GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hello, Im new here. My mother in law just got a brand new Fusion Orange 04 Vibe yesterday. And we noticed last night the car was having trouble starting but after a second try it started. So we thought maybe we just werent used to turning it on. But now this morning it wont start at all! It's in the shop already at the dealer. Has anyone heard of this happening?? We are very disappointed...first day what the hell? Is it a lemon? BTW I live in S. Cali so its not cold probably like 75 -80 in the morning.Jaime

That's very strange. Maybe something got knocked loose when it was being transported to the dealership...was it an order, or did you buy it off the lot?

It could be anything. I understand your frustration though. I would be pretty upset as well. Hang in there and let us know what they find out.

Welcome to genvibe, tough luck on problems the first day.Is it a Manual Transmission? Mine is and some people have had problems where the clutch had to be pushed all the way hard against the floor to activate the clutch-to-start switch.Please let us know what the dealer reports the problem to be, and good luck!

The car was not an order, It was actually the one that they had in the showroom. Also its an automatic. Hopefully its something minor, like the spark plugs not pused in all the way, or something stupid like that.Jaime

Sorry to hear that - as already said, please keep us updated as to what they find as the culprit. We're all here to help you out! Welcome to GenVibe as well!

By the time you read this, you'll probably have a solution, but....Does the car turn over, or is it completely dead when you turn the key?I've never had trouble starting my car, so I can't really guess what it could be.If it's completely dead, some interior light was probably left on by accident and drained the battery. That's happened to quite a few members.

When you say it had trouble starting before and won't start now, what exactly are the symptoms? Does the engine crank but not fire; crank very slowly; or does the engine not turn over at all when the key is turned?

No interior lights were left on. The engine tries to start but just doesnt ignite. So its not completely dead.Jaime

So it sounds like it's probably an ignition problem.Does it crank normally or very slowly. If it cranks slowly, it's possible the battery is weak (but not dead) or the starter is bad.

its seems to crank normally, I think it has too be something with the starter too. Hopefully will find out soon.Jaime

Finally heard back from the dealer. A bad fuel injector was the problem. Costs 300 to get fixed lucky we dont have to pay for it. I guess we just happened to get the one out of 100,000 fuel injector that was defective. The only thing that sucks is that they wont get another fuel injector in until weds. So it has to stay in the shop til then.Jaime

They should be taking the injector off of another Vibe on the lot and putting it in yours, then putting the ordered part on the other one. Sheesh. You've had the car for a day...they should have a heart.

First off, well come to GenVibe! Sounds like a rough start! Glad to hear they discovered the problem. Keep us posted!quote:They should be taking the injector off of another Vibe on the lot and putting it in yours, then putting the ordered part on the other one. Sheesh. You've had the car for a day...they should have a heart.I don't think that they would do that! They would have to replace two fuel injectors to fix one! You know that they won't do MORE work than they have too!

I'm trying to remember what it was that mine was missing now...but they took it off of another Vibe and then when the new one came in, put it on that one.

Gm won't pay labor for taking something from one car and putting it in another(paying labor twice).But something that takes just a minute i can understand,but an injector is a little more involved.There are probably some sort of legal issues too.I doubt if a dealer counts the cars on the lot in their parts inventory.

if you start canabalizing cars on the lot for parts then you run into big problems cause someone else will come in want to test drive that vibe and then you say oh it doesnt have a fuel injector cant drive it. and the customer will say aidos and head to the next dealer doesnt make much buisness sense now does it?

Well maybe not switch injectors but you could at leat ask for a free oil change, or tilly hat from their little display atthe parts counter.