The smoked glass covering the instrument panel makes it very difficult to read the vital information such as speed, etc., on bright sunny days. This poses a severe safety problem for the driver as he tries to read the vital information while driving in any traffic condition. This is an ongoing problem since I bought the car new in 2003. Both general motors in detroit and my local dealer say there is nothing they can do about correcting this fault. The incident date I listed below is when I first notice this design fault after buying the car new from the dealer.
2003 Pontiac Vibe electrical complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 23 of 23, newest first, as owners wrote them.
An overly sensitive ambient light sensor turns on the headlights and dims the instrument cluster display on a bright sunshine day if the shadow from the a-pillar falls across the sensor. The dimming of the instrument cluster display leads to an inability to read the instruments on a bright sunshine day, thus creating a potential safety hazard. From my research on this problem, this seems to be a problem with both the 2003 pontiac vibe and its sister car, the 2003 toyota matrix. Toyota has a tsb addressing the problem (el007-02), gm does not have one for the vibe.
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 with both the 2003 pontiac vibe and its sister car, the 2003 toyota matrix. Toyota has a tsb on the problem for the matrix (el003-03), gm does not have one for the vibe.
I came out one morning to start up my vehicle, which it did smoothly and without hesitation; I then noticed that my instrument panel was completely dead. The back lighting was out, the indicator needles on my speedometer, fuel meter, etc... Are none responsive. At first I thought it may have just been a problem with the fuse...so looked up the fuse diagrams in my owners manual and switched out all the fuses which could possibly result in the issue but to no success. The car runs perfectly fine and is a problem with the electrical/computer system somewhere. However, it is extremely unsafe to drive without knowing how fast your going and how much fuel you have.
Tl*the 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.
The 2003 pontiac vibe has the worst dashboard lighting of any car I have ever owned. On a sunny day it is difficult, if not impossible to read the speedometer, and odometer due to the faulty lighting. It is a dangerous situation as the driver has to take extra time to try and read the poorly lighted instruments. As to the incident date below, it happens every time I drive when bright sunshine washes out the dashboard information. I personally have not had any accidents, but the design certainly increases the chance for a driving mishap. I spoke to pontiac officials at my local dealership. They just shrug their shoulders and say that's the way the car was designed. I have spoken to other vibe owners, who voice the same complaint, as well as owners of the toyota matrix, which has the same unsatisfactory dash lighting.
My 2003 pontiac vibe engine was ruined because it ran low on oil. The oil level warning light never came on (and no other warning light came on either). Since I was 3 weeks past the end of the warranty I had no recourse with gm.
The red interior dashboard lights turn on initially when the car is started but then turn off, occasionally turning back on for a few seconds. When the lights are off the odometer, gas gauge, and all other dashboard gauges cannot be seen in daylight or at night. I noticed that this started occurring after I had the car washed and the oil changed (had not previously used this garage). It appears to be possibly a sensor problem. The only problems that it has caused is not knowing the how fast I am driving and how much gas I have. The light works that shows that the gas is close to empty. Have not taken it in to the dealer yet.
I have owned my vehicle 20 months, in that time, the headlights have failed 7 times at 3-4 month intervals beginning about 3 months after purchase, usually alternating between right and left. This was not life threatening but it could have been dangerous had it occurred while driving at night. *sc
Odometer; speed;temp and other gauges cannot be seen in any daylight conditions with or without glasses.
When the engine is started under the following conditions, the interior gear lights do not come on. (1) headlight switch is in the off position. (2) engine is started in the dark (no daylight) when the enging is started, the dashboard lights illuminate but the gear lights (p,r,n,d.l) do not. When the parking brake is released, the headlights come on (even though the headlight switch remains in the off position...this is because of the automatic ligh sensor)but the gear lights do not come on right away. There is a 30-45 second delay for the gear lights to appear. This means I am sitting in the car with the option of putting the car in gear, but the gear indicator lights are not visible. When I purchased the car, the gear lights came on simultaneously with the dash lights. Now, there is an increasing delay. I believe eventually the gear lights will not come on at all. To me, this is a safety issue. I firmly believe that whenever the engine is running, the gear lights should be visible. My dealer and general motors tell me that this is normal operation of the car and they refuse to repair it. My sister's 2004 pontiac vibe does not operate this way.
Car was purchased new 40 days ago. With only 613 miles driven, car failed to start. Driven during the day no signs of any problem. The car was parked for one hour and after that time could not start engine. Battery, shift inter-lock wiring looked fine, but starter motor had no power. Towed to dealer still awaiting service. Service department said "never had one not start!"
Regarding the automatic headlight sensor -- this sensor is located on the top left side of the instrument panel at the base of the a-pillar. On very bright and sunny days, the sensor turns the headlights on and off because of shading by the a-pillar or state inspection sticker. Depending on the angle of the car relative to the sun, this has occurred between 10 and 20 times each day that I have driven the car and occurs at all hours of the day. When the lights go on, the dashboard lights dim making the speedometer and other gauges unreadable. This is a real safety concern since I cannot see my speed under these conditions. The dealer knows of no way to disable this sensor and pontiac has not responded to my e-mails yet.
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