NHTSA Safety Recalls
2003 Pontiac Vibe Recalls
The 2003 Pontiac Vibe has 8 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on January 23, 2020.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2003 Pontiac Vibe. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 8
- Owner complaints
- 298
- Crashes reported
- 27
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
in complaints
frontal crash, no overall star before 2011
On a 2003 Pontiac Vibe, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
8 recalls on the 2003 Pontiac Vibe
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 20V039000
- Reported
- January 23, 2020
- Vehicles affected
- up to 554
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2004 Vibe
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 18V883000
- Reported
- December 12, 2018
- Vehicles affected
- up to 168,993
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2004–2007 Vibe, 3 other models
Air bags
- Campaign
- 15V285000
- Reported
- May 13, 2015
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1,973,468
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash, injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2004–2007 Vibe, 3 other models
Air bags
- Campaign
- 15V286000
- Reported
- May 13, 2015
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1,069,055
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash, injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2004–2007 Vibe, 3 other models
Air bags: frontal
- Campaign
- 15V043000
- Reported
- January 28, 2015
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1,006,849
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2004 Vibe, 2 other models
Air bags
- Campaign
- 13V029000
- Reported
- January 30, 2013
- Vehicles affected
- up to 887,709
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2004 Vibe, 1 other model
Visibility: glass, side/rear
- Campaign
- 08V162000
- Reported
- April 10, 2008
- Vehicles affected
- up to 662,178
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury
- Same campaign
- also 2004 Vibe, 2 other models
Power train: axle assembly
- Campaign
- 02V074002
- Reported
- March 11, 2002
- Vehicles affected
- up to 2,701
- Same campaign
- only the 2003 Pontiac Vibe
2003 Pontiac Vibe complaints by year
NHTSA has received 298 owner complaints about the 2003 Pontiac Vibe, the newest on September 14, 2026. Of these, 27 describe a crash (9%); owners reported 35 injuries.
In complaints about the 2003 Pontiac Vibe, the component group named most often is the visibility (25%), followed by the air bags (22%) and the power train (16%).
1 of the 2003 Pontiac Vibe's 8 recalls also concerns the visibility.
Where 2003 Pontiac Vibe owners gave the mileage (190 complaints), the median was 62,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Visibility74
- Air Bags66
- Power Train49
- Structure24
- Electrical System23
- Exterior Lighting14
Complaints received, by year
| 2002 | 9 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 30 | |
| 2004 | 26 | |
| 2005 | 18 | |
| 2006 | 14 | |
| 2007 | 28 | |
| 2008 | 36 | |
| 2009 | 17 | |
| 2010 | 15 | |
| 2011 | 8 | |
| 2012 | 5 | |
| 2013 | 15 | |
| 2014 | 20 | |
| 2015 | 21 | |
| 2016 | 8 | |
| 2017 | 10 | |
| 2018 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 7 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2026 | 1 |
Complaints about the 2003 Pontiac Vibe peaked in 2008, when NHTSA received 36. 33% arrived between 2002 and 2006, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2003 vehicles, the 2003 Pontiac Vibe drew 2.5× the complaints of the median Pontiac Vibe year in the same window: 2nd highest of the 8 ranked years.
That makes 2003 one of the Pontiac Vibe years to avoid by our method.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: none before 2011
- Frontal: 5/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 4/5
The 298 complaints about the 2003 Pontiac Vibe are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Pontiac Vibe by model year
Other 2003 Pontiac models
Newest record on this page: September 14, 2026. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted