Shims are on the way from Toyota.
Toyota has started shipping the metal shim that it says will fix sticking accelerator pedals on 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe models.
GM says that letters to almost 100,000 registered Pontiac Vibe owners will be mailed next week starting on February 16 with instructions on how to contact a Pontiac dealer a week later (after Feb. 22) to have steel shim installed into the accelerator pedal assembly.
Go to Pontiac.com to find a dealer. If your Pontiac dealer has closed, it’s likely there is a Buick-GMC dealer nearby since the pre-bankruptcy distribution channel was Pontiac, Buick GMC.
The shim installation, which we view as an expedient but not permanent fix, will take about 30 minutes, but customers may need to leave their vehicles with dealers for a longer period of time.
Our previous advice to Toyota owners is to request that the pedal assembly be replaced with the revised ones that Toyota is now using in production at five North American plants.
Toyota reopened those plants this week after only a one week hiatus, even though it will take months, perhaps longer, to repair the recalled vehicles that customers already own.
Toyota dealers are reportedly using the revised pedal assemblies freed up by the brief halt to repair unsold new vehicles that are covered by the recall.
Existing owners will have to wait.
Virtually all of the Pontiac Vibe models in the U.S. are sold. In Canada there are an estimated 1300 vehicles in dealer inventory.
Pontiac owners will also receive a second letter when a “remedy” is available for the recall covering floor mat interference with the accelerator pedal.
For now, Pontiac customers are urged to take out any removable floor mat and place it in the trunk of the Vibe and not replace it with any other mat. Customers who choose against taking out the removable floor mat are encouraged to check the operation of the accelerator, brake and, if applicable, the clutch pedals to assure the floor mat does not interfere with them.