GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Bought this 2009 Black Vibe GT with 141000 km (87600 miles) for around 8600 CAD.
Everything is as expected so far. Except for road/engine noise. It's louder than I thought.

Welcome chappy to the Genvibe club! Great looking GT. Did it come with the vent visors? And what tires came with the vehicle?

As I said on FB, gorgeous GT ! I look forward to seeing updates from you in the future!

MacGyver wrote:Welcome chappy to the Genvibe club! Great looking GT. Did it come with the vent visors? And what tires came with the vehicle?

Yea. The previous owner had them installed.

Continental Extreme Contact DWS.
But mechanic thinks there's flat spotting so I'm considering new tires since I've already driven 700 km (440 miles) in them. Sigh...it still has like 80% tread too.

vibenvy wrote:As I said on FB, gorgeous GT ! I look forward to seeing updates from you in the future!

Thanks!
Haha! But that's only cause I took the pics right after I washed it.

Welcome Chappy!
Nice Vibe! Mine was noisy too when I got it. The original tires were worn down and low quality anyway. I put on Michelin Defender tires and it made a huge difference right away. Check the reviews on Tire Rack and here:http://tirereviewsandmore.com/ to find quiet running tires.

chappy wrote:
Continental Extreme Contact DWS.

Those tires have mixed reviews online with regards to noise, but they are performance tires. Check the wheel bearings, too.

LED just came. Gonna install them tonight or tomorrow.
But how do I open the front map lights? They don't have a special spot to open like the dome light.

MacGyver wrote:

chappy wrote:
Continental Extreme Contact DWS.

Those tires have mixed reviews online with regards to noise, but they are performance tires. Check the wheel bearings, too.

Mechanic raised the car and spun the wheels and says it's not the bearings.

Says it's most likely the tires being out of round after sitting for too long. He didn't mention it needing to rebalance though.

I checked tire rack...
The continental extreme contact DWS 06 and Michelin pilot sport a/s 3+ seems to be ranked highest in road noise and ride comfort. Might get those instead. Currently have the non 06 version.

It just sucks that I found out about this after I bought the car.

vibrologist wrote:Welcome Chappy!
Nice Vibe! Mine was noisy too when I got it. The original tires were worn down and low quality anyway. I put on Michelin Defender tires and it made a huge difference right away. Check the reviews on Tire Rack and here:http://tirereviewsandmore.com/ to find quiet running tires.

Thanks for the sites!
Will check them out tonight.

Took around an hour, but switched to LEDs. And fixed the passenger map light.



Broke the front tabs holding the housing. Five left. Hope they hold. There's just no easy way to open the front lights compared to the dome and cargo lights.



The bulbs wiggle front and rear if anyone wants future reference.

Looks good. I'm running UV black lights in mine. Makes everything glow. I love them except when I try to find something in the dark that doesn't glow

SickVibes wrote:Looks good. I'm running UV black lights in mine. Makes everything glow. I love them except when I try to find something in the dark that doesn't glow

Sounds cool, but potentially impractical at times. Although all cell phones have a flashlight anyways...maybe I should've gotten UV black...
Haha! Thanks for buyer's remorse.

Know of any UV black and white LEDs? Would be two in one kind of deal.

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Btw, the driver's window. It auto downs, but doesnt auto up?

chappy wrote:

SickVibes wrote:Looks good. I'm running UV black lights in mine. Makes everything glow. I love them except when I try to find something in the dark that doesn't glow

Sounds cool, but potentially impractical at times. Although all cell phones have a flashlight anyways...maybe I should've gotten UV black...
Haha! Thanks for buyer's remorse.

Know of any UV black and white LEDs? Would be two in one kind of deal.

~~~~

Btw, the driver's window. It auto downs, but doesnt auto up?

Yes. That's normal. Goes down auto and not up auto.

chappy wrote:

SickVibes wrote:Looks good. I'm running UV black lights in mine. Makes everything glow. I love them except when I try to find something in the dark that doesn't glow

Sounds cool, but potentially impractical at times. Although all cell phones have a flashlight anyways...maybe I should've gotten UV black...
Haha! Thanks for buyer's remorse.

Know of any UV black and white LEDs? Would be two in one kind of deal.

~~~~

Btw, the driver's window. It auto downs, but doesnt auto up?

Yes. It's auto down but not auto up

Forgot to update.

Somewhat fixed the tire issue 2 weeks ago. Mechanic and I went for a test drive and concluded it's not bearings or alignment. But rotated tires just to see if it'll change anything. Upon rotating tires, we felt bumps and lumps on the treads so it wasnt perfectly flat. Only noticed it when we slide hand across tire. Didnt noticed it just by looking at it.
Having determined the source of the noise, I wasn't as concerned about anything breaking so just got used to the noise..

Next step, fix the chipped paint.
Also winter rims.

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Also went to Algonquin Park the past weekend (300 km or 185 mile one-way) and got 6.68L/100km (35mpg) with 4 people and trunk semi-full (so I can still see out the back). Speed held was 90-100kph (55-60mph) and kept tach below 2000. Happy that I got above 30mpg and tires didnt blow up.

chappy wrote:Also went to Algonquin Park the past weekend (300 km or 185 mile one-way) and got 6.68L/100km (35mpg) with 4 people and trunk semi-full (so I can still see out the back). Speed held was 90-100kph (55-60mph) and kept tach below 2000. Happy that I got above 30mpg and tires didnt blow up.

Awesome! I have proven quite a few times you can most definitely get great mileage out of the 2.4L by simply altering your driving habits a bit.

Met my long lost twin the other day.
I like the Vibe's front more. I like the Vibe's rear lights more, but prefer the Trix's rear window. Should've checked out the side profile too.