GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

These are a few little things that are varyingly annoying. Some are most likely hard to fix but also common problems.
The shifter light (P R N D L) does not come on, it sporadically comes on sometimes either after driving for a while, or after restarting after recently driving around.
The only light that comes on when I open a door or unlock the car is the very rear dome light, the other two work but the middle on does not go on even in "Door" mode, IIRC the front one in the sunroof controls isn't able to come on with the doors. It can be aggravating when looking for something in the back seats.
When i try to wash the rear window only a small amount of washer fluid comes out. The front works just fine, i'm thinking this could be as simple something frozen that's blocking it.
Other than that its perfect!

The shifter light bulb is right under the PRND21 marks. I replace mine by fidgeting with the plastic strip with the marks to work it out of the way. Took a while to ge that strip back into place. one thread (of probably a number of them) on this is viewtopic.php?t=33701

If the middle overhead light can not be made to come on, firest guess is that the bulb needs to be replaced. A free way to check is to swap the bulb between the middle and rear overhead lights, and see if the problem follows the bulb or stays with the fixture.

If its not the bulb, maybe its the switch.. On my 03, the ON/OFF/DOOR selector is by the dash dimmer switch, I think yours is part of the overhead light fixture. I have ad a problem with the light switch on my sunroof control where the switch contacts aren't lean for whatever reason, and I've had to push the switch to turn the light on and off a couple dozen times to get it to work reliably. Perhaps something light is going on with the overhead light switch in the middle of yours, and switching it a number of times may wake it up and get it to obey,

The light in the sunroof control isn't set up to take the door signal. It's a ground switch, the lamp gets constant +12V from the DOME fuse, the switch connects the other side of the bulb to ground. Might be a way to tie into the switch in the middle overhead light and use it to select the ground for the sunroof control light, between door and ON, but I'm not sure how involved that would be.

I remember when Vibes were new, folks here compared the rear washer to someone taking a leak down the back window, its a dribble not a spray like the front washers I haven't used my rear washer in so long i can't remember what kind of flow rate is normal

The rear washer is actually two streams, and I'd say it's roughly the same as the front windshield - just not as a spray.

Thank you, I have gotten the middle dome light to work again! Just moving it back and forth a couple times worked. I think I should focus on maintenance because my parents have never had to do any work to the car other than when a tree fell on it at my camper in 2007, so it has the same shocks and plugs etc etc from 2006. What is good maintenance for a vibe that just hit 150k miles?

First ask your parents if they kept records of any maintenance. That way you can avoid unnecessary expenses.

I would inspect - and only replace if necessary:
Spark plugs (NGK Irridium IX).
Brake pads, rotors, shoes, drums.
All fluids: oil, tranny fluid, brake fluid, coolant, power steering fluid.
Cabin air filter.
Engine air filter.
PCV valve.
You may be able to see if the intake manifold gasket is black or orange. If it is orange it should be good, if it is black it may have deteriorated. Then you could test for vacuum leaks. Do not take the manifold off unless you have confirmed a vacuum leak by testing.
Inspect the serpentine belt.
Check suspension parts, sway bar links and bushings.
Check for play in the inner and outer tie rod ends.

Again: inspect! Only replace things that need replacing, There is no need to drive up your maintenance cost by overzealous preventative action.