2008 Pontiac Vibe problems
Owners have filed 68 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Pontiac Vibe. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 71% of complaints. After that come cruise control (6%) and engine (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 68 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 71% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 50,000 miles 22 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 | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 1 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 22 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 50,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 7 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Pontiac Vibe with enough data (22 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 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 2008 pontiac vibe. On april 22, 2008, while driving 35 MPH, the contact's vehicle was struck on the front passenger door by another vehicle. The driver's side seat belt failed to restrain the contact, causing her to strike and injure her head against the dashboard. The passenger received injuries to her legs. The insurance company investigation discovered that the driver's side seat belt bolt failed, which caused the seat belt to fail.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 pontiac vibe. While driving 50 MPH, the contact was involved in a head on crash with a semi truck. The air bags failed to deploy. Prior to the crash, the vehicle was taken to the dealer on four occasions regarding the ABS. When the vehicle was retrieved, the contact heard a squeaky noise and took the vehicle back to the dealer. New brakes pads were placed on the vehicle at that time. After the crash, the vehicle was towed and taken in for a diagnostic. A police report was filed.
My 3 year old son rides in a carseat that is installed using the latch system, 2 days ago he got the car's seatbelt and managed to get it wrapped around his neck when he let go of the seatbelt the seatbelt locked. When I realized what had happened I was able to pull over and after attempting to get the seatbelt to unlock without any success the seatbelt had to be cut to get it from around his neck. My son luckily came through without any permanent injury.
I have not had an accident, however when the streets are wet, my engine light goes on and the power steering goes off. This has happened twice this week and have had to leave the road because I could not steer. I took the car to ron norris dealership in titusville, florida and was told there was nothing they could do. I would hate to get hurt myself or kill someone else. What can I do?