I'm over 158,000 miles and have noticed a "whirring" noise from the direction of the RF wheel over the past few days while driving the freeway. Based upon past experience with my PITA 2002 Ford Explorer, I'm thinking its the wheel bearing. Does anyone have an idea of how much longer I can ...
My current oil change cycle is 6 months at no more than the owners manual stated limit of 7,500 miles between changes for vehicles with extended trips between starts. My M-F commute is approximately 44 miles via highway so I feel comfortable teaming the Mobil 1 5-W-30 synthetic with a Purolator Synt...
WOW that is a crazy price! I just looked on http://www.car-part.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; in Michigan and used windows start at about $100 and a complete rear hatch starts at about $300 with the window and wiper and everything. Glad I can swap out anything myself ...
Safelite completed the repair on February 16th with the installation of the wiper motor, rear defrost, and wiper arm assemblies. Even after reusing the old defroster controller and wiper arm, the final bill before deductible was $1,107.36. Ouch!! That's just about half of the total maintenance/repai...
That sucks! I thought I was getting away pretty good with Safelite Auto Glass replacing the rear glass at $255.40 with my USAA discount until they found the rear wiper assembly corroded to the point where the motor and wiper arm couldn't be saved. Now I'm looking at an ADDITIONAL $626.85 for an enti...
The rear window exploded while I was driving this morning. Thankfully I had already dropped my daughter off at school, but I'm still wondering how this could have happened. The weather was cold at about 15 degrees ambient with the wind chill hovering around zero and I was driving on a normal paved r...
Thanks for the tip on replacing a license plate light bulb. By pinching the black tabs at the ends of the light assembly, I was able to lift out the whole unit then see where I could remove the white stem by turning it counter clockwise by approximately 15 degrees. For some reason, I couldn't get th...
I'm over 113,000 miles with a ticking sound and thinking about having the valves adjusted. Does anyone have an idea of how much it would cost? Is this something unique to a Toyota/GM dealership or can an indy shop do it?
In September 2011 I replaced a set of Yokohama YK520 tires that didn't last 30,000 miles with a set of Michelin Destinys. I just had them rotated at 5,700 miles and like them very much. I'm getting approximately 1-2 additional MPGs and they do better in the snow than the Yokohamas. I'm looking forwa...
Congrats on rolling through 100K miles! I just rolled over 100K on February 17th. Since buying my Little Red Wagon used in December 2007 with 67,634 on the odometer, my Vibe has been very reliable. It has lots of carrying capacity with very handy tie down points, seats 4 adults comfortably w/ gear i...
I clear my own snow, but the parts were on the driveway approach so it could possibly have been someone using my driveway to turn around. I'll take a look at the control arm, but I'm curious as to how drivable the car would be without the sway bar link.
The metal was fairly oxidized with no sign of clean metal indicating it might have just broken off. I don't think clean metal would have rusted over within 24 hours by just lying on the snow.
A few days ago I found two parts lying in the snow where my Vibe had been parked and I have no idea where they came from or if they actually dropped from my Vibe at all. Does anyone in Vibe Nation recognize these parts? I photographed them separate and joined in a manner that seemed appropriate. Tha...
I carried 12 bags of top soil in my Vibe last Saturday with no problem. I've never needed to use the optional tie down points, but I'd to try them out someday.
Thanks for the ideas and 2CarPros link. The tires were mounted correctly, but I'm going to see how much of the struts I can examine without taking off the wheels. I'm also going to check the 3 bolts at the top of the strut assembly to see if they might be loose. I've read in some other threads how t...
I'm at 92K+ on the odometer and don't believe that the previous owner ever replaced the struts or shocks (I bought the car in Jan08 at 67.5K). I'm getting a popping (unsettled) kind of sound coming from the front passenger side when firmly braking (I just had the pads/rotors and shoes replaced) and ...
I've been driving with new Wagner Thermoquiet front pads and rear shoes for a week and like them a lot. I also replaced my warped rotors with Proven Quality brand rotors and they're working great with the ceramic pads. No more wheel shudder when braking at 60+ mph!
I've had a Plantronics Model 320 for the past few years that has been excellent. Take a look in eBay or Amazon to see if you can find a Plantronics within your price range.
I went to the Vibe after Ford decided that I didn't need a hatchback in 2008. Now that Ford appears to have gotten its $%@^ together re/ small cars, I'll most likely go back to the Focus in a couple of years after my Vibe has at least 150K miles on the odometer.
My upstream O2 sensor coded P0133 about 5 times last winter at around 80K miles so I replaced it in May09 with a Bosch exact fit sensor that's seems to be getting the job done. Unless it starts coding, I'll wait until 100K before replacing the downstream sensor.
How often did you change your O2 sensor(s) before the catalytic converter went south? I've read where worn out O2 sensors can shorten the lifespan of catalytic converters.
When I took the engine cover off for the first time last year, I noticed that one of the two retainer bolts was not tightening, but the threads on the bolt looked intact. This leads me to believe that the seat within the block was somehow stripped. Does this sound possible, and if it is the case, wh...
I replaced my OEM first stage O2 sensor in May 2009 using a 7/8 inch ratchet wrench instead of the special O2 sensor socket because the fire wall was too close to the sensor. I thought about using a crowfoot socket so that I could use my torque wrench, but couldn't borrow one and didn't see the poin...
Since having the transmission fluid changed at 86,539 miles, the mystery noise has virtually disappeared and the auto trans shifts much smoother and more responsively. I'm not sure what was going on with the trans because the fluid level was always normal, but did have a slightly burndt smell. My me...
Does the "sound" kick in a certain RPM? I usually get a sound when accelerating through approx 2900-3000 RPM, but I'm not sure if it's engine-based or if there is some sort of resonance going on. I checked all the heat shields I could find and they were secure. That said, I haven't noticed...
OK, I'm back after being offline for the past week. Thanks a ton to both you for the great brake repair tips. Pljenkins,What are the torque requirements for the slider bolts?Sublimewind,How/where do I get the rotor seasoning done?
Thanks for the pad and rotor tips and links. Back in Oct08, I posted the "Brake Flutter when Braking" thread in which I learned to torque the lug nuts to 76 ft lbs. It helped, but didn't solve the problem. I know an unemployed guy, who's doing brake repair out of his garage for cash and do...
My front discs starting chirping last week at approximately 24,760 miles since March 2007 when I believe that the previous owner installed "Super Premium" Aimco rotors and Morse brake pads. The rear shoes checked OK when I bought the car at 67,634 miles in January 2008, but I'm thinking th...
I'm getting an odd "tinny" noise that starts at around 2,800 RPM and am not sure where to look for the source. Could it be the engine, the auto trans, or a vibration? Has anyone else had this mystery noise? My Vibe has approx. 83.5K miles and it's never had a tranny flush that I know of.
I'll do that. Thanks for the heads up. Did you read the post made buy Kowell on 05/30/09 in the "How long did your original Goodyear tires last?" thread? According to Kowell, GM is no longer recommending cross rotations.
I've put about 5K miles on my Yokohamas since 11/08 and still like them alot. Did you keep the same rotational direction when making your seasonal changeover from the Dunlops?
How much resistance should I be getting when taking off the old O2 sensor? It's on fairly tight and I'm a little hesitant to King Kong it after shearing off the lower 2 upper heat shield bolts. I'm squirted some Liquid Wrench around the base of the sensor and am giving it a few minutes to work.You'r...
I changed the oil w/ Castrol Syntec instead of my old reliable Castrol GTX, replaced the OEM engine belt w/ a Dayco Poly Cog belt, and attempted to replace the O2 sensor. I'm hoping that one of the Vibe Nation experts can help with a question that I posted in another thread about possibly needing a ...
The set of four Goodyear Comfortreds that were on my car when I bought it in Jan08 lasted 42,728 miles before I replaced them in Nov08 w/ about 3/32" of tread left. According the previous owner's maintenance records, the OEM Goodyear Eagles were replaced at 35,000 miles by the Comfortreds.
I just changed the accessory belt at 82K+ miles w/ a Dayco Rib (Part #5060725) belt. I didn't take off the RF tire, but was able to put an old wire hangar to good use in pulling up the belt to loop it around the tensioner pulley. That said, I doubt that I could have done it without an extra set of h...
While taking off the exhaust manifold's upper heat shield, I managed to shear off the two lower bolts (very rusty) closest to the catalytic converter. Swell! Once I'm finished replacing the O2 sensor, can I get away with using only the two upper bolts to fasten the heat shield? I idled it for about ...