2005 Pontiac VIBE: complaints, problems and recalls

WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKES TO STOP VEHICLE SUDDENLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY ACCELERATED AND LURCHED FORWARD. CONSUMER HAD TO SLAM ON THE BRAKES TO GET THE VEHICLE TO STOP. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO COULD NOT LOCATE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM.*AK

Owner-reported narrative. 150 miles reported. Look up ODI 10117784 at NHTSA ↗

2005 PONTIAC VIBE IS UNSAFE. THE DESIGN MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE CARS APPROACHING FROM THE REAR IN 4 TO 6 LANES WITH ON & OFF RAMPS & THEY TRAVEL 60 TO 80 MPH. I WANT TO REPORT THIS BEFORE THERE A LOT OF DEATHS. WE ARE FORTUNATE TO BE ALIVE ONLY BECAUSE I AM EXPERIENCED WITH QUICK REFLEXES & REACTION TIME. *NM

Owner-reported narrative. 90 miles reported. Look up ODI 10118233 at NHTSA ↗

AFTER WARM UP AND DRIVING ON HIGHWAY OR IN TOWN, VEHICLE IS SHUT OFF TO GAS UP OR ENTER A STORE FOR A FEW MINUTES AND HAVING TROUBLE STARTING AGAIN. THE VEHICLE WILL CRANK OVER AND OVER SOMETIMES ABOUT 30 SECONDS OR LONGER BEFORE IT WILL FINALLY START. NOT SURE IF IT IS VAPOR LOCK OR SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE FUEL PUMP? I HAVE TAKEN IT IN TO THE DEALER A COUPLE OF TIMES AND OF COURSE IT DOES NOT ACT UP FOR THEM. I DOES HAPPEN QUITE FREQUENTLY. I HAVE ALSO READ ONLINE ABOUT THIS SAME PROBLEM HAPPENING TO OTHER VIBE OWNERS FROM 2003-05. I AM…

Owner-reported narrative. 20 miles reported. Look up ODI 10124645 at NHTSA ↗

WE BOUGHT A NEW PONTIAC VIBE IN APRIL. ON A TRIP TOCLEVELAND WE FOUND OUT IT IS NOT SAFE. THERE IS NOT ENOUGH VISIBILITY IN THE REAR BECAUSE OF A POOR DESIGN. I HAD TO AVOID 4 POTENTIAL ACCIDENTS. THE DRIVER CANNOT SEE OTHERS APPROACHING IN ATHER LANES AT HIGH SPEEDS. I COMPLAINED TO GM, BUT THEY HAVE IGNORED ME. I ALSO COMPLAINED TO YOU IN APRIL. HAS ANYTHING BEED DONE?

Owner-reported narrative. 50 miles reported. Look up ODI 10127866 at NHTSA ↗

DT: THE CONTACT STATED THE POWER STEERING WAS DEFECTIVE. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL, AND THERE WAS A SQUEAKING NOISE COMING FROM THE STEERING. THE SERVICE DEALER PUT IN POWER STEERING FLUID ON THE FIRST OCCURRENCE, THE SECOND TIME THEY REPLACED THE O-RING AND HOSE, THE THIRD TIME THEY REPLACED THE POWER STEERING PUMP, AND THE FOURTH TIME THEY REPLACED THE POWER STEERING GEAR. THE CONSUMER CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER; THEY HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE SERVICE DEALER. THE CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU T…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10132583 at NHTSA ↗

SEVERAL ONGOING EVENTS VERSUS ONE FAILURE, CONSTANT PULLING EITHER TO THE LEFT OR TO THE RIGHT, PULLING INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC/OTHER LANES WHEN BRAKING OR ACCELERATING, NOT ABLE TO KEEP THE VIBE ON THE SMOOTH/ROUGH ROADS. WHEN CORNERING IN DRY CONDITIONS ON A SMOOTH ROAD, THE VIBE PULLED ME RIGHT OVER ON THE SHOULDER AND THE STEERING WHEEL SPUN SO I STOPPED UNCERTAIN WHAT HAD TAKEN PLACE. I WAS ABLE TO GET INTO DEALER AND 4 ALIGNMENTS, 4+ TIRE ROTATIONS, CAMBER BOLTS REPLACED, AND A 3RD OPINION FROM A SEPARATE GM DEALER UNAWARE OF THE SITUATI…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10134140 at NHTSA ↗

PAINT ON HOOD OF VEHICLE IS BEGINNING TO CHIP IN PLACES, AND APPEARS TO BE BEGINING TO RUST IN CHIPS. MY FATHER HAS A 2005 VIBE TOO AND THE PAINT ON THE HOOD OF HIS CAR IS ALSO CHIPPING

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10134435 at NHTSA ↗

DT: THE CONSUMER STATES THAT THE 2005 PONTIAC VIBE HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP 4 TIMES FOR AN INDICATOR LIGHT THAT INDICATES THAT THE AIR BAG IS INOPERATIVE. THE OWNER'S MANUAL STATES THAT IF THIS LIGHT IS ON THE AIR BAG COULD DEPLOY AT ANYTIME. THE DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN CONTACTED, AND ADVISED THE CONSUMER TO BRING THE CAR TO DEALER AGAIN SINCE THE LIGHT IS STILL NOT WORKING PROPERLY. NOW THE INDICATOR LIGHT ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAG IS NOT SHOWING IF THE AIR BAG IS ON OR OFF. WHEN THERE IS A PASSENG…

Owner-reported narrative. 6,616 miles reported. Look up ODI 10135412 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2010-08-26 (August 26, 2010)

GM IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2005-2008 PONTIAC VIBE VEHICLES. THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM) FOR THE SUBJECT MODELS EQUIPPED WITH THE 1ZZ-FE (LV6) ENGINE AND TWO-WHEEL DRIVE MAY HAVE BEEN IMPROPERLY MANUFACTURED. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT A CRACK MAY DEVELOP AT CERTAIN SOLDER POINTS OR ON VARISTORS ON THE CIRCUIT BOARD.

Consequence: THERE ARE A VARIETY OF WARNINGS AND CONSEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEFECT. THE ENGINE WARNING LAMP COULD BE ILLUMINATED, HARSH SHIFTING COULD RESULT, THE ENGINE MAY NOT START, OR THE ENGINE COULD SHUT OFF WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN. AN ENGINE SHUTOFF WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN INCREASES THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE PRODUCTION NUMBER OF THE ECM AND REPLACE THE ECM IF NECESSARY. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 8, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GM AT 1-800-620-7668.

Reported: 2015-05-13 (May 13, 2015)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015 that they are recalling certain model year 2004 Sequoia vehicles manufactured August 18, 2003, to August 19, 2004, and 2003-2004 Tundra vehicles manufactured March 18, 2003, to August 25, 2004. On June 16, 2015, Toyota expanded the recall to include an additional 1,270,468 vehicles, including model year 2002-2003 and 2005-2007 Sequoia, 2005-2006 Tundra, 2003-2007 Corolla, 2003-2007 Corolla Matrix, 2003-2007 Pontiac Vibe and 2002-2007 Lexus SC vehicles. This is to address a safety defect in the passenger side frontal air bag inflator which may produce excessive internal pressure causing the inflator to rupture upon deployment of the air bag. This recall addresses both the passenger side frontal air bags that were originally installed in the vehicles, as well as replacement air bags that may have been installed as replacement service parts. A replacement air bag may have been installed, as one example, if a vehicle had been in a crash necessitating the replacement of the passenger side frontal air bag.

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-285 are under a Do Not Drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles until the recall remedy has been completed. Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag. The recall began on July 13, 2015. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-762-2737. NOTE: This recall supersedes recall 14V-312 in its entirety.

Reported: 2015-05-13 (May 13, 2015)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015, that they are recalling 2005-2007 Lexus SC, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sequoia, and Pontiac Vibe, and 2005-2006 Toyota Tundra vehicles that were originally sold, or ever registered, in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa. On June 16, 2015 Toyota expanded the recall to cover an additional 769,055 vehicles, including certain model year 2002-2004 Lexus SC, Toyota Sequoia, 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix, Toyota Corolla, Pontiac Vibe, and Toyota Tundra vehicles, as well the vehicles covered by the May 13, 2015 notification in the portions of Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas that were not previously included. The inflators in the front passenger air bags are susceptible to rupture in the event of a crash necessitating the deployment of the front passenger air bag.

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-286 are under a Do Not Drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles until the recall remedy has been completed. Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the passenger side front air bag, free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota began the recall on July 13, 2015. Pontiac Vibe owners may contact GM at 1-800-762-2737. GM began the recall on June 29, 2015. NOTE: This recacll supersedes recall 14V-655 in its entirety. For vehicles located in the U.S. states not listed above, please see Toyota recall 15V-285 which covers all other U.S. states.

Reported: 2018-12-12 (December 12, 2018)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2002-2005 Lexus SC and Toyota Sequoia, 2003-2005 Toyota Corolla and Tundra, and 2003-2007 Pontiac Vibe vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation.

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Toyota will notify the Toyota and Lexus owners. General Motors will notify the Pontiac Vibe owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, or replace the air bag assembly that includes an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 23, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371, Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987 or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Toyota's numbers for these recalls are J0A (Zone A Toyota), J0B (Zone B Toyota), J0C (Zone C Toyota), JLI (Zone A Lexus), JLJ (Zone B Lexus), and JLK (Zone C Lexus). Note: This recall includes vehicles that have had their air bag previously replaced under an earlier air bag campaign.

Reported: 2019-08-28 (August 28, 2019)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2003-2008 Corolla, 2005-2008 Corolla Matrix, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles equipped with a front passenger air bag assembly replaced under a prior recall. The air bag may not unfold as designed during inflation under high temperature conditions, possibly resulting in the air bag not inflating properly.

Consequence: An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag assembly or sub-assembly, free of charge. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are K1Q and K0Q. Pontiac owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is N192273760.