No O/D light on dash when I press the button.

Stereo, security systems, vehicle electronics, and electrical-related discussions
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crs59
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2014 5:42 pm

No O/D light on dash when I press the button.

Post by crs59 »

Hi, i just bought a 2006 Vibe with 93,000 miles form a dealer in Wisc. I will be the second owner.
I noticed that when I press the O/D button on the shifter that the light on the dash does not come
on to show that you disengaged the OD. The dealer said it is always in over drive, which makes sense.
But when I drove other Vibes, the light would go on when I pressed the button on the shifter. Is this
anything to worry about, he said that the light is probably not working. What I don't know is, since I
cannot see a light on the dash, how will I know if it is in over drive or not? Also if I press the button
and nothing happens at all is that a problem, I feel like the button on the shifter does nothing at all
right now. The dealer just down played it, so should I be concerned? I have never had a car that even
had an O/D button to disengage it. Most cars usually are always in OD, any advice would be great, thanks?
crs59@ameritech.net
beemerphile1
Posts: 505
Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:12 am
Location: NE Ohio

Re: No O/D light on dash when I press the button.

Post by beemerphile1 »

Put the car in gear normally,
drive down the highway at 50 - 70 mph,
push the OD button.

If you feel the transmission downshift and engine RPM increase, all is good and the bulb is burned out. If the car does not downshift there could be other problems.
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2009 Vibe base 1.8L auto towing 2009 Aliner Sport hardsided pop-up
lannvouivre
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Location: Texas yay

Re: No O/D light on dash when I press the button.

Post by lannvouivre »

crs59 wrote:he dealer said it is always in over drive, which makes sense.
You're correct, it SHOULD disengage when you press the button and show an O/D OFF indicator in I think the spedometer display. The Vibe starts with it on automatically, but sometimes you want it off. If you were wondering, overdrive in automatic transmissions makes the torque converter housing lock up and drive the output shaft directly at a 1:1 ratio. It looks like O/D is 0.981 for the Vibe's MU4?

Anyway, once you confirm via beemerphile's suggestion whether O/D on/off is working, we can continue diagnosis if necessary.
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crs59
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2014 5:42 pm

Re: No O/D light on dash when I press the button.

Post by crs59 »

Thanks, I will try that tomorrow on the way to work, I usually don't take the highway but
there is an area for about a mile that has a 55 mile speed limit. I will try it there, I hope it's just
the bulb, thanks again.
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Water boy
Posts: 398
Joined: Thu May 29, 2008 12:29 pm

Re: No O/D light on dash when I press the button.

Post by Water boy »

Mine quit working 2-3 years ago for no obvious reason.
The button makes no change in transmission or bulb status.

Don't really care since I can't come up with a situation that I need that "feature" as Bill Gates would say.
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crs59
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2014 5:42 pm

Re: No O/D light on dash when I press the button.

Post by crs59 »

Sorry for the late reply, but I just had too much going on lately. I did try going over 50 MPH
and nothing happened when I pressed the button. So I am assuming that the O/D button
does not work. I did not feel any change at all, almost as if I never press it at all. I guess it
really doesn't matter since it does run well, I guess it would really suck if it was always
disengaged. I have read online that the cable that attaches to the button might be loose
or not connected but I would have to take the shifter column apart to see if that is the case.
Not sure that it's worth the effort? Any suggestion would be appreciated, otherwise I will let it
be and just leave it alone for now?
NascarXprt
Posts: 4797
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:38 pm
Location: San Antonio, TX

Re: No O/D light on dash when I press the button.

Post by NascarXprt »

most likely the button's wires have been cut or severed. My 06 was like that when i took off the shifter knob. as far as i can tell, this is not a major issue, all it does is not allow you to turn off your O/D.
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