"How reliable is the 2004 Pontiac Vibe?"

"Based on 315 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Pontiac Vibe has a median complaint mileage of 74198 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Pontiac Vibe?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Pontiac Vibe is AIR BAGS, accounting for a significant portion of the 315 total complaints filed."

2004 Pontiac Vibe: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 315 complaints

315

Total Complaints

74,198mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

33,125 25th Percentile

74,198 Median Mileage

101,578 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS

103

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR

VISIBILITY

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

STRUCTURE:BODY

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

TIRES

POWER TRAIN

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"AFTER THE CONSUMER REMOVED HIS FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THE VEHICLE SLOWLY DECELERATED. *AK THE ENGINE IDLE WAS SLOW TO RETURN TO NORMAL WHEN THE ACCELERATOR WAS RELEASED. THE PROBLEM COULD CAUSE AND ACCIDENT AND RESULTED IN AN EXTENSIVE USE OF THE BRAKES. THE DEALER ACKNOWLEDGED THE PR..."

"ON MY 2004 PONTIAC VIBE, THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER IS LINED WITH A CHROME FINISH THAT REFLECTS INTO THE WINDSHIELD MAKING VISIBILITY REDUCED. RALPH NADER CRITICIZED THIS OVER 30 YEARS AGO WHEN CAR MANUFACTURES WERE USING CHROME FINISHES THAT CAUSED NOTICEABLE GLARE. APPARENTLY, PONTIAC FORGOT DRIVER V..."

"THE OEM BATTERY IN MY 2004 PONTIAC VIBE IS OF INSUFFICIENT CAPACITY FOR WINTER STARTUPS. PONTIAC INSTALLED A 310 CCA BATTERY, WHICH IS HAVING DIFFICULTY CRANKING THE ENGINE WHEN ATTEMTPTING TO START IT AT LOW TEMPERATURES (BELOW 15 DEGREES F). I HAD DIFFICULTY STARTING MY CAR AT -5DEGREES F THIS W..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28