KnownCarProblems2003 Pontiac Vibe Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 298 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Pontiac Vibe, most often about the visibility and wipers (26% of complaints, typically around 59,000 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about Vibe model year since 2000 and has 8 recalls.
Most common 2003 Pontiac Vibe problems
Visibility and wipers
77 complaints · 26%Half of these problems showed up before 59,000 miles. Parts named most often: glass, side/rear, power window devices and controls, windshield, defroster/defogger/hvac system.
Driver's side door glass makes loud snapping noise when glass is lowered. Sounds like something will break. Took to Pontiac dealer, and he reports that I need a new "check link" because it is interfering with the window mechanism. Cost is $130 for part and 1hr labor to install. Found odi #pe07049 to identify same…
Tl contact owns a 2003 Pontiac Vibe. He received NHTSA campaign id number: 08v162000 ea08004, component: visibility:glass, side/rear). The dealer stated that their vehicle did not apply to the recall. Eleven months later when he attempted to roll down the power windows, there was a popping and cracking noise. An…
Air bags
66 complaints · 22%Half of these problems showed up before 87,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
19 jan 2009, 2003 Pontiac Vibe was involved in a front end collision with another vehicle crossing a intersection. Air bags failed to deploy upon impact. Vehicle was towed to a salvage yard. While removing the contents, I was able to take a look at the front end, one air bag (rh) sensor was completely missed and the…
The contact owned a 2003 Pontiac Vibe. While driving approximately 15 MPH, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle and the air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a body shop and deemed destroyed. The…
Transmission
49 complaints · 16%Half of these problems showed up before 67,500 miles. Parts named most often: manual transmission, clutch assembly, automatic transmission, axle assembly.
The contact owns a 2003 Pontiac Vibe. The contact stated that while coming a stop, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics. The technician stated that the power train control module would have to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated the VIN…
My car currently has 225,000 miles on it. 3 times at approximately 70,000, 140,000, and 215,000 miles, my car stalled while driving. The first time was on a mountain road going downhill at 40mph. The second time I had just made a right hand turn at @ 20mph to get on the freeway, the third time I was going straight…
Body and structure
24 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 40,500 miles. Parts named most often: body.
Recall on Pontiac Vibe # 07273a, may 28, 2008 I own a 2003 Pontiac Vibe, which has the above recall. The recall consists of defective bolts, which attach the front door windows to the window regulator. The recall states that the defective bolts could loosen and the window may become loose and shatter. The…
2003 Pontiac viber. While driving on the intersatate today at 70 MPH no over hanging objects, no cars insight, sunroof explodes, showering glass on US, and startling US with loud nosie. Has anyone else experienced this. Thanks
Electrical
23 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 67,500 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, wiring.
Tl contact owns a 2003 Pontiac Vibe. The contact stated that the check engine light illuminated five times. The vehicle was repaired. The contact only paid for one repair because the rest were under warranty. The engine size was unknown. The current mileage is 70,000 and failure mileage was 65,000.
My car currently has 225,000 miles on it. 3 times at approximately 70,000, 140,000, and 215,000 miles, my car stalled while driving. The first time was on a mountain road going downhill at 40mph. The second time I had just made a right hand turn at @ 20mph to get on the freeway, the third time I was going straight…
Lights
18 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 26,000 miles. Parts named most often: headlights, tail lights.
: the consumer stated the dashboard lights were not bright enough during bright sunny days. The gauges were digital and unable to be read. The dealership and manufacturer determined there was no repair available since this is how the vehicle was manufactured. Updated 2/28/2006 -
Whenever the car is parked outside overnight, and the air temperature drops below about 30 degrees f, the headlights turn on with the headlight switch in the off position. This leads to a dead battery and an inability to start the car the following morning. From my research on this problem, this seems to be a problem…
Speed control
13 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 34,000 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal.
While reversing out of a parking space accelerator pedal stuck when attempting to put the vehicle into the drive gear. Then, vehicle suddenly accelerated at a high speed, went into a brick wall, then through an office window. Driver sustained a concussion/2 broken fractures in the orbit of right eye area, and a…
The problem with my 2003 Pontiac Vibe started in late december. I exited a state highway and when I got to the bottom to the ramp and started to stop at the traffic light I had trouble getting the Vibe to stop. I ws pusing hard on the brake pedal and finally got it to stop and then realized that the engine was racing…
Engine
11 complaints · 4%Parts named most often: exhaust system, engine.
I have a 2003 Pontiac Vibe with 40,000 miles and the engine threw a rod. The dealership claimed that sludge in the oil caused by improper maintenance was the reason the engine failed. I believe this is the same engine that is in the toyota vehicles that had the problem with sludge in the oil. Toyota has agreed to…
I had been having problems with acceleration on my 2003 Pontiac Vibe and I was leaving my place of business a few days after the problem started and my rpms dropped to 0 while driving approximately 35mph and then it seemed to of "caught" and I drove to where I needed to go, I took my car to the shop and once it turned…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2003 Pontiac Vibe recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An air bag that does not inflate properly increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the passenger air bag module, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began february 19, 2020. Owners may contact pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Gm's number for this recall is n192278940.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain 2003-2004 pontiac vibe vehicles equipped with a front passenger air bag assembly replaced under a prior recall. The replacement air bag may not unfold as designed during inflation in high temperature conditions, possibly resulting in the air bag not inflating properly.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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
Full defect summary
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.
Air bags
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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 ins
Air bags
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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 recacl
Full defect summary
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 necessit
Air bags: frontal
Risk: Inadvertent deployment of the air bags or the seat belt pretensioners increases the risk of an injury or crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac vibe owners will be notified by gm. Dealers will replace the air bag control module, free of charge. The recall began on august 24, 2015. Toyota owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Gm issued an interim notification to owners on march 27, 2015. The recall began on august 24, 2015. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-620-7668. Note: this recall supersedes recalls 13v-029 and 14v-147. Vehicles that had a noise filter installed as the remedy for one of those campaigns need to have the air bag control module replaced under this campaign.
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 toyota corolla vehicles manufactured december 28, 2001, to may 2, 2004, 2003-2004 toyota corolla matrix vehicles manufactured january 6, 2002, to april 29, 2004, 2003-2004 avalon vehicles manufactured june 5, 2002, to december 20, 2004, and 2003-2004 pontiac vibe vehicles manufactured january 18, 2002, to april 27, 2004. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags, side air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.
Air bags
Risk: Inadvertent deployment of the airbags or the seat belt pretensioners may increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Toyota will re-notify their owners who have already had their vehicles repaired with a noise filter, but did not receive a new airbag control module, and general motors will re-notify theirs. Dealers previously installed a supplemental harness containing an electrical filter between the airbag control module and its wire harness, free of charge. Dealers will replace the airbag control module, free of charge. The recall began on march 13, 2013. The manufacturer has not yet provided a schedule for second notices. For more information, toyota owners may call 1-800-331-4331 and pontiac owners may
Full defect summary
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 corolla and corolla matrix vehicles and 2003-2004 pontiac vibe vehicles. The supplemental restraint system (SRS) circuits are susceptible to internal shorting. The electrical short may create an abnormal current flow and increased heat which can damage the circuits. This could result in an inadvertent deployment of the front airbags and/or seat belt pretensioners.
Visibility and wipers: glass, side/rear
Risk: The door glass may separate from the window regulator, bind and shatter during operation of the power windows, causing driver distraction and/or injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger door glass bolts with newly designed bolts free of charge. The recall began on april 16, 2008 to toyota owners. The recall began on may 21, 2008, for pontiac owners. Owners may contact toyota at 1-888-270-9371 or pontiac at 1-800-620-7668.
Full defect summary
Toyota is recalling 662,178 my 2003-2004 corolla, corolla matrix and pontiac vibe vehicles equipped with power windows. The driver and front passenger door glass bolts may loosen and come off, causing the door glass to separate from the window regulator. Due to the components becoming loose and possibly rattling, an abnormal noise may be heard from the driver and /or front passenger door when operating the power windows.
Transmission: axle assembly
Risk: If the vehicle is operated in this condition, one or more of the four bolts could come loose, causing an abnormal noise from the rear axle area. In the event that all four bolts loosen completely, separation of the rear brake and hub assembly from the rear axle carrier could occur, which could lead to a loss of vehicle control.
Fix: Dealers will properly tighten the bolts. Owner notification began march 12, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact pontiac at 1-800-762-2737.
Full defect summary
On certain two-wheel drive (2wd) passenger vehicles, it is possible for the bolts that join the rear brake and hub assembly to the rear axle carrier to be loose due to insufficient tightening during the assembly process.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Side front power window shatters
Summary
For the subject vehicles, there is a possibility that the retention force of the regulator bolts which attach the front side window glass to the power window regulator may not be sufficient due to an interference of the retention nut and the bolt shoulder radius.in this condition the bolt may become loose, causing a loud noise to be generated when the window is raised or lowered.if the vehicle and the power window are continuously operated in this condition, the bolt may completely separate, causing the glass to become misaligned, and in the worse case, the glass may shatter during operation of the power window.general motors corporation (gm) and toyota north america, inc. (toyota) will cond
Side front window shatters
Summary
The subject vehicle is manufactured by new united motor manufacturing, inc. (nummi) in fremont, california.nummi is a joint venture between general motors and toyota.toyota is responsible for responding to this NHTSA investigation.toyota reports that its evaluation is incomplete at this time, however; toyota has identified two issues that can contribute to side window glass breaking.in its january 11, 2008 letter to odi, toyota stated that a majority of the reports included in this response are most likely related to the loosening of the window regulator bolts.the second issue is, less predominantly, the interference of the side window glass with the door check link....odi has received 46 co
Questions about the 2003 Pontiac Vibe
- What are the most common problems with the 2003 Pontiac Vibe?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: visibility and wipers (77 complaints, typically around 59,000 miles); air bags (66 complaints, typically around 87,000 miles); transmission (49 complaints, typically around 67,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2003 Pontiac Vibe have?
- 8 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from January 23, 2020 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2003 a bad year for the Pontiac Vibe?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about Vibe model year since 2000, with 298 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.