2004 Pontiac Vibe problems
Owners have filed 315 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Pontiac Vibe. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 33% of complaints. After that come wipers, windshield & visibility (26%) and body & structure (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 315 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 33% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 22 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 38 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 74,000 miles 170 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 28 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 25 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 17 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 23 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 28 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 12 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 10 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 8 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 8 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 6 |
| 200k+ miles | 5 |
What the data shows
Among the 170 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 74,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 106,000 miles (26 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 22 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 38 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Pontiac Vibe with enough data (136 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 pontiac vibe. While driving 25 MPH, the tires made contact with the sidewalk. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a pole. The air bags deployed and emitted flames and metal fragments. The contact mentioned that the windshield shattered. Due to the flames, the seats and headliner were completely burned. The driver and passenger sustained burns to the neck, legs, and arms that required medical attention. A police report was filed.
Hi my name is [xxx] and I am not sure if I even have a case number and I if I do I am not sure what my case number is but our home address is [xxx] and my husband and I were in a real bad car accident on february 20, 2015 and the accident happen at 7:30 pm and the accident happen on [xxx] and I am not sure weather or not if the airbag had even case all the injury's that my husband and I have to deal with now and it has been really hard on my husband and I and the rest of our family and I really feel that my…
Takata recall on 2/20/2015 my son my son was driving and daughter were traveling in a 2004 pontiac vibe north on la 1026 and was turning left into the dollar general when a pickup that was traveling south on la 1026 and t-boned the pontiac vibe causing it to go clockwise and into the ditch the pickup went counter -clockwise flipping upside down resting on top of the car. The passenger side airbag deployed but metal came out of the airbag and stuck in my daughter's right hip. It was raining at time of the wreck.
Drivers side window makes a popping sound when rolled down. My indications were identical to complaint 10245483. I determined the door strap was hitting the glass when the door was closed. I removed the strap and ground the t shaped metal as instructed in the above complaint (see my complaint #10269413). This eliminated the loud popping sound but I still had some scraping noise. I went to the dealer to get a new retaining strap. I was quoted $175.00.
NHTSA recall 14v655; GM recall 14735. In addition to media stories, I received notice from GM via fedex in mid-oct (10/23, I think). The purpose of notice was pure pr, to dupe consumers into thinking GM is on top of the recall. I called my local GM dealer (regal GMC, lakeland, fl) on 10/24. I was advised that GM hadn't even supplied the dealers with a GM recall number yet. The dealer promised to call me when they had more info. That never happened.