- GM recalls 161,754 Pontiac Vibes from 2005-'08 to check for engine stalling.
- The campaign links to last week's recall of more than 1.1 million Toyota Corolla and Matrix cars from the same model years.
- GM has not yet provided a start date for owner notification.
DETROIT — General Motors is recalling 161,754 2005-'08 Pontiac Vibes to correct a problem with the engine control module that could lead to engine stalling. The campaign is linked directly to last week's recall by Toyota of more than 1.1 million Corolla and Matrix vehicles from the same model years. All three vehicles — Vibe, Corolla and Matrix — are based on the Corolla platform.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the engine control module on cars equipped with the 1ZZ-FE (LV6) engine and two-wheel drive "may have been improperly manufactured."
NHTSA said that, in some cases, "the engine may not start or the engine could shut off while the vehicle is being driven."
GM has not yet provided an owner notification schedule, but its dealers will correct the defective cars free of charge. Contact GM at 800-620-7668 or NHTSA's vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236.
Inside Line says: If you own a two-wheel-drive Vibe from those model years, call GM or NHTSA. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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hughjardon says:
01:53 PM, 09/04/2010
Hi,...I have a 2006 Vibe 78,000 miles that just had a transmission pressure solenoid, ECM module, and wiring harness from ECM to transmission replaced last week, luckily under extended warranty. Car was shifting harsh on upshifts. Code of P2716 was stored. The dealer started by replacing the transmission pressure solenoid D. Within 10 minutes of picking up the car,..check engine light and harsh shifting came back. The ECM was replaced 2 days later,..picked up the car,..and minutes later got a CE light and the same harsh upshift condition. The 3rd time back,..a chafed wire was found in the harness from the computer to the transmission. A new harness was installed and the car has been a gem since. All this and more for a 100.00 dollar deductable. I bought the car with 34,000 miles in 5/08' from a Buick/Pontiac GMC dealer here in Ct. The car up to this recent probem has never been a problem. The service manager was a real straight shooter, patient,..and stuck by me as a customer. Now that these "good" components have all been replaced,..I'm wondering if the ECM that was just installed is an updated one, or a leftover with more potential problems. After doing much research on the web, I am very educated about Toyota and it's shortcomings. After nummi-ous trips back to the dealer,..I am guessing there will be one more? I guess timing is everything,...:-(
northsparrow says:
02:35 PM, 09/02/2010
nate_brighton
Until the Great Recession Toyota was making money hand over fist without the need to discount
anything or even offer competitive finance rates. They were incredibly profitable and making factories as fast as they could to keep up with demand. There were no publicly discussed plans to close NUMMI .
While you are searching for honest disclosure from Toyota on their balance sheet at NUMMI you might
also try to tabulate the costs of tooling an empty building in Miss.
From Toyota's perspective this was a plant with a highly popular product line in mid-cycle. I am sure you will agree those are not the typical preconditions of a plant closure. The fact the Corolla was the hottest selling vehicle in America when the closure was announced really underscores the argument.
nate_brighton says:
12:13 PM, 09/02/2010
Northsparrow: Can you post a link to a reliable source that shows NUMMI was profitable? The information I've read around seemed to indicate it had lost money for years.
davedutton12 says:
09:10 AM, 09/02/2010
northsparrow, you are correct. The only thing GM about the Vibe was the front facia and taillamps. Everything else? Yup. Toyota.
Toyota = Wal-Mart Motors? Priceless! You hit the nail on the head with that one. I'm going to start using that one all the time. My neighbors have bought a new Toyota Sienna. They are pretty trashy. And the shop at Wal-Mart ALL the time.
northsparrow says:
06:33 AM, 09/02/2010
I'll try to keep this brief.
80% of the factory's production was Toyota product- Corolla or Tacoma.
When the Pontiac Vibe was cancelled the factory could have kept on humming as the Corolla was the
#1 seller in last year's cash for clunkers program and continues as one of the most popular car in America today.
However, Toyota used the end of Vibe production as an excuse to close a profitable and productive facility making the #1 small pickup as well as the Corolla. The plant was even located in Toyota's highest selling market of California. They claimed there was overcapacity in the current market.
For the people making the Corolla their 25 years of service and the billions of dollars in profits they had created counted for nothing. By COINCIDENCE this was the only unionizd Toyota facility in North America.
Just 10 short weeks after NUMMI was closed Toyota announced they would make Corollas in an empty non-union factory in Mississippi. Miraculously the market had recovered but not in time to save
the jobs of the folks who had given such loyal service and made such reliable products.
On top of this a Toyota official was quoted in the Detroit News the other day saying it was really hard to justify the production of small cars in Japan with the high Yen. This was said only 4 months after they closed an American factory profitably producing small cars!
So just like Walmart, Toyota closed a profitable, productive facilty where employees exercised their right to belong to a union. This NUMMI experience will also be used by Toyota to intimidate any other American workers even thinking of joining a union.
I respect working people including the ones who make the products I select to purchase. I have no respect for companies that abuse and intimidate their workers.
Finally, without the political activism of the UAW and their allies no foreign car company would ever have set up a single factory in the USA. With bitter irony the workers in those non-union factories are being cajoled or coerced to keep unions out of their plants and the standard of living of all factory workers is suffering as a result.
tbone85 says:
05:02 PM, 09/01/2010
I don't see how a jointly owned factory can completely close unless BOTH owners end their operations.
lions208487 says:
01:25 PM, 09/01/2010
scottyscooter; you have your facts right on buddy. Anyone one who checks on the pulications at their local law library could have figured that out, but then again most people just blog about their ideas, rather then give facts.
A toyota product manufactured by GM with issues. Guess no one saw this coming? Or did they?
scottyscooter says:
12:00 PM, 09/01/2010
"As far as Toyota is concerned, I must say a stalling recall does round out nicely with their earlier
unintended acceleration recall. I hope it costs Walmart motors a bundle or at least as much as closing down one Corolla factory (NUMMI) and opening up another in Ole Miss."
I'm a little confused by your Toyota hatred (Walmart motors?) in connection with the closing of NUUMI; isn't GM responsible for the closing of that factory? I thought that they were the ones who canceled their production agreements with Toyota and pulled out of that plant a year ago.
Maybe I have the facts wrong?
northsparrow says:
10:22 AM, 09/01/2010
According to earlier reports this issue has only manifested itself in a tiny fraction of the
vehicles listed in the recall. However, it is great to see that NHTSA is FINALLY erring on
the side of caution by expanding their definition of safety related defects to include
any type of excess stalling.
My 05 Vibe has thus far been flawless (RIP UAW 2244) but I'll be happy to have GM
provide me with a new module anyway.
As far as Toyota is concerned, I must say a stalling recall does round out nicely with their earlier
unintended acceleration recall. I hope it costs Walmart motors a bundle or at least as much as closing down one Corolla factory (NUMMI) and opening up another in Ole Miss.