GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I just got my first car. It's a red 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT with 86k miles.



I really like this car. I love the design and I love the roominess. I got a good deal on it as well because I got it from a private seller.
I noticed that even for a 2009 vehicle with 86k miles, it's quiet. No weird used car noises. It was comparable to 2014 corolla I test drove. The mechanic that inspected the car actually drove 2003 Pontiac Vibe as well. He packed 150k miles on it and called the seller crazy for selling the car. Seller and I both just smiled. He was complementing how I was making the right call buying the car.

Steering felt heavier than smaller cars, but that's to-be expected. I wish that acceleration could be a bit smoother. When I press the gas pedal ever-so-slightly engine kind of kicks in too fast and the car jerks too hard. It's kind of scary when I try to park or get out of parking. I felt that the viewing area seemed narrower than other cars vertically and I found looking through the back windshield a bit more difficult as well. But then again, it's an hatchback. I love hatchbacks so it's ok.

I was thinking that Vibe drivers are safe drivers!
I am a young male driver and my guy friends all pay like 200+ on typical auto insurance. They drive Hondas, Kias and Hyundais.
I am gonna pay 125 / month with a first vehicle and I have better coverage than them! I was absolutely shocked and overjoyed.

Welcome, and you DID make a nice selection for your first car! One of the best colors too! Makes me miss my former 2010 GT though, that I had for 2-1/2 years. It had 77K on it and ran just great up until it's untimely end.

Do you know if the gas pedal recall was performed on it? I know some have experienced a touchy pedal as a result. All the 05+ Vibes are drive by wire, so that does influence the pedal/acceleration relationship. It did take me a bit to get used to it.

Post up your location in your profile, as you might have some neighbors on here.

Good luck with your new Vibe!

Congratulations, jasoki!

What a deal you got!

The tip-in with the accelerator was something I had to get used to as well with my 05 Vibe. Train your foot to do a 1/16th of an inch movement and keep it there.
Also, you could see a GM dealer to check if all updates and recalls have been performed. In your situation I would take it to a GM dealer for the next oil change and ask them to check.

Excellent choice for a first car. It's safe, fast enough, roomy, not too ugly and as you said, good insurance rate. A Subaru is another good safe first car. My daughter had 2 and then we gave her our '06 Vibe.

Welcome to the site!

The gas pedal is something you'll get used to. It is extremely sensitive, even after the recall.

jasoki wrote:I just got my first car. It's a red 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT with 86k miles.

Congrats of the "new to you" purchase AND a very wise choice. Depending on your future plans, you should still be driving this car 10 years from now!

jasoki wrote: When I press the gas pedal ever-so-slightly engine kind of kicks in too fast and the car jerks too hard. It's kind of scary when I try to park or get out of parking.

YEP ... your gas pedal was circumcised This was part of an earlier Toyota recall where they all got shaved and a tighter spring was installed. Not smooth at all BUT you will adjust to it eventually. My Red Vibe GT was not touched BUT my son's Blue Vibe Gt was ... and what a difference!

jasoki wrote:I am a young male driver and my guy friends all pay like 200+ on typical auto insurance. They drive Hondas, Kias and Hyundais.
I am gonna pay 125 / month with a first vehicle and I have better coverage than them! I was absolutely shocked and overjoyed.

I'm sort of shocked at what young male drivers are paying for their insurance these days. My son just got one hell of a break being under my policy. He is only paying $175 every six months for his insurance. Teenage driver and all. It's not fair but that's the way the industry works. Where you're located makes a difference on rates also (update your profile please). Kudos for posting a pic right away. I see you have one of the rare GT's with NO sunroof! Nice ride regardless., Enjoy it for many years and visit here often

Thanks everyone for a warm welcome

I feel rather ok that the gas pedal sensitivity issue isn't some serious issue with my car.

So now that I got the car, what kind of work do you guys suggest I do with the car?

Welcome to GenVibe! My Vibe is my first car, too. You won't find a lot of aftermarket (you especially with a second gen) but that just means you can make it your own!

KITT222 wrote:Welcome to GenVibe! My Vibe is my first car, too. You won't find a lot of aftermarket (you especially with a second gen) but that just means you can make it your own!

Actually 3rd gen. styling wise and 2nd gen. engine wise.

Welcome to GenVibe! Great choice on getting a 2nd gen (2009-2010) Vibe GT! My mom and I have had ours (pictured in my signature below) for about 5 1/2 years now and absolutely love them! As others have said, the gas pedal being extra sensitive is something you will get used to with time. Also, as others have mentioned, I would check with your local GM dealer to see what, if any, recalls have been done on it. We had the pedals in both our Vibes "circumsized" as tpollauf said and then turned around and had them replaced with brand new pedal assemblies (the recall said if you weren't satisfied with the "modified" pedal assembly, they would replace it with a brand new one, so that's what we chose to do). The difference with the "modified" pedal was negligible, but the difference with the brand new pedal was night and day. Not nearly as touchy as before.

As far as mods go, I recommend a K&N Typhoon intake (#69-8613TS). It gives the engine a nice growl and adds just enough get up and go to have a little fun ! Both our Vibes have one and we have seen a consistent 1-2 MPG increase in our gas mileage with them installed. The installation is very easy.

I personally would remove the aftermarket side moldings because I prefer the clean, sleek look, but that's just me. They're held on with double sided tape and could be easily removed by using fishing line to "saw" back and forth behind them until they come off. A hair dryer, some WD-40, a microfiber towel and some elbow grease will remove any leftover adhesive residue without harming the paint. Speaking of removing things, I removed the "PONTIAC VIBE GT" badges from the hatches of both our Vibes and really like how it looks (again, with the clean, sleek look). You would use the same method as above to remove the badges if you so desired.

I have done quite a few little things to our Vibes to customize them and make them more our own. Check out our Garage Threads, in my signature below, to see what else I've done and let me know if you have any questions.

*EDIT: Since you mentioned blind spots and such, I highly recommend some of those little 2" round blind spot mirrors that you can find at Auto Zone, Walmart, etc. We have them on both our Vibes and they help tremendously with reducing the blind spots.*

Great choice! My 09 Vibe GT is the first brand new car I ever bought. I paid it off last year, and it's still going with 226,000+ miles! Take care of it and it will take care of you!

Wow, what a great first car. This is the Vibe I really wanted but they are so rare in Montreal. Brings back memories of my first car, a used beater 79 Chevette Scooter. No back seat, no radio, no carpets, manual steering, power nothing and no right side mirror. Times certainly have changed. Enjoy the ride.

Capt.Vibe wrote:Wow, what a great first car. This is the Vibe I really wanted but they are so rare in Montreal. Brings back memories of my first car, a used beater 79 Chevette Scooter. No back seat, no radio, no carpets, manual steering, power nothing and no right side mirror. Times certainly have changed. Enjoy the ride.

...How slow was the Chevette?

Hi Welcome. Nice Vibe. Hope it serves you well.

Yay! Thats a wicked first car! Take good care of her and she will take good care of you!
Also, this is what my first car was:

It failed to make it home however, and was returned within an hour of purchase haha. Probably a good thing as insurance was going to be $580/month

Nasmfell wrote:

Capt.Vibe wrote:Wow, what a great first car. This is the Vibe I really wanted but they are so rare in Montreal. Brings back memories of my first car, a used beater 79 Chevette Scooter. No back seat, no radio, no carpets, manual steering, power nothing and no right side mirror. Times certainly have changed. Enjoy the ride.

...How slow was the Chevette?

The Chevette was absolutely brutal but somehow we all managed to survive, there were tons of them here. This province always had an obsession with small cars. I think it had 65hp new but when I bought it in '88 with 180,000km, I'm sure it wasn't producing anything near that number. It was an automatic and throttle had to be nearly floored at every light to get going, entering an on ramp took forever and anything over 90kph the shaking and vibrations were downright scary. Then again the car was pretty much at the end of it's useful life by that time. Despite all this gas mileage was pretty good, I guess cause the car was pretty much a tin can and weighed nothing. Fairly certain I would not have survived a medium speed crash in that car.