Pontiac Vibe Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 1,863 consumer complaints across the 8 model years of the Pontiac Vibe (2003–2010) that have at least 5 complaints. 2009 has the most, with 528. Across all years, the part named most often is air bags (1,009 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All Vibe model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 58 | 41,050 | 8 | 981 | 50 · Typical | Falling |
| 2009 | 528 | 56,000 | 9 | 877 | 100 · More | Rising |
| 2008 | 63 | 59,000 | 4 | 802 | 17 · Fewer | Falling |
| 2007 | 172 | 65,000 | 5 | 738 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2006 | 177 | 82,000 | 5 | 641 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2005 | 301 | 82,805 | 5 | 496 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2004 | 266 | 76,000 | 7 | 394 | Not compared (before 2008) | Rising |
| 2003 | 298 | 62,000 | 8 | 366 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Air bags1,009 57%
- Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)195 11%
- Transmission and drivetrain136 7.6%
- Vehicle speed control118 6.6%
- Engine cooling101 5.7%
- Electrical system96 5.4%
- Engine65 3.6%
- Body and structure63 3.5%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2005: “The airbag in my vehicle are faulty and have not been replaced. The safety code for airbag is showing on the dashboard of my vehicle.. I was alerted to this when I drove my car to a repair garage for a smog inspection on 5/4/21. The auto manufacturer has not made any effort to correct the problem with the faulty airbags.”
NHTSA complaint #11415921, filed 2021-05, 151,515 miles2009: “Gm is great at sending out letters to get the airbag problem fixed, but the GM dealerships don't seem so willing to do the work. I contacted feldman chevrolet a few weeks ago to get it fixed. They indicated that they would need to order parts, then they would call me to schedule the repair. I never heard from them again!”
NHTSA complaint #11174970, filed 2019-02, 60,000 miles2003: “This vehicle was in an accident in december of 2009. It was totaled. I broke my sternum because the airbag did not deploy properly. This was before the recall. It was on black ice and I hit the meridian strip twice and spun out, did not hit any other vehicles. It is too late now to do anything, but I wanted to stop getting recall notices. Thank you”
NHTSA complaint #10985708, filed 2017-05, 60,000 milesOther Pontiac models
5,886 complaintsPontiac Grand AM
5,574 complaintsPontiac Grand Prix
5,411 complaintsPontiac Bonneville
1,966 complaintsPontiac Sunfire
1,139 complaintsPontiac Montana
1,053 complaintsPontiac Trans Sport
963 complaintsPontiac Solstice
728 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology