GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

On my 06 Trix disconnecting the battery to do electrical work would reset the ECM, and the vehicle would drive like crap for 100km or so before things went back to normal. Does the same thing happen with the 09 Vibe?

The answer is yes. But it was OK, the wife wanted to take the car right after, so I didn't have put up with poor performance!

Most every vehicle with a ECM will clear it's memory by disconnecting the battery, and the Vibe will too. After the memory wipe, the car will reset itself by driving around. It has to learn your driving habits over so it takes some time. If you are just going to change out the battery but do not want to loose the memory, you can try connecting a small battery changer to the cables before removing the cables from the battery. Caution when doing this because the electrical system is now still charged, when disconnected from the battery, and the cables are changed. DO NOT lay the positive cable on anything conductive because you will damage something by shorting out. This will keep voltage on the system so the ECM memory will not be lost.

You can buy a memory saver device for under $30 at most auto parts stores. A memory retainer is designed to maintain the memory of a vehicle's onboard computer system and radio pre-sets when disconnecting the battery or making a battery change.