2003 Pontiac Vibe Problems

Above Average Complaints

Real NHTSA owner complaints for the 2003 Pontiac Vibe.

20022004
Complaints
340
Crashes
35
Fires
0
Injuries
50
Fatalities
Recalls
6

Worst 2003 Pontiac Vibe Problems

Top 3 most-reported issues with average mileage at failure.

#160 complaints

AIR BAGS

Avg mileage:115,613 mi
Crash-related:12
#237 complaints

VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR

Avg mileage:65,795 mi
#324 complaints

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

Avg mileage:54,008 mi
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All Problems by Category

Every NHTSA complaint category for the 2003 Pontiac Vibe.

ComponentComplaintsCrashesFiresAvg MileageVolume
AIR BAGS6012115,613 mi
VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR3765,795 mi
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS2454,008 mi
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION1879,325 mi
STRUCTURE1625,672 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1565,084 mi
POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY1431,372 mi
VISIBILITY1171,583 mi
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL10446,605 mi
POWER TRAIN9123,656 mi
UNKNOWN OR OTHER8173,575 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL7100,725 mi
EXTERIOR LIGHTING787,000 mi
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION7180,895 mi
TIRES7114,200 mi
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS625,000 mi
SEAT BELTS61124,020 mi
STRUCTURE:BODY61162,817 mi
SUSPENSION5120,165 mi
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL4447,500 mi
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR450 mi
INTERIOR LIGHTING48,950 mi
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES4123,222 mi
STEERING4385,892 mi
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE341,000 mi
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL3134,000 mi
VISIBILITY/WIPER3194,483 mi
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD311,693 mi
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE254,500 mi
ENGINE2132,330 mi

Recalls for 2003 Pontiac Vibe

6 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting ~5,106,628 vehicles.

20V039000AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
~554 affected

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.

18V883000AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
~168,993 affected

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.

15V285000AIR BAGS
~1,973,468 affected

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.

15V286000AIR BAGS
~1,069,055 affected

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.

15V043000AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
~1,006,849 affected

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.

13V029000AIR BAGS
~887,709 affected

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.

Other Pontiac Vibe Years

Wider context: See the full Pontiac Vibe reliability report with year-by-year comparison and generation analysis.

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