2003 Pontiac Vibe consumer reviews

I bought my GT Vibe used with 58,000 miles on it and now have 120,000. As I write this, I am having a hard time even thinking of what I have had wrong with this. I changed the clutch at 80,000 miles, new battery, new plugs at120k, but that's about it. I change the oil regularly, but that's about it. Recently I had the check engine light come on and my mechanic thought it might be time for a new catalytic converter, but he changed the plugs, and ran some sea foam into the vacuum lines, and the light went off and hasn't been on since. Love the style, love that it's a six speed. I'm six two, and have plenty of leg room. Cargo space is enourmous. I get roughly 27 mpg combined city/hgwy and my record is 31. The paint is fading, but the car is 11 years old and in the Texas sun. I wish GM still made these. I am looking at buying a Subaru Crosstrek and giving this to my son, but I hate to give it up. Great car!

I purchased a 2003 Vibe new. The color is 'Envy' yes, you hardly see this color anywhere in 'VibeLand'. I had quite a few $$ adding up on my old GM Credit Card and wondered what GM vehicle would I purchase given I'm generally a Honda/Toyota buyer. Well, when I saw the Vibe, it was easy. Nice Pontiac styling and Toyota underneath. The car now has 175,000 miles with only three non-maintenance items replaced. The diverter motor for inside/outside air, the tensioner for the belts, and valve cover gasket. I replaced all three myself and have also been pretty religious about doing the routine maintenance (myself). Oil every 5K, brake fluid/coolant swapped every 2 years, and transmission fluid replaced every 30K (just the pan). This car is not a luxury car, but very solid mechanically and I would venture to say she will run another 100K miles fairly easily. Using no oil, and runs like new. Pretty amazing and versatile car!! Love it!

I have owned this car for about 7 years. When I got it - it had 35k miles... Today it has almost 180,000. Took really good care of it- Replaced the Battery,,, Water Pump,,, New Tires-- Normal stuff. Love the hatchback- Great legroom and fits a "Larger Curvey Girl ". Great Gas Mileage.. My biggest complaint is how Loud it is inside the car with limited sound insulation. It will be a great car for my 16 year old to Drive... Only thing now is that I have to look for a new car... Ugh.

I bought a 2003 Vibe in the beginning of March this year (2011) and so far this car has been great. I did put freon on the low side so I believe their is a leak somewhere. Other than that I have had no problems yet and I drive about 13-14000 miles a year. I average 33 mpg and I drove to Gulf Shores and got 42 mpg. I highly recommend this car!

I LOVELOVELOVE this car. I purchased my Vibe three and a half years ago, it had high mileage ( 108k mostly highway miles) and I've put about 60k more on it since I've had it. From the beginning I drove it to the East coast and we actually slept in the back (with the seats folded down) when we got too tired to drive anymore! It handles long road trips and short city stuff equally well. I have repeatedly gotten 38mpg in this car. The lowest mpg I've had is 25mpg. I have hauled a full size dryer and washer in the back of this car, I've put full sized bikes; a 53" flat panel TV; an entire set of wrought iron patio furniture; and a stacked washer/dryer set in the back of this car. People are always surprised when my car is able to haul as much as it can. I love the rear hatch window that opens independently of the rear hatch door, and the 60/40 split seats, with the front passenger seat that folds down are awesome. I also really like the hard plastic in the cargo area, it makes cleaning (after hauling) much easier. I have even stuck my son back there after muddy soccer practices (lol). As far as performance goes, it is fairly responsive. It's not the most powerful car I've driven, but it's able to handle speed pretty easily, I don't feel like it's struggling to reach 80+mph. Handling in this car is nice. It's so easy to park in ridiculously tight spaces, which is great for parallel parking in the city. I like that the drivers seat is able to raise up a bit, but sometimes the steering wheel feels like a stretch to reach. The display for the radio was half faded and hard to read, so I had it replaced with an aftermarket stereo. Overall, I have had very little that has needed to be done, other then routine maintenance on this car. Unfortunately I got hit by a drunk driver (in a Hummer) so I'm now in the market for another Vibe! Everyone walked away from the accident, so I guess I have even another praise for the Vibe is that it's pretty darn tough.

I bought my Vibe because i took a job 50 miles from my home and needed economical transportation. Got it used, and have put over 50,000 miles on it with almost zero repair costs. Regularly get 32 miles per gallon, and if i'm being good (say a steady 60 to 65 miles per hour) I've gotten 36 mpg. I will buy another Vibe when the time comes, but according to some of the reviews I've read here, that might be awhile--great news!! I had never owned a Pontiac before (rarely ever owned an American brand). Now I am really sad that Pontiac is gone. Maybe if I'd learned this lesson sooner, Vibes would still be rolling off the assembly line.

Bought it new, put 120K on it so far. With the exception of a window rattle (which was covered in a recall), the only things I've ever done are routine maintenance. The interior has held up fantastic for a 7 year old vehicle... the only noticeable wear is the driver's floormat. Best car I've ever owned, and I've owned quite a few!

Wanted an economical car. Just passing 209,000 miles and this car has come through with flying colors. Inexpensive to buy, inexpensive to own. Reliable. Ahhhhh, just what I wanted. (Yes, I know it has a toyota motor.)

I currently have a Mercedes E320 and Prius. I have owned expensive cars. I consider the Vibe an excellent car for a guy who is 6" 1' and 300 lbs. I fit perfectly in the front seat and wished that more cars were as comfortable for the driver. It has been very reliable and economic to mantain. The inside dimensions should be the templet for other car manufacturers

I have had 2 Accura Integras, a Honda Civic, and a Acura TL but none of them have been as good a car as this 2003 Vibe has been. I was saddened they shrunk the Vibe down for the original 2003 launch design. Then GM hit me again with the announcement that they are no longer continueing the Pontiac brand. Pontiac and Saturn were the only two stylish brands GM had and had they given them a little more attention. Instead of putting all their money into the gas gizzling SUV's and trucks of GMC and Chevrolet, GM should have paid more attention to the only thing they had that could compete with the Asian imports. I do feel the reason this Vibe has been such a good reliable car is because it was engineered by Toyota but had the brand continued, it could have had other joint ventures and had a chance to learn how to make all their cars and trucks look less like clunky oversized vehicles with cheap plastic interiors and more like stylish market leaders, like they were in 70's. Too bad. If you have not already done so, go get the recall on the windows fixed. Since I did it is like I have brand new window motors. If you have one of these cars you know, it is just awesome. N