Vibe vibrations...

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salinity
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2017 11:28 am
Location: RI

Vibe vibrations...

Post by salinity »

Can you tell I just got a new-to-me Vibe (3 new topics in an hour!)...

I have a bit of the seemingly common vibration at idle (seems to be both in gear and out, mostly around 750-800 RPM). I cleaned the throttle body and MAF sensor yesterday and that did seem to help a bit. She idles right around 800 when warm after driving. No vibration at 1000 RPM+.

The front motor mount was replaced the day before I bought the car and I'm trying to determine if the others may need replacement, though that may have to wait until next spring. The vibration really isn't terrible at this point and I would hate to go through the trouble to replace the mount (particularly the rear one) for no gain. Have others experienced this vibration (is it really that common)? Has anyone resolved the idle vibration? Are there other easier things I could look at? The throttle body and MAF temperature probe (?) were pretty carbon-ed up.
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2007 Base
andrewclaus
Posts: 482
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:38 pm
Location: Golden, CO

Re: Vibe vibrations...

Post by andrewclaus »

My "new" Vibe is slightly rough at low hot idle while in gear, at around 600 to 700 rpm per the dash tach. I don't think it's supposed to idle quite that low and suspect a sensor slightly out of spec somewhere, but I'm not going to worry about that now. All other conditions are smooth enough.

Have you run injector cleaner through yet? Looked at a vacuum gauge? Replaced the PCV valve? Any excessive valve train noise?
ehoff121
Posts: 756
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 12:19 am
Location: Conn.

Re: Vibe vibrations...

Post by ehoff121 »

salinity wrote:I cleaned the throttle body and MAF sensor yesterday and that did seem to help a bit. She idles right around 800 when warm after driving.
Did you disconnect the negative battery cable before you cleaned the MAF sensor?

Your idle range sounds normal to me.
2005 Pontiac Vibe AWD - Platinum
salinity
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2017 11:28 am
Location: RI

Re: Vibe vibrations...

Post by salinity »

ehoff121 wrote:
salinity wrote:I cleaned the throttle body and MAF sensor yesterday and that did seem to help a bit. She idles right around 800 when warm after driving.
Did you disconnect the negative battery cable before you cleaned the MAF sensor?

Your idle range sounds normal to me.
I did disconnect the (-) battery terminal. All else seems ok, though the idle vibration is causing some sort of rattling / squeaking somewhere by the exhaust manifold that is quite annoying. I can stop the noise by touching the shaking exhaust, so it’s likely a heat shield or hanger or something.

I haven’t run injector cleaner through (does that stuff really work?) - may grab a bottle, though mpg seems decent at 32 combined over 2 tanks thus far.
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2007 Base
GTwannabe
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2013 4:21 am

Re: Vibe vibrations...

Post by GTwannabe »

andrewclaus wrote:My "new" Vibe is slightly rough at low hot idle while in gear, at around 600 to 700 rpm per the dash tach. I don't think it's supposed to idle quite that low and suspect a sensor slightly out of spec somewhere, but I'm not going to worry about that now. All other conditions are smooth enough.
Mine started doing this after the factory PCM recall years ago. It is way worse with polyurethane motor mounts
Kendrick Lamar agrees... Keep your Vibe alive and well...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF8aaTu2kg0
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MacGyver
Posts: 340
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2016 2:45 pm
Location: Ottawa (09 Base)

Re: Vibe vibrations...

Post by MacGyver »

On the 2003-2008 Vibe, disconnecting the battery resets the ECU. The car then idles poorly for about 60 miles, feels like it will stall at every light, then goes back to normal after it relearns the fuel trim. This is by design.
2009 Vibe Base
ehoff121
Posts: 756
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 12:19 am
Location: Conn.

Re: Vibe vibrations...

Post by ehoff121 »

If you are using the tach on the dash for RPM, read the needle from the bottom edge. The needle is about 50 RPM wide... :D

Vibration from the exhaust could be a pipe problem (loose joint, broken weld) or a cat issue (broken matrix). The hangers are rubber, so they shouldn't make any noise. The heat shields might be loose, but they don't contact the exhaust so they wouldn't stop vibrating when you hold the pipe.

Chevron Techron (gas tank) and Seafoam (intake) both help remove carbon from the system.
2005 Pontiac Vibe AWD - Platinum
salinity
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2017 11:28 am
Location: RI

Re: Vibe vibrations...

Post by salinity »

MacGyver wrote:On the 2003-2008 Vibe, disconnecting the battery resets the ECU. The car then idles poorly for about 60 miles, feels like it will stall at every light, then goes back to normal after it relearns the fuel trim. This is by design.
Interesting - I noticed today my idle seems to be idling a tick higher than before the tb & MAF cleaning (850ish) which is just outside the vibration-inducingd range. I’ve put about 120 miles or so on her since the cleaning.
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2007 Base
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