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Pontiac Vibe Tire/Wheel Questions

56 messages,  Last post on Oct 11, 2012 at 8:34 AM

You are in the Pontiac Vibe Maintenance & Repair Forum.

What is this discussion about? Pontiac Vibe, Tires, Wheels, Wagon

Messages Page 4 of 6

#26 of 56 Uneven tire wear by catasail

Nov 30, 2007 (5:41 am)

If you purchase a new Vibe, which is a great car. I would drive it out of the show room and then take it to the service department to have the alignment checked. I have a 2005 that started to make noise via the tires so I rotated at 5k. It got worse by 10k, rotated again. This went on to 22k when I took to dealer and said this thing is so loud you can not hear the radio. The said the tires were notched and the only way to get new tires. The tires looked to be about half worn. Had new 80k tires put on and had the alignment check. The rear was out and that was the cause of the problem. The only way to align this car is the put shims in and it will cost you over 300 dollars. Called customer relations and they will not help at all because it is a maintenance issue. They have had the car now for two days because the wrong shims were sent. The way I understand it they have to take the suspension apart put the shims in and then put it back together then check it again. Possibly many times. Pontiac/Toyota has had a problem with this cars suspension, but they willl not help you if the car is not brand new. If I were to purchase this car again, I would put it in the deal that they would check the 4 wheel alignment day one.
Talking to factory rep now, if they do not cover this is the last GM car for me.

#27 of 56 Re: Uneven tire wear [catasail] Update by catasail

Feb 04, 2008 (4:33 am)

Replying to: catasail (Nov 30, 2007 5:41 am)
Talked to Pontiac again, they will not help. It cost 300 to align the rear. They have to tear apart the suspension and put busings. Then check it and redo if not right. It came down that I told the Pontiac person that they say I did something to cause this and I say that it has been that way since day one. In the end, I will never buy a Pontiac again unless I find out that the rear suspension can be adjusted easily like it is on Nissan Sentra. Now I have to wait to see if the new 500 dollar tires that are suppose to be good for 80k make it past 22k. I am still going to write them, but probably will not get anywhere. It is a shame that they spend a lot of rebates ect, but when you get to the point on a repair that is in the gray area they would rather lose the customer.

#28 of 56 Re: Uneven tire wear [catasail] Update [catasail] by cmhj2000

Feb 05, 2008 (5:12 am)

Replying to: catasail (Feb 04, 2008 4:33 am)
While you'd like to blame Pontiac remember this is a Toyota product.

#29 of 56 any tire recommendations? ('05 Vibe) by nwroads

Mar 11, 2008 (2:57 pm)

I recently bought a Vibe in serious need of tire replacement. (surprised the previous owner was still driving on these tires. ) I've started searching through CR etc. for tires, but would appreciate any suggestions.
 
Looking for just a basic, good all-around tire that will last a decent time but not expensive. Average driver, mostly in city (freeway/city streets) driving. Handling is probably a bit more important than noise, but both would be nice. I'm in the Pacific NW: plenty of rain, not much snow, but I do go up to the mountains on occasion.
 
My Vibe is 2005 model, manual-shift, 2WD, no extras. Any recommendations would be much appreciated! Thank you.

#30 of 56 Re: Pontiac Vibe Tire/Wheel Questions [shelaroo] by sforeman

Mar 11, 2008 (5:31 pm)

Replying to: shelaroo (Nov 25, 2007 12:35 am)
Ours is a 2005 and it's 44psi. All are different. Ours is a manual. They don't make them after 2007. We also have BFG tires. I don't like them, they keep going flat. This has been the only car I've had that picks up things or the tires loose air pressure. We talked to a tire guy and he made the suggestion 205 R 60's instead of 205 R55's. They would be slightly narrower, 1/4 of an inch taller but narrower. Because you will be traveling at a higher rate of speed than your spedometer would register, you just need to keep that in mind. If you were traveling 65, you would be doing about 67. Not that much. I would rather do that. He also recommended a better tire. If you go to a good tire guy, he should also be able to help you.

#31 of 56 2009 Vibe GT speedometer by tunedup

Jul 28, 2008 (10:45 am)

Interesting, that changing tires creates such a significant speedo/odo difference. My new GT came with low-profile tires, and my speedo reads 4-5 mph fast at freeway speed. I see 65 on my speedometer when I'm actually traveling at 60. This is per three different tests: driving behind my husband as he goes 65; looking at my Tom Tom; and readings from two different dealerships.
 
Shouldn't the manufacturer have the instruments calibrated to match the tires their vehicles come with? And can this be fixed? It's a little distracting, trying to figure how fast I'm actually driving, when the dial could be off by only 2 at 35 mph or off by 6 or 7 if I'm going over 65.

#32 of 56 Re: 2009 Vibe GT speedometer [tunedup] by bigdadi118

Aug 07, 2008 (1:13 pm)

Replying to: tunedup (Jul 28, 2008 10:45 am)
Actually Honda got sued on the odometer shows more mile, not reflecting the actual mile. If the odo. reached 36,001 miles (new car warranty expired), while the actual mile is 33,001 miles (still under warranty) .... in your case, your odo. probably shows 65,000 miles while you actually drove 60,000 miles ... yours 2009 is new car, tire measurement should be spec. of OEM.

#33 of 56 LOW PROFILE TIRES ON '09 VIBE GT by crimar30

Aug 14, 2008 (6:29 pm)

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THESE TIRES CAN BE REPLACED WITH REGULAR TIRES? THE RIMS ARE 18", AND THE RIDE IS VERY ROUGH.

#34 of 56 Re: LOW PROFILE TIRES ON '09 VIBE GT [crimar30] by tunedup

Aug 15, 2008 (10:36 am)

Replying to: crimar30 (Aug 14, 2008 6:29 pm)
I have the same tires and my ride is great. I wonder if it's something else. How's your speedometer, by the way? Mine's off by 5 mph at freeway speed.

#35 of 56 Re: LOW PROFILE TIRES ON '09 VIBE GT [tunedup] by crimar30

Aug 15, 2008 (12:42 pm)

Replying to: tunedup (Aug 15, 2008 10:36 am)
What's the tire pressure in yours? Haven't noticed any error in the speedometer.

Messages Page 4 of 6

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