Vibe in need of repairs

[Thestorm]

Okay so I bought my car from a used dealer in May. Car drives fine. There's a little whine in the brakes and I find myself slipping in heavy rains sometimes. So today I was finally able to take it to a mechanic, though I only took it for an oil change and free tire rotation. They would not do a rotation though because they said the front two tires need to be replaced and the back ones are my best ones and should be there to keep me from fish tailing . They also showed me the serp belt underneath . They said it may be the worst they've seen . You can see the actual belt through the leather that's stripped . And finally my brakes are at 15% but they said was the least important of repairing out of the 3. So they quoted me at $112 for the serp belt. $174 for the two tires and they want $270 to do the brakes. I don't make a lot and only get paid bi weekly so I'll have to do one at a time in the order I listed .

Also when not long after I got the car I got the dreaded check engine light. I took it to two stores to get a scan and it came up with p0741. Torque converter . Of course when I googled that it comes up with people basically saying it could be transmission and could be the end of the car . So it scared me and still does . I've been driving it a few months now and I don't notice anything wrong with how it drives. Seems to drive fine , currently the light stays off about two weeks . It will come on and stay on about one day and go back off. I notice it comes not long after if I pump gas or brake hard or something . After the mechanics had it up and looking underneath today , when I got back in it it came on . I had mentioned it to the mechanic , he said they don't do transmissions there but it could be something serious if that's the code I got and if I'm not having trouble he wouldn't worry about it if he was me unless I start having issues . Maybe I'm wrong but I didn't like that answer too much. Like I say I don't make much money , it took me a while to be able to afford money down for a car. I'm barely getting by as it is. I'm going to be paying my bank for this car for the next 2-3 years. I don't want to be a year down the road and then something catastrophic happens to the engine . Since it only comes on for about a day every two weeks I was hoping that might mean it's something not so serious and the fact that it drives fine . I don't know . I have an anxiety disorder so I'll be worrying anyway , but it's my first car that I am just barely able to afford .

[vibrologist]

We would like to know the exact model and mileage of your Vibe.

This PO741 does appear more often than I thought. I found this about it in regards to Corolla which is mechanically the same as our cars:

Erik Grever

Rep: 1

Posted: 07/06/2015
Options

I being a master auto mechanic for 27+ yrs have taken on this issue w a recent customer. The corolla is a 2007 (12/06) w 90k on it. I checked the code - (p0741) was present. I drove car on a highway road test (9.4 miles) to check TCC lock up solenoid operation. All worked perfectly. Checked vin if ECU was a recall candidate; No, it's not. Checked fluid; on a white rag it left grayish color. (Trans fluid should be red.. as it wears, brownish it becomes not grayish-Brown.) Removed trans cooler lines and flushed out cooler till it was clean. Hooked up inlet line into a 5gallon jug of fresh trans fluid, while the outlet line into an empty 5 gallon hug. Started car on lift and ran car thru it's gears until fluid was cleared of grayish fluid. Reinstalled cooler hoses. Drove car again w a pressure gauge teed into cooler lines. Also used my Verus, watched TCC solenoid operation w a lab scope that I backprobed into the ECU too see if EcU is working properly. Drove this for a (9.4 mile ) on part highway & local roads. All was good. Rechecked fluid - clean. As this point, being fair to customer, I told him too PAY ONLY FOR FLUID used and get back to me after he puts 200 miles on it. If light comes on again, then I will take another approach. Customer was pleased beyond belief with all that time spent but only paying for fluid. If after 200 miles goes by without light reappearing, then I would charge him the labor ($265)... He agreed. I will keep everybody posted if light reappears

So, how does the transmission fluid look in your car? Is it at the proper level?

Serpentine belt: you do need a new one and a new tensioner. Your belt will break soon and leave you stranded.

Brakes: you have some time. Drive in a way that you use your brakes little.

Tires: search for used tires of your size. Craigslist to the rescue. https://atlanta.craigslist.org/search/a ... stal=30263
You probably can get a set of 4 used tires for about 200. If you are lucky you may get a set of wheels and you don't even have to pay for mounting.

I suggest you get that belt taken care of right away. Then show the mechanic the quote on the PO741 and ask him what he thinks.
Also bookmark the CL search and check every day. Something will show up.

And last: I understand that anxiety disorder is difficult to deal with. I wish you the best with that.

[Thestorm]

I will get the belt replaced next paycheck probably. That's another two weeks though . Brakes I will worry about last . I know very little about cars , this is my first one . I did check transmission fluid while it was off , so maybe not an accurate way to judge . It was over the line and the fluid is a medium brown and lighter shade after wiping it with a towel. My car has about 155k right now and is an 05 vibe base

[vibrologist]

Have that ATF replaced. It should be red in color. The proper fluid is Toyota Type IV. In your case I would take off the transmission oil pan and clean it out. There are two magnets in the pan that attract metal shavings. Have those cleaned. There is probably a layer of grey sediment covering the transmission oil pan. That should be removed as well. Maybe this is all it takes to keep the warning light from coming on.

I think the previous owner did not keep up with maintenance. He or she preferred to trade it in. If you take care of these things one at the time you should be alright.

You say you will replace the belt - probably. Probably will not do. Either you replace it or you park the car. You are risking a towing charge or worse.

[Thestorm]

Thank you ! I will have someone help me with the fluid because I don't know what I'm doing . Also when I said probably get the belt fixed I meant probably next paycheck . My car payment and insurance bill have to be paid with it and just depends on how much I have left . If not, then it will definitely be fixed the paycheck after . I saw how bad of shape it was in and don't want that going out on me on the road

[vibrologist]

I saw how bad of shape it was in and don't want that going out on me on the road

Since the fibers of the belt are already showing this could happen on your very next trip.

[Thestorm]

Just an update . Auto place wanted $112 to fix my serp belt that they said was about to break . I bought the belt for $16 at O'Reillys and my cousin put it in for free in 15 minutes. It did need to be replaced but wasn't in danger of breaking like they told me . Anyway one less thing to worry about .

Oh except that I backed into a tree in my yard the other day and took out the tail light and put a dent near the gas tank so I guess I'm even on number of repairs