/XRS models break lift bolts after a while, so you should change them out before they do. If they break, usually just lose lift.
-The C56 and C60 final drive and some gears are weak and syncros start to grind if you are not careful, or do not change gear oil regularly. The autos are pretty tough if you take care of them.
-The dang gas door hinge on the pontiac only.
-All the VSVs tend to go bad and clickity clack. Usually do not cause issues, but a pain to track down when they do.
-The fan speeds always go out on me, but the part isn't too bad to replace.
-The A/C clutches tend to fail/fall off, also a fairly cheap fix since the compressors rarely die.
-Drivers window always had issues until the recall for the rivets.
-Had 1 airbag module paid to replace prior to the recall.
-The oil pump is weak, mis-shifting can blow it apart and the engine is pretty sensitive to oil level.
-Different tire type in front and back handle awful. Pretty much all econo-tires handle/wear poorly for me.
-The exhaust donut tends to leak/make noise over time, and most big chain autopart stores have the wrong part# in their system for the Vibe/Matrix. Cheap fix though.

I digress. I honestly have so many miles on this platform, I can't believe how reliable they are. I've had many vehicles in between. Tiburon, riviera, soul, subarus, caravan, etc, and they all came and went from reliability issues.

Long winded I know but don't forget, much of my experience was originally gained from this very forum and it's members. Thanks again!

For those interested, what year(s) are you referring to regarding these issues?

2003 Vibe/Matrix were what I owned.
2003 Base Vibe w/Automatic
2003 Matrix XRS w/6-speed
2003 Vibe GT w/6-speed

Many of the items I mentioned are the same through 2003-2008 I would think, though I am not positive since you can see the model years I have owned. I stuck with 2003 because they were always cheap, and the GT/XRS was the fastest in that model year due to the higher rpm red-line and lower rpm lift engagement than later models.

Flip-Side wrote:2003 Vibe/Matrix were what I owned.
2003 Base Vibe w/Automatic
2003 Matrix XRS w/6-speed
2003 Vibe GT w/6-speed

Many of the items I mentioned are the same through 2003-2008 I would think, though I am not positive since you can see the model years I have owned. I stuck with 2003 because they were always cheap, and the GT/XRS was the fastest in that model year due to the higher rpm red-line and lower rpm lift engagement than later models.

The 2ZZ-GE engines will be the one with oil pump issues, right? Haven't heard of the 1ZZ oil pump having issues.

I have heard of the 1ZZ-FE engines before 2004 having piston ring wear issues, and not so much later on. If you neglect the 05+ engine maintenance like teenager-Lann did, you WILL probably wear the rings out pretty durn fast.

I was also able to quickly burp my cooling system by just jiggling and squeezing the upper hose with the car facing up a slight incline.

The oil pump issues with the GT or XRS cars normally only occurs due to over-revving due to miss shift.

The oil issues due to ring wear was never witnessed by myself, and my ex-wife was absolutely awful to that poor base vibe. It really was a champ, and never lost any appreciable amount of oil. I have hear of issues from other owners on occasion, though I have always viewed the base 1.8L as a very reliable motor.

The 2.4L 2az-fe is the engine in the newer vibe/matrix known for consuming ridiculous amounts of oil, though it is caused by the design of the engine. To reduce drag the tolerances are loose and supposedly the rings do not seat well until full temperature is reached. This is why oil burning at startup occurs.

Flip-Side wrote:2003 Vibe/Matrix were what I owned.
2003 Base Vibe w/Automatic
2003 Matrix XRS w/6-speed
2003 Vibe GT w/6-speed

Many of the items I mentioned are the same through 2003-2008 I would think, though I am not positive since you can see the model years I have owned. I stuck with 2003 because they were always cheap, and the GT/XRS was the fastest in that model year due to the higher rpm red-line and lower rpm lift engagement than later models.

Thank you for sharing

Flip-Side wrote:The oil issues due to ring wear was never witnessed by myself, and my ex-wife was absolutely awful to that poor base vibe. It really was a champ, and never lost any appreciable amount of oil. I have hear of issues from other owners on occasion, though I have always viewed the base 1.8L as a very reliable motor.

Mine just has low compression, it doesn't consume oil yet. My numbers are 155 psi, 180, 180, and 150 psi without oil added from the top to help the rings seal. Lowest acceptable number is 145 psi, highest is 210, acceptable range is 12 or so psi. For me, it's just power and fuel economy being gutted.

Flip.... Glad to see you back... When ya free to meet and grab a drink for old time sake?