GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Went wilderness camping in Kelowna, BC, drove on lots of dirt roads to get to and from campsite
A rattle started at idle, hole in muffler suspected
Kept driving, rattle seemed to subside
Arrived back in Vancouver, rattle resumed
Backed out of driveway, a curved aluminum sheet fell on the pavement....
I crawled under the car today to figure out where it came off of, whether the bolts were still attached to the car, and whether I could salvage them, add some fatass washers, and re-attach this bad boy, but wasn't really able to figure it out. Instead my findings showed a world of rust and nuts/screws that are inundated with rust all over the place, some even already cracked, which is concerning. Anyone know whether this heat shield is crucial for west coast driving and where it even sits?

Please help

The heat shield is pretty critical to protect the fuel tank and cargo from exhaust heat. Just hold the heat shield over the muffler and see if you can guess which holes are to the shield.

Thanks for that. I tried to figure it out but couldn't. Will just pay someone to fix it for me I guess

Ok, here's my 2 cents! Most of those holes are likely "drain holes" and are needed when water/ice/snow make i5t into the channeled areas. Larger holes are likely there for accessibility to a fastener or some other item needed to get to. The rust somewhat looks bad BUT if this Vibe has high mileage and driven in a lot of winters where salt/brine were used, then it's in pretty good shape. Finally when vehicles panels are stamped out during production, the same panel will be used for ALL trim levels of that vehicle. Base, GT, AWD, etc. so depending on the engine/drivetrain options, some holes will utilize additional components where they would possibly use some of those pre-punched holes in the panels.

that makes sense thanks for that . i didn't think about the water drainage explanation.

it's an east coast car with 115,000km , by the way

$25 bucks at the local shop to clamp it back on . bam bam done.

Glad you got it figured out. I couldn't help but start laughing at all your pics and quotes. haha

tpollauf pretty much covered your concerns and your heat shield is back on. Looks like you're good to go!

Hi Everyone...

I have a 2005 Vibe Base - lost the same heat shield yesterday in the rain. Picked it up off the highway. Almost hit the lady in back of me.

I had previously had the gas tank heat shield bouncing around, tied it up with zip ties like many others. I had assumed this was the same one. Nope, it's a squarish thing just like the picture above. The gas tank shield is skinnier and only goes over the portion of the exhaust that goes right by the tank.

I *assume* this goes between the muffler, and the bottom of the spare tire compartment, and deflects some heat away from the sheet metal. Doesn't seem to be anywhere near the gas tank. Anybody think this is much of a concern if I don't put this back on? Does the muffler really heat up the metal under the spare tire that much?

Mine fell off after dragging on the way to work. I picked it up the next day. It has sat on my garage shelf for two years. The car has endured summer road trips, loaded, through mountains. Didn't catch on fire.

You'll be fine without it.

charlesbryden wrote:Hi Everyone...

I have a 2005 Vibe Base - lost the same heat shield yesterday in the rain. Picked it up off the highway. Almost hit the lady in back of me.

I had previously had the gas tank heat shield bouncing around, tied it up with zip ties like many others. I had assumed this was the same one. Nope, it's a squarish thing just like the picture above. The gas tank shield is skinnier and only goes over the portion of the exhaust that goes right by the tank.

I *assume* this goes between the muffler, and the bottom of the spare tire compartment, and deflects some heat away from the sheet metal. Doesn't seem to be anywhere near the gas tank. Anybody think this is much of a concern if I don't put this back on? Does the muffler really heat up the metal under the spare tire that much?

Hard to tell unless someone put a temperature sensor and read the value. Just put it back if it’s not a big trouble.

charlesbryden wrote:Hi Everyone...
Anybody think this is much of a concern if I don't put this back on? Does the muffler really heat up the metal under the spare tire that much?

Check out this video from engineering explained. At 1:50, there's about 50 degrees Celsius difference around the shielded area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGmPV9NgbXg&t=42s

I have a 2003 2WD Base Vibe. If your heat shield over the gas tank has gotten rusted to a point where it can't be reattached or restrung (if applicable), some mechanics will tell you that you don't need it. But the heat shield protects the gas tank from the hot exhaust pipe & other objects below, and probably needed more as the car ages since the gas tank may be rusting. So I decided to replace it. The replacement parts are no longer available from GM. So I went to Toyota, trying to match the 2003 Base Matrix. But not any Toyota (local dealer was much more expensive, and no returns), I went online to Toyota South Atlanta (phone 404-363-1953 Gil, head of online parts orders). They charge a reasonable flat rate shipping charge. The parts that worked for me are: 1) 7764102030 (Fuel Tank) Heat Shield about $102. 2) Fuel tank strap band #1 77602-12250, about $47, and 3) Fuel tank strap band #2 77602-122210 About $53. They charge a reasonable flat rate shipping charge. https://onlineparts.toyotasouthatlanta.com/ Note that on the fuel tank strap #1 and #2, the rubber protector already comes with the fuel tank metal strap (to protect metal on metal between the fuel tank and heat shield). So there is no need to get separate rubber protectors. I'm happy that my mechanic was able to install them. I tried an aftermarket part for the fuel tank straps from Advance Auto Parts, and even though it says it fits my Pontiac Vibe, it does not. Stick with Toyota parts for this one. Note: Vibe AWD uses different parts.