Pontiac Vibe
Owners filed 1,867 complaints across 12 model years of the Pontiac Vibe. The 2009 drew the most (528).
Model years12
Complaints1,867
Recalls51
Fires5
Deaths1
Which Pontiac Vibe years should you avoid?
Going by 1,867 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Pontiac Vibe years to avoid are 2007 and 2009.
- 20073.2× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (1 fire, 13 crashes, 1 death).
- 2009528 complaints, 2.4× a typical Vibe year, most often about the airbags.
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every Pontiac Vibe model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2010 | 58 | 8 | — | 5 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2009Avoid | 528 | 9 | 2 | 23 | Air Bags | Above average | |
| 2008 | 63 | 4 | — | 3 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2007Avoid | 172 | 5 | 1 | 13 | Air Bags | Fatalities reported | |
| 2006 | 177 | 5 | — | 6 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2005 | 301 | 5 | 1 | 10 | Air Bags | Above average | |
| 2004 | 266 | 7 | 1 | 18 | Air Bags | Above average | |
| 2003 | 298 | 8 | — | 27 | Air Bags | Above average | |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | Air Bags › Frontal | Routine | |
| 2001 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2000 | 1 | 0 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.