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Pontiac Vibe Power Train Clutch Assembly Safety Report | Aug 23, 2005
Reported on Aug 23, 2005
| I HAVE A 2003 PONTIAC VIBE GT. I EXPERIENCED CLUTCH SLIPPAGE/FAILURE AT 30,000 MILES. I CONTACTED GM (FILE NUMBER 1-357754321) AND EXPLAINED THAT I TOOK THE CAR TO GM DEALER AND WAS SHOCKED TO FIND THAT A) MY CLUTCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT 30,000 MILES AND B) IT WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AS IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR . THE COST OF THE REPLACEMENT WAS ROUGHLY $1400 AND WHEN I COMPLAINED TO GM I WAS TOLD, VERY NICELY, THAT IT WAS UP TO MY DISCRETION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT I APPROVE THE DIAGNOSTIC ($700) AND SUBSEQUENT REPAIR . OF COURSE, NOT REPAIRING THE PROBLEM COULD RESULT IN A SAFETY ISSUE AS THE PART BECOMES MORE WORN. I HAVE ENCOUNTERED SEVERAL VIBE GT OWNERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR PROBLEMS ... ON YOUR WEB SITE ALONE, 5 OF THE 15 POSTINGS REGARDING THE VIBE COMPLAINED OF SIMILAR PROBLEMS. ANOTHER SITE HTTP://FORUMS.GENVIBE.COM/ HAS SEVERAL POSTINGS THAT ADDRESS THE ABOVE PROBLEM. I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS FLAW IN THE DESIGN OF THE VIBE CLUTCH AND COULD POTENTIALLY BECOME A SAFETY ISSUE IF THE CLUTCH FAILS ON AN INEXPERIENCED AND/OR UNAWARE DRIVER ... GIVEN THE FACT THE GM MARKETS THE VIBE TO COLLEGE AGE STUDENTS THIS SCENARIO IS VERY LIKELY. I AM AN EXPERIENCED MANUAL TRANSMISSION DRIVER, HAVING OWNED 3 (INCLUDING THE VIBE) AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT ANY OF THEM HAVE NEEDED A CLUTCH REPLACEMENT BEFORE 80,000 + MILES. *NM | |
| Make: | Pontiac |
| Model: | Vibe |
| Manufactured by: | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. |
| Year: | 2003 |
| Was a crash reported? | N |
| Was an injury reported? | 0 person(s) were injured. |
| Was a death reported? | 0 person(s) died. |
| Was a fire reported? | N |
| Location: | WEST HOLLYWOOD CA |
| Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): | |
| Mileage: | |
| Speed: | |
| Number of cylinders: | 6 |
| Vehicle type: | |
| Vehicle fuel: | GAS |
| Was a police report filed? | N |
| Tire size: | |
| Dealer name and location: | |
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