Was The Pontiac Vibe Underappreciated?
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The Pontiac Vibe certainly did not fit into the excitement division’s ethos. Then again, not many Pontiac cars from the 1990s and 2000s did, either.
But, was the Vibe completely underappreciated in its time? Jalopnik believes so. The publication met with an avid Vibe enthusiast who runs a Vibe appreciation group on Facebook, and the owners are utterly ecstatic about their cars. No, they don’t believe they own hot hatches or anything ready to dust a Golf GTI or the Focus ST, but they do have a point.
Foremost, the Pontiac Vibe is essentially a Toyota Corolla. The hatchback hailed from the GM-Toyota NUMMI plant in California where the automakers built the Vibe and Toyota Matrix alongside one another. The Corolla’s platform served as the basis for both cars.
So, it boasts standard Toyota reliability, ease of use, and it will get over 30 mpg on the highway. Nothing bad there.
But, it’s also incredibly useful with the ability to fold all seats down for maximum cargo capacity. And as the publication rounded up customer reviews for the Vibe, the love remained. Many of the major car research sites feature reviews praising the Vibe for its attributes with four or five stars.
Was it a Pontiac? No. But, it appears GM and Toyota made a pretty darn good car.
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My long time co-worker had an orange one with the base 1.8 engine. It was slow, dull and very underwhelming. and the interior felt and looked cheap. It was reliable but did have several issues during the 75K miles he owned it. The A/C quit working, both front wheel bearing went bad and it had a persistent leak that was never remedied that I think was intake manifold related. The funny thing is that despite being the same vehicle underneath CR gave the Toyota version the usual hype and panned the Pontiac as not very reliable. And they came down the same assembly line!
It’s a Toyota Corolla hatchback four banger, not many will like any of that…It also had optional AWD on some years and many of them fell under GM’s ten year warranty…This is a bargain hunters dream…
I have a 2007 Pontiac Vibe. In June 2018 it rolled over 299,999 miles. It now has a minimum of 363,000 . I replaced the fan in about 2017, had some front in work done in 201o and of course breaks and a battery, manuel windows are getting a little tight to roll down . I had to replace the heat/ac flapper door while still under warranty and the lights went out in my radio and cd player quit within the 2nd year. Other than that this has been one great car. I Treat it like a truck so my next car will probably be a truck. IF I can find one that doesn’t look bloated and fluffy.
Hmm…I have an 04 that’s had no real repairs other than brakes etc . I bought the car in 09 & it’s now Oct 2020 as the vibe has 138,000 miles. Yes..I hear of vibes running a long time, however due to it now being almost age 17…wouldn’t it make sense to dump it before a waterpump, struts, shocks etc go out. I’d then be faced with putting bigger funds into a very old car. No rust..still looks good, though clearcoat is showing issues on hood, top of car, but not on sides of car for complete old look.
Also..when I run the defrost/heat…get cabin fumes. One guy said possible exhaust manifold, or just the manifold gasket…roughly 250 total fix. Though another said..could be catty. Converter. Po 420 code…meaning some leak, but not necessarily the c. Converter. My hunch…whoever fixes it will not knock out the 420 code. Meaning..I could have to do both repairs. Make sense to keep through winter after a likely exhaust manifold gasket fix, or dump/buy another? Any input appreciated. I put on less than 6,000 miles a year in Wisconsin + no garage .Thanks in advance
If possible, find a mechanic who has worked on a lot of Corollas / Vibes / Matrices (nee Matrixes) with the same 1.8L engine. Unlikely that the (dangerous) exhaust fumes in the cabin are coming from the converter. You can probably get another five or more years of reliable service from the Vibe. Even if you have a couple of $300-$500 repairs along the way, that still beats a new car payment.
There was even an opinion from my acquaintance, which suggests GM to continue providing the Vibe as Chevrolet. I heard Vibe wasn’t that profitable, but Matrix-based Chevy would be interesting: like, reliable and stylish successor of HHR.
I also liked Vibe itself – the only thing disappointed me was the sentence “not that fun to drive” from almost every review. Besides that, I really like it, and the car itself had everything many people would like: reliability, design, decent performance, and practicality. If Pontiac had mort time to sell 2nd gen Vibe, it could have been a decent seller I guess.
When equipped with the optional 2.4L engine (from the Camry) available on the base trim (w/o AWD) and standard on the GT, the second generation Vibe (2009-2010) actually bordered on being “fun to drive”.
I almost bought one years ago, but two things stopped me.
#1- LOUD interior. More so than other hatches I’ve driven or owned. Way to much noise coming through the rear floor.
#2- Gutless engines. The Vibe would have benefited from trying to cram the 3.5L in the AWD version.
If they would have beefed it up a little bit, it would have been the precursor to the Subaru Crosstrek, which I view as what the Vibe should have become.
I rented a 2nd gen one about 10 years ago.
Thing was a turd.
Ugly, slow, gutless, noisy.
Just awful.
Despite being essentially the same car, the Vibe and Matrix were not produced at the same assembly plant. The Vibe and Corolla were produced on the same assembly line in Fremont, CA (now the Tesla assembly plant). The Matrix was produced along with the Corolla in Cambridge, Ontario Canada.
The Vibe was built in NUMMI in Fremont, California right.
But the Matrix was built in Ontario, Canada.
We had one of the first ones. Got invited to Tarrytown Plant for Customer questions. Other than couple of badges, everything said Toyota. Had manual cause auto was dog. Hated the cladding.
Toyota Builds Excitment never was and never happened.
This was one of many mistakes GM did to squander the Pontiac performance image and what lead Pontiac to be too far gone for Bob Lutz to restore with them on the edge of bankruptcy.
So many web sites try to play a controversial game of a Monday Morning Quarterback and try to paint the Pontiacs leading up to the end as being better than they really were. History has shown different and it can not be painted over in pastels to look better than it was.
Bob was asked if GM ever considered shooting a car into space like Tesla. He said they did the moon buggy. He also said they should have shot the Aztec into the moon as the Aztec crater would have looked better than the Aztec vehicle.
Sorry but the low lights out weigh the highlights as things ground to a haul.
GM never understood Pontiacs plac3 or potential. Also Chevy seldom would sceed ground to Pontiac for any advantage. It was just poor management. Divisions should have worked together not against. GM worked better with Toyota than with Pontiac.
Encore is the spiritual successor to Vibe in that both cars filled white space utility.
Was Vibe a Pontiac? No, but like most Pontiac designs it looked good. Pontiac front facada would look so good on Chevrolet cars!
The Vibe was a hatchback based on a compact Corolla therefore the Cruze hatchback is closer than a subcompact Encore…
I owned one 5 speed manual, because the auto is to slow. I grew to hate it, it was NOT dependable and loud. The only good that came from it, is that it convinced me to never buy a Toyota!
Fantastic automobile we had one of the first. Everyone loved to drive it. The car was reliable went 230,000 miles when a six point buck took it on. Fixed it and it kept on running. Sold it because parts were becoming scarce. The thing I remember was the door seals. When closed the door it was better than my 2005 Cadillac DeVille. Asked the dealer when were they going to introduce a Cruise Wagon to replace the Vibe. Still waiting. The Vibe has a good residual value.
Its one of the most reliable cars I had up to 110k miles. It was made by toyota on the what is now tesla line so other than the skin was toyota based. And it had great mileag that even owned after 6 years some cars were still were not getting near the same MPG. But is is now what buick sells as an upgraded encore I believe or at least it seems to me as their little cross over car.
I always have a soft spot for the Vibe ever since it came out
I started seeing the Matrix/Vibe around 2004’ish. I cannot remember the last time I saw one. That Toyoda reliability is grossly overrated.
I did and still feel the Vibe was easily the better looking of the 2 and much better looking than the Corolla, but the 2 Toyodas killed it in sales. Perception and social reasons led to this and why there is talk of the BIg 3 giving up cars. There is no social gain in driving an American badge and there was and still is not much the Big 3 can do about it.
I see A LOT of Matrix and Vibes (both gens) where I live in upstate NY. What I don’t see a lot of are PT Cruisers and Chevy HHRs – both domestic competitors to the Matrix/Vibe. Have a 2003 Vibe with 78,000 miles that drives like new. They can last for 300,000 miles if taken care of.
Yes, good looking and a nice size.
Betsy aka my 04 vibe granted I think its a goofy car, but Betsy has over 300,000 miles on her now she didnt actually roll over to 300,000 she stopped at 299,999 on the odometer but she is still kicking, I also live out in bfe abd shes taking some hits from a few deer 7 to be in fact still trucking and she has an oil leak I’m driving her too she says no more
Any tips for my 04 vibe with just 138,000 miles ? I’ve wanted to sell it off and on, but no desire for a new car payment + in 11 years of owning had no repairs except brakes, hose etc. However…dread bigger repairs
Since all is original. May now have an exhaust manifold gasket issue…under 250 total fix, or could be catalytic converter..the po 420 code. Any preventive thinks tips for an 04 vibe with 138,000 miles?
As long as you don’t have any significant rust issues, your ’04 Vibe can easily go another 100,000 miles without requiring major repairs. Keep it!
Still own my 2007 vibe as a single owner. 210,000 and still kicking. Great utility car.
On multiple occasions, I impressed truck owner’s with it’s spacial storage limits with some of the things I was able to carry. The only thing that’s gone wrong with it to this point is the alternator died but that’s to be expected at this mileage. The car is starting to sound it’s age but I’m okay with that. I’ll be driving this thing into the ground. Up until the last year or so I was continuing to receive mail regarding a buy back program due to the demand of the car. I was always surprised by these because there never seemed to be a lot of hype around the car.
Hi,
Any tips for an 04 vibe owner with 138,000 miles? I posted a few replies above yours that explains my minor vibe issue, and questioning whether or not to sell the car. Thanks!
Jackie,
These cars almost always get 300,000 miles without any major repairs. The p0420 code is usually O2 sensors. Either upstream, downstream or both. Super easy fix. You can find them on Amazon or any local auto parts store for around 50 bucks. Or just live with the light and don’t replace them. Good luck.
I bought a 2003 Vibe in 2006. It’s now 2023 and Vibe has 220,000 miles. Black leather seats still comfortable, supportive, and look nearly new. My Vibe is still zippy, fun to drive, and versatile. Great for dogs, hauling mulch, and even kayaks. Has required only routine repairs for 20 years. I love this car!