Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Pontiac Vibe owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact's father owns a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. The contact stated that after her father started the vehicle, the air bag inadvertently deployed without warning. As a result, the contact's father sustained a mild concussion, and burns to the left and right arms that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer nor the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. The VIN was not available.
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V285000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
As there is a NHTSA recall notice on the 2004 Toyota Matrix for a Takata air bag risk of explosion with shrapnel, should there also be a similar notice on the 2004 Pontiac Vibe, which is practically the same vehicle and was manufactured at the same plant in CA?
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. While driving 25 MPH, the tires made contact with the sidewalk. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a pole. The air bags deployed and emitted flames and metal fragments. The contact mentioned that the windshield shattered. Due to the flames, the seats and headliner were completely burned. The driver and passenger sustained burns to the neck, legs, and arms that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was made aware that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 15V286000 (air bags) and 15V043000 (air bags). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
Takata recall on 2/20/2015 my son my son was driving and daughter were traveling in a 2004 Pontiac Vibe north on la 1026 and was turning left into the dollar general when a pickup that was traveling south on la 1026 and t-boned the Pontiac Vibe causing it to go clockwise and into the ditch the pickup went counter -clockwise flipping upside down resting on top of the car. The passenger side airbag deployed but metal came out of the airbag and stuck in my daughter's right hip. It was raining at time of the wreck. I never got anything about a recall until this summer so I never knew that it had been recalled.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. While driving approximately 40 MPH, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained lacerations on her neck and shoulder that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V043000 (air bags); however, the part needed to do the repair was unavailable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
Tl* the contact owned a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. While making a left turn at an unknown speed, the contact was involved in a front end collision with another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard where it was deemed destroyed. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. There were no injuries. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000. The VIN was invalid.
The subject vehicle became subject to air bag recall (n140491) on 7/24/14. It then became subject to a second recall (n140877) on 2/11/15. It has been over one year since the first recall, which I find unacceptable. Further, I will be replacing the subject vehicle and I will have a difficult time selling it with two open recalls. I have tried calling our local GM dealer (woodbridge, va) and while polite they have not been able to help me. So, I decided to call the GM help phone number on August 24, 2015 and asked if GM would be willing to buy back the subject vehicle because of the difficulty I will have to sell to a private party a vehicle with two outstanding safety recalls. So, far GM has not been very supportive of my request and I have not heard back from them. I am very frustrated by this foot-dragging by GM for our Pontiac Vibe. …
Takata airbag. I took my 2004 Pontiac Vibe to capitol chev in austin, tx to have the airbags replaced iac with the recall. When I got it back, the air bag warning light was flashing. I asked the service adjustor and he said it came in that way. Well, I contact GM customer service and explained to them that the car has very been in an accident or the airbags have experience any problems till now. I advised them I can prove it as the car was serviced a month prior by Firestone. Well they said they will charge me $75.00 to do a check and I said no. Finally they decided to look at it again. Well, they could not find the problem. The service adjustor said the airbag and module is not connecting to the car computer to report it ready, armed, and on stand by. They found some corrosion on several plugs but that did not clear up the problem. …
My son was driving my car and there was a passenger in the front seat. They rear ended an SUV while going about 30 MPH. Both front air bags deployed. Both boys were wearing there seatbelts and no one was injured. But the impact of the passenger front air bag shattered the windshield. It did not go completely through but the from the center of impact outward the area covers the entire passenger side, and there was glass splinters are all over the passenger seat, the dash and the passenger door. The trooper at the scene said the car was undrivable with the windshield like that. The passenger did not have any impact with the airbag. Looking from the outside of the car you can see exactly how the airbag deployed straight into the windshield. …
Related recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe vehicles equipped with a front passenger air bag assembly replaced under a prior recall. The replacement air bag may not unfold as designed during inflation in high temperature conditions, possibly resulting in the air bag not inflating properly.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the passenger air bag module, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began February 19, 2020. Owners may contact Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2002-2005 Lexus SC and Toyota Sequoia, 2003-2005 Toyota Corolla and Tundra, and 2003-2007 Pontiac Vibe vehicles.
Remedy: Toyota will notify the Toyota and Lexus owners. General Motors will notify the Pontiac Vibe owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator,…
Air bags
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015 that they are recalling certain model year 2004 Sequoia vehicles manufactured August 18, 2003, to August 19, 2004, and 2003-2004 Tundra vehicles manufactured March 18, 2003, to August 25, 2004.
Remedy: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-285 are under a Do Not Drive advisory.
Air bags
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015, that they are recalling 2005-2007 Lexus SC, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sequoia, and Pontiac Vibe, and 2005-2006 Toyota Tundra vehicles that were originally sold, or ever registered, in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, Puerto Rico, Hawaii,…
Remedy: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-286 are under a Do Not Drive advisory.
Show 2 more recalls
Air bags › Frontal
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla vehicles manufactured December 28, 2001, to May 2, 2004, 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles manufactured January 6, 2002, to April 29, 2004, 2003-2004 Avalon vehicles manufactured June 5, 2002, to December 20, 2004,…
Remedy: Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the air bag control module, free of charge. The recall began on August 24, 2015.
Air bags
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles and 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe vehicles. The supplemental restraint system (SRS) circuits are susceptible to internal shorting. The electrical short may create an abnormal current flow and increased heat which can damage the circuits.
Remedy: Toyota will re-notify their owners who have already had their vehicles repaired with a noise filter, but did not receive a new airbag control module, and General Motors will re-notify theirs.
NHTSA investigations
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited.
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
Airbag complaints in other Vibe years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2004 Pontiac Vibe?
NHTSA has 104 complaints about the air bags of the 2004 Pontiac Vibe, 39% of the model year's 266 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Pontiac Vibe airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 20V-039 (inflator module, Jan 23, 2020); NHTSA recall 18V-883 (inflator module, Dec 12, 2018); NHTSA recall 15V-285 (air bags, May 13, 2015). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2004 Pontiac Vibe airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 109,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 13 crashes, 1 fire and 19 injuries to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.