Quote Originally Posted by chien_fu View Post
The vibe motor draws about 35-40mA

I see that the IO pins supply 25 mA but the GPIO can supply 90mA...
What's the difference?
A single pin can put out a max of 25mA, but the entire GPIO (all output pins) can put out a max of 90mA. You could use a transistor, or you could have two pins control the motor (and hope start current would not be too high).