NHTSA — Vehicle Speed Control Problems

CarComplaints.com Notes: The Pontiac Vibe is the mechanical twin of the Toyota Matrix.

Both models were a joint GM-Toyota venture, manufactured together at a NUMMI production facility in Fremont, CA. Only the heating & A/C systems are different.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
46,967 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2004 Pontiac Vibe engine problems

engine problem

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2004 Pontiac Vibe Owner Comments

problem #11

Oct 212008

Vibe

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. The contact stated that when applying the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would sporadically become unresponsive. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.

- Whitestone Queens, NY, USA

problem #10

Jan 162013

Vibe

  • 66,400 miles
Plastic footrest, front floor, left side has cracked and broke free from it's retainer clips twice. The first one was replaced at 15,348 miles on 01/29/2007. The second occurance at approx. 66400 miles on 01/16/2013. This footrest has the potential to get jammed beneath the clutch, brake, and/or accelerator pedals once the plastic retainer clips fail and the pedal becomes loose on the floor. Causing a very dangerous situation if the pedal is not immediatley removed from the floor.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #9

Sep 032010

Vibe 4-cyl

  • 77,000 miles
After lightly striking a metal post while backing up in a parking lot, I put the car in drive and the Vibe took off. I hit the brake but no response (looked to see if foot on brake. It was.) the car sped up and I collided with two cars and ran into a motel wall. Air bags deployed. Car totaled.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

problem #8

Jan 102004

Vibe

  • 170,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My vehicle speed control will fail to hold a constant speed. Especially on hills and in colder weather. I replaced the speed control servo, have had the car in the shop 4 times and mechanic can't fix it. They called to a GM shop and mechanics told him this is a known issue. I see multiple complaints about this on your site as well. Perhaps a recall is in order as this is very dangerous and could cause an accident or fatality much like the pedal problems Toyota has experienced/ the car will decelerate quickly at the most inopportune times. There is obviously an issue here beyond my vehicle. Why is there no recall or similar action plan to date?

- Rensselaer, NY, USA

problem #7

Feb 072010

Vibe

  • miles
Consumer complaint is regarding a 2004 Pontiac Vibe brake and accelerator problem. Floor mats have been removed as a recall precaution but problems still persist. The consumer stated he was almost killed in a head-on collision. He some how managed to avoid a collision by turning the vehicle into a curb and an open area. The consumer stated he lightly tapped the accelerator and the vehicle rapidly accelerated. The consumer stated on several occasions, his vehicle suffered damaged due to hitting objects, because the vehicle was out of control and he had to try to avoid causing an accident. The consumer stated he has been complaining about sudden acceleration problems for the past 3 years. The consumer stated he disposed of the floor mats, but the acceleration has been going on since 2007. The consumer stated he left the vehicle idling. He heard a mild noise coming from the engine and when he left and returned, it sounded as though the accelerator was being applied.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

problem #6

Aug 012009

Vibe 4-cyl

  • 23,240 miles
Vehicle accelerated(resumed) to beyond the previous speed setting, until I disabled the speed control system.

- Schenectady, NY, USA

problem #5

Jan 052010

Vibe

  • 20,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. The contact experienced sudden acceleration in the vehicle while at a complete stop. He was advised that no complaints were filed related to the failure. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to a Chevrolet dealer and pay for a diagnostic test. The contact spoke with Toyota and was advised that they did not manufacture the vehicle. The VIN was not available. The current mileage was 3760. The failure mileage was 20,000.

- Highland Park, IL, USA

problem #4

Jun 242009

Vibe 4-cyl

  • 85,000 miles
Cruise control accelerates without any driver input. Was cruising at highway speed when the cruise control started to accelerate the vehicle without any driver input. This failure has occurred 2 times in the life of the vehicle. It is not easily repeated and nothing has been done to correct this condition.

- Troy, MI, USA

problem #3

Jul 012007

Vibe

  • 40,000 miles
Car sometimes accelerated on its own. This happened to multiple drivers of the my vehicle both while driving at about 35 mph, and when stopped at a red light. Rpms went up to about 6000 and car tried to take off. We were able to stop it by braking hard, but the car was still revving. Even shifting to neutral didn't stop the high revs. Only turning the car off completely stopped revving. I am reporting this now because it sounds very similar to the problems found in a variety of Toyota models and my car - the Pontiac Vibe is made by Toyota. The problem was intermittent but very frightening and happened at least 4 times within a two month span. There was no way to reproduce it since it was so intermittent. Even though cruise control was not on when the problem happened, after ruling out sticking accelerator pedal, pedal getting caught on the mat, etc., the dealer suspected the cruise control could be involved. The cruise control was completely disconnected for about 8 months during which time there was not recurrence. Then the cruise control computer was replaced and the cruise control reconnected and the problem has not recurred in over 2 1/2 years.

- San Rafael, CA, USA

problem #2

Jul 152006

Vibe

  • 35,000 miles
Pontiac Vibe, 2004. Was driving at 65 miles per hour on hwy with cruise control on. A car pulled out right in front of me and I slammed on the brakes. I missed the car but instead of my car stopping, it accelerated, while I was forcefully stepping on the brakes. It continued to accelerate and I was fish tailing to the point that I thought the car would roll. To stop the car, I went into the ditch and a field and it finally came to a stop. The people who witnessed it also saw the car speed up while at the same time the tires were skidding as I was braking so hard. There was no damage to the car. I brought the car to the dealer and they could find nothing wrong with it. They state they had tried to reproduce it but everything worked fine. I thought it had something to do with the cruise control so I continued to use the car but have never used the cruise since and did not experience any difficulty until recently. On wed, 11/15/09, I was in a parking lot and stepped on the brakes to let a car pass in front of me. Immediately when I hit the brakes, the car accelerated. To try and stop it I initially tried to push as hard as I could on the brake but the car continued to accelerate. I then started to shift it into neutral and let up on the brakes. The car stopped as soon as I let up on the brakes but only after I had traveled ~20 feet up an embankment. I again brought it in to the dealer who could not find anything wrong and could not guarantee it would not happen again. I will not drive it as I am now scared of what might happen. My husband and I are considering our options.

- Hibbing, MN, USA

problem #1

Aug 012004

Vibe 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
While driving on sunny days, consumer cannot see the speedometer needle. However, it is encased in black, and the needle itself is very dark red, which makes it very hard to see how fast consumer is going.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

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