Another newbie from TX......UPDATE

[sat73]

First post, wanted to say 'hi'.

Came across this site looking for info about Vibes. Seems to be a lot of knowledgeable folks here, thought I'd give ya'll a try.

I'm going to be 'inheriting' my Wife's '05 Vibe come August. She bought it new, it currently has 185K on it. Because of her current job, she's been averaging 700 - 1000 miles per week on the car for the past two years. My vehicle (not a Vibe)was older and in need of major repairs, so, we decided to trade it off when she bought her new car (Kia) leaving me with the Vibe (and giving it somewhat of a break as my commute is much, MUCH shorter). I'm not complaining, I actually like the Vibe!

So, here's some pics:





My Wife is a Mortician/Funeral Director..........




I'm not new to working on cars, just Vibes. My interests usually lie with old(er) cars (my screen name refers to my '73 Plymouth).

I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions, especially related to the engine and what I should be looking at doing to it as it approaches 200K. I'll do my best to contribute as well!

[trb]

Welcome "neighbor"! I'm in the NW side of Houston, Jersey Village area, and work by downtown. Looks like you got a nice Fusion Vibe there! Lucky you. You shouldn't have too much to do on your car, as long as you've kept up on the maintenance. Lots of people on here have 200K+, even 300K + miles on their cars with minimal repairs. Might need to look at the suspension parts/struts, etc if you haven't already to see how they are, and have you been draining & refilling the trans fluid? You should get plenty of miles from your "new" Vibe if you take care of it.

[vibrologist]

Welcome to the Vibe forum.
I am not surprised that you "actually like the Vibe". They are easy to live with. If you want to keep your wrenching abilities sharp I suggest you get a Mazda millenia or Maserati Biturbo in addition to the Vibe. I am afraid with the Vibe alone you will loose your skills.

Are you going to change that plate frame over to your wife's new car?

[sat73]

The trans fluid has been changed twice. Should I be worried?

My Wife religiously had the oil changed every 3000 miles, BUT, somewhere around 110K issues started with the oil changes. First fire of the day, the car would sound like a diesel. I'm not sure when exactly it started, I first heard it when I borrowed my Wife's car one day. I asked her how long it had been doing it, and all she could say was 'awhile'. I started doing the oil changes myself, switching to a quality filter, and slightly heavier oil. Then I switched it over to synthetic. Once I started doing the changes myself, there hasn't been anymore noise, but it still worries me a little how much damage was done.

The plate frame will eventually end up on the new car. My Wife chose orange when she bought the Vibe because Halloween is her favorite holiday. Kia doesn't have any oranges, so she went with basic black this time.

[trb]

The trans should be good if it has been changed twice. They recommend changing it every 60,000 miles, and that is when I changed my son's 06 last year. I'll probably do another drain & refill in a couple of years.

[vibrologist]

Your wife has some personality! Halloween is her favorite holiday, black is her second choice color and she is proud to be a mortician......extraordinary!

The "Diesel" noise or rough idle probably has very little to do with the oil changes. That is more likely caused by something that affected the fuel delivery. Of course we don't know if it was running lean or rich, or if the spark was affected in any way. How old are the spark plugs?

Something like this would make me clean the MAF sensor and it would make me look for vacuum leaks.
Next I would consider putting a dose of Techron Fuel System cleaner in the tank one time.

Using thicker oil may not be as good an idea as you might think:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe You hit the jackpot !!! You get to drive the Vibe & the wife a Kia. I see NOTHING wrong with that arrangement at all Awesome color too! Get involved here & visit often!

[sat73]

OK, so not the best choice of words on my part. By saying 'sounds like a diesel' I was trying to refer to the distinct sound a valvetrain makes when it has no oil. There has never been a problem with the ignition system. Never had a problem with the idle quality.

I had a similar problem with one of my other cars. Used a cheap oil filter because it was on sale (and I didn't really care for the car), engine made all kinds of clacking sounds first fire of the day. Just switching to a quality filter eliminated the noises.

Interesting link regarding oil. Haven't fully read it yet. I didn't do something stupid like switch to 20W50, just bumped it up to 10W30 synthetic from the factory 0W30.

Geez, I'm all ready learning from this site.

Thanks guys!

[vibrologist]

Interesting link regarding oil. Haven't fully read it yet. I didn't do something stupid like switch to 20W50, just bumped it up to 10W30 synthetic from the factory 0W30.

Yes, I have to read it myself again. My memory is like a cheap oil filter: it lets everything through.

[lannvouivre]

OK, so not the best choice of words on my part. By saying 'sounds like a diesel' I was trying to refer to the distinct sound a valvetrain makes when it has no oil. There has never been a problem with the ignition system. Never had a problem with the idle quality.

I'd say that if you never hear the sound again, your solution should be to reach over your shoulder and pat yourself on the back for fixing that problem because it should be ok if it never rears its head again. I had an odd sound in the front of my car a few years ago intermittently during the summer that I never heard again. I'm now an autotech student and I STILL don't know what it was. It sounded like ABS engaging, 'cept I don't have ABS.

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe John! Thanks for posting pictures of your "new" Vibe right away! It's a beaut !

[sat73]

Sorry for disappearing after such a warm welcome! It took much, MUCH longer to get into the Vibe than originally anticipated.

My Wife just wouldn't 'let go' of it.

So, as of last week (not Aug 1st as first thought), I'm finally driving the Vibe. It's been an eye opening experience. While it doesn't have as many issues as I thought it would at almost 200K miles, it does have a lot more than my Wife let on about.

Biggest issue is the throttle. Baby it around, it'll drive fine all day. Drive with a heavier foot (me), no rhyme or reason, it'll 'lurch' forward when trying to just roll back into it from having slowed down, and twice its acted as if the throttle was disconnected. Came this > < close to becoming the hood ornament of a Hummer. I thought the car had stalled, but, it hadn't. When I winged the throttle, the tach didn't move, just stayed at 1K.

For now, I'm driving it carefully, and making my laundry list of what needs to be done.

I have done two mods to it despite the issues. I removed the dash sensor to regain control of the lights, and I removed the busted up factory wheel covers (kinda gives the car a street fighter look). Hey, ya' gotta start somewhere even if it is something simple.

[lannvouivre]

Obligatory "did you do the PCM recall on the vibe yet"?

[zythr]

Hi and welcome

[sat73]

Obligatory "did you do the PCM recall on the vibe yet"?

Yes. After it was done, car started MUCH quicker, BUT, car didn't seem to have the 'snap' it used to. Stealer....er....dealer said that was normal.

[lannvouivre]

Yes. After it was done, car started MUCH quicker, BUT, car didn't seem to have the 'snap' it used to. Stealer....er....dealer said that was normal.

It's hard to tell if there actually is a change without having a way to legitimately measure. You may consider removing the glove box and looking on the PCM to make sure it's a good part number. It's the thing with four or so plugs on it in a line. If you have to mess with the position of the PCM to check the part number, I highly recommend that you disconnect the negative battery cable first.

[sat73]

Well, that was kinda weird. The PCM is mentioned in this thread, and guess what showed up in our mailbox today......a recall notice for the PCM.

Was there more than one recall?

We had one done 6 -7 yrs ago (I don't remember when exactly), and have never gotten another notice about it until today.

I'm going to check into it tomorrow.

[vibrologist]

I just got a post card today for recall 10282 POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) IMPROPERLY MANUFACTURED.

I don't know when that recall was initiated, but GM wanted me to know it's not done on my 05 Vibe.

[lannvouivre]

Woo! take it in. If yours has cracked the solder joint, it will definitely run better with the replacement. I had mine fail a couple of months after I got the car. It was replaced for free under warranty and the recall was issued a year or two afterwards.

[trb]

Woo! take it in. If yours has cracked the solder joint, it will definitely run better with the replacement. I had mine fail a couple of months after I got the car. It was replaced for free under warranty and the recall was issued a year or two afterwards.

Same thing happened to my son's 06. His car died on him twice, then a few days later, totally died. They replaced it under warranty in 2009 I think, and then we got the recall notice a bit later. The replacement was not a recalled one, so they didn't have to change anything on it. Maybe the replacement on yours was a bad one too.

[vibrologist]

My appointment is Wednesday next week.

[sat73]

I got an appointment for next Tuesday. The guy I spoke with on the phone sounded more anxious than me about getting the car serviced.

[lannvouivre]

I got an appointment for next Tuesday. The guy I spoke with on the phone sounded more anxious than me about getting the car serviced.

He doesn't want you to have a bad experience and swear off GM products, mostly, but if the PCM fails your car can just die in a bad place as well.

[sat73]

I got an appointment for next Tuesday. The guy I spoke with on the phone sounded more anxious than me about getting the car serviced.

Had the recall done today. No earth shattering differences, but there IS a difference. Car seems more responsive. Even the slightest touch on the throttle shows a response at the tach. Before, there were times, like at steady speed on the freeway, unless you made a big motion with your right foot, nothing happened. Now, while you still don't feel it, you do see the tach respond to any movement, and it does build a little speed.

I didn't drive it very far, but, it does seem to be a change for the better. I'll see how it behaves over the next few weeks.

[vibrologist]

I had my recall done today. On the way home I noticed the shifts are smoother.

[sat73]

Driving it today I noticed the shifting was better too, but, in my case, I think it may be because of the improved throttle response. Where I noticed it especially was slaloming thru traffic. Where I needed just a little more oomph, it dropped down one gear and pulled rather than two that would just send the RPM's screaming up the tach. It's almost like I have an 'extra' gear now. Make sense?

Dare I say the car is actually more 'fun' to drive?

My Wife would always just let the car build speed rather than sending the RPM's soaring. She's been driving it this way for at least 100K of its current 182K miles on the assumption 'its getting tired'.

It doesn't feel tired anymore.