GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

There's a light.

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I don't know if you ever found the answer to this - there was some good pictures on the matrixowners.com group. You don't need to remove any dash parts or the gear shift knob. All you have to do is press down on the plastic sheet which says P R N D 2 L up near the letter P with a finger and then use some other fingers to push down near the D 2 L, while also pushing the plastic sheet towards the front of the vehicle. The plastic label sheet will slide partially under the center console far enough that you can get a finger under it near the letter L. Then just pluck it upward and pull it out. The bulb will now be exposed, but its difficult to pull out. I found a hint on another forum, and it worked well. Put a long loop of scotch tape around the bulb, and pinched it tight to the bulb all the way around. Then, grasp the tape loop and pull it towards the front of the vehicle - the bulb will slide right out of its holder.

I also used scotch tape to hold the new bulb while I used a a narrow flat blade screwdriver to push it down into the socket. It took about ten tries to get it to finally seat properly and light up. I did turn the key to the ON position, and shifted down to L (with the engine not running) to give me a better angle of attack to slide the bulb down into the socket.

The bulb is a Sylvania 74LL - they have them at Advance Auto Parts, $4.99 for a 2-pack. Note the alignment of the bad bulb when you pull it out - you got to get the alignment about the same when you insert the new bulb. My Vibe had a small copper/brass looking clip that the bulb slid down into.

The P R N D 2 L needs to be pressed back into the groove that you slide it out of. Its kinda tricky, and took about 20 tries to get it to pop into its track and not slide around when I shift through the gears.

All in all, about a half hour job. For the record, I snapped one of the new bulbs trying to push it down into the socket. If you push too hard, they will break

Sorry about no pics.

I wanted to second DRVibe's sentiment in regard to Digger02's post. The gearshift indicator bulb on my automatic '03 Vibe went out just this week and I was searching for the correct part and method of replacement. The Haynes Manual had no info on the process for replacing that particular bulb, so to the trusty genvibe forums I turned.

Digger02's post outlined the required process and part perfectly. I can vouch for the correct part number being a Sylvania 74LL, which is carried in my area by Autozone, Advance Auto, O'Reilly's, and Wal-Mart. Of the four, Wal-Mart had the cheapest price by $.50 at $4.50 for a 2-pack.

When it comes to installation, I substituted a pair of needle-nose pliers (operated gently!) rather than the scotch tape lasso to remove the old bulb, and utilized two Stanley screwdrivers to install the new bulb - one on the front (engine) side of the bulb to hold it at the required angle for insertion, the other to gently push down from the top with the flat part of the blade to seat the bulb. Worked like a charm.

Digger02's tips regarding moving the gearshift to "L" came in handy as well. Thanks a ton, Digger!