Please tell me your 2009 AWD Vibe does this too?!

[mysaygrace]

I'm about sick to my stomach, after a summer of spending more than $6000 dollars to get my one truck up & running again, I've had it with car repairs. Now to my despair my new 2009 AWD Vibe is making a horrible grinding noise when I back up, it sounds like it's coming from my breaks. My husband feels it's because it's so cold right now & the brakes are hard. And he told me not to use my emergency brake anymore when I park it. I called the service person & they can't get my car in until Sat. I asked if I would do more damage by driving it this way & he told me I can't tell you that without seeing your vehicle. So I'm praying I don't take it in there and they go "well you've done more damage by driving it so now it's not covered under warranty!" The service man also said it sounds like my husband is right about the brakes being hard while cold and this could just be normal & I'll have to deal with it?! I've never heard of this before. Can anyone hear tell me their experiences with the Vibe's brakes? Thank you, Lisa

[BlueCrush]

It should be covered under the bumper to bumper warranty if you drive it more or not. Good Luck!

[mysaygrace]

I could just kiss you, the best news i've had in a looooong time, thank you!

[Sublimewind]

Lisa,It "could" be a locked up rear brake, or the parking brake. Like the service guy, it's hard to say, from here... I can't see this from a 09' though, sorry... older cars/trucks that don't often get the parking brakes used will tend to NOT relese the pads IF the PB gets used.. the cables tend to fill with rust and the grease on the pads tends to dry up... AGAIN, on OLDER vehicals.. It could be something as simple as a rock in stuck in the dust shield though.. I don't think anyone will be able to tell you better, until it's serviced.... Why isn't hubby out there workin on it RIGHT NOW???

[mysaygrace]

Are you kidding me, hubby fix my car, he couldn't even screw in our towel racks straight, LOL. He's not what you would say mechanically inclined! Maybe the next model will be, just kidding! Thanks everyone for your advice!

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by mysaygrace »I could just kiss you, the best news i've had in a looooong time, thank you!Hahaha! No Problem. Payment accepted in full. Does that come with a warranty?

[GoodVibErations2004]

hey hey, careful BC, younever know if hubby's watchin the threads. lol. im guna agee with sublime and say theres a good chance its something stuck in the dustshield. ive had that problem before and it sounds like hell. bout a 10 minute fix though

[lovemyraffe]

I'll agree with something stuck in there. I got a rock stuck in there somehow. Scared the crap out of me when just randomly it starts to make crazy noises. We lifted it in the air, pulled the wheel off and the rock fell out.

[mysaygrace]

Yeah until I get to the garage on Sat. I'm going to keep telling myself it's probably just a cinder from the road in my brakes making that @#$% noise or something to that affect. They cindered like hell around here on Friday and the noise began Sat. morning, hmmmm sounds too concidental to me. Keep your fingers crossed! Somewhat looking forward to actually seeing what Zippy (my vibes pet name) can do in the snow. Never had an AWD before and only ever owned Honda's myself so this is a big change for me, hope it's a good one. Thank you everyone for the positive "vibes" on this message board too!

[KNINE]

I didn't know they still cindered the roads up there. I was born in York. My grandfather used to run the York Fair Grounds before he retired. Welcome to Vibe land.

[GenuineVibe]

I've gotten a rock stuck in my brake area before and it made an aweful metal spoon on pot sound, it scared me half to death lol. Right now my rear brakes are squealing when i brake for a quick stop, i'm hoping its just cuz they are a bit wet.

[mysaygrace]

Hey your Vibe looks just like Zippy (pet name for my Vibe), except mine has a bay horse for a friend! I just love the fact that I can lay my seats down & take it to the grain store and easliy get 200 lbs of grain in the back. Couldn't get away with that in my Honda Accord. Boy, the looks I get from the farmers around here when I pull up to get my grain in my little Vibe! Grin, Love my Vibe!!!!

[mysaygrace]

Maybe it was salt & not cinders, sure pinged off the car just the same. I'm surprised I haven't seen more 09 Vibes in York. Thanks for the welcome to Vibe land, you guys rock!

[GenuineVibe]

Quote »Hey your Vibe looks just like Zippy (pet name for my Vibe), except mine has a bay horse for a friend! I just love the fact that I can lay my seats down & take it to the grain store and easliy get 200 lbs of grain in the back. Couldn't get away with that in my Honda Accord. Boy, the looks I get from the farmers around here when I pull up to get my grain in my little Vibe! Grin, Love my Vibe!!!!My little vibe has no problem hauling my grain around for me either haha, or my blankets, tack, or just about anything else i can think of shoving in the back lol

[GoodVibErations2004]

you'll love the awd in the snow. ive got an 04 awd with brand new winter tires. i LOVE it. i work at kodak(next to a building that got demolished last year due to inefficiency). we have a HUGE parking lot and ALMOST NO cars that park there........ the other night we got a decent amount of that slippery slick snow and i decided to rip that lot apart! it was incredibly fun. but kinda hard to even prposly lose control.

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by GoodVibErations2004 »the other night we got a decent amount of that slippery slick snow and i decided to rip that lot apart! it was incredibly fun. but kinda hard to even purposely lose control.That's a good thing!

[GoodVibErations2004]

its a very god thing. although i did push the envelope a lil too hard and ended up in a front yard in my apartment complex..... lol. no harm no foul

[mysaygrace]

Okay, now I'm excited about my AWD after listening to everyone talk about theirs. Maybe now I can get to work without being the white knuckle driver. Before I got my Vibe I had to get out and lock in the hubs on our 1997 Ford F250, what a pain in the A$$. And that truck is like a freight train on skis because of how heavy it is. Only good thing because it was light a freight liner I figured in a crash I'd probably fair okay. I feel really safe driving my Vibe, gives me warm fuzzy feelings, even hubby called it our little tank last night. Just hope the tires that came with it do well in the snow! The Vibe is adorable & fiesty, I like that in a car!

[BlueCrush]

I love being able to already be across an intersection after a stop while the FWD car that was next to me is still sitting there spinning their tires...lol. I love the AWD! I just wish I could put the 3.4 V6 engine from my wife's Aztek in there. That would be the ultimate for me.

[keithvibe]

if you weren't more than 2hrs away i would help ya out. But like BC said. should be covered, and if they try to blow smoke up your, you know what. Let us know first before you give them a dame dime. there is a reason why they call them STEALERships lolYea, we still use cinders. The small remote areas still use it. My parents area they still use it.

[mysaygrace]

Gee thanks for the offer to help me out, hopefully the "stealership" doesn't try to con me. I'll let you Vibe vetrans know if they try to pull a fast one. Only good thing about being screwed over royally on our Ford truck repairs this summer I've gained a "pair" if you know what I mean. So even tho I might be a "clueless" woman walking into the garage I won't put up with any crap, can't afford to anymore. That's cool too about your Brittany Spaniels rescue thing on your post. We have three Springer Spaniels so I can somewhat relate! Thanks for you help!

[keithvibe]

good for you! Yea i have one full britt and one halfbritt/half german short hair pointerNothing better to come home to than wagging tails when you have a hard day at work.

[GoodVibErations2004]

i love my dog. but ater a long day at work i prefer a beer. lol

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by mysaygrace »Okay, now I'm excited about my AWD after listening to everyone talk about theirs. Maybe now I can get to work without being the white knuckle driver. Before I got my Vibe I had to get out and lock in the hubs on our 1997 Ford F250, what a pain in the A$$. And that truck is like a freight train on skis because of how heavy it is. Only good thing because it was light a freight liner I figured in a crash I'd probably fair okay. I feel really safe driving my Vibe, gives me warm fuzzy feelings, even hubby called it our little tank last night. Just hope the tires that came with it do well in the snow! The Vibe is adorable & fiesty, I like that in a car!Have you ever considered dedicated SNOW tires... if not, it's something you should REALLY consider... you will think that the AWD is great once you get in some snow, but AWD with snow tires is like a gift, directly from the MAN himself... Always remember, with AWD, it's not about GOING, it's about STOPPING... !!Here are some of the interesting things i've done with AWD... lol... (non-Vibe content)OK, not in snow, but fun none-the-less....lol... Short story time... The snowblower get stored in the bottom of the old barn at my parents house... it's a 30* downhill slope to the lower level about 30-40' from the road to it... Well, the snow blower needed a drive belt when it was put AWAY... so, of course, after the first big snow, they needed it... Dad got his 4WD Ford hopelessly stuck trying to get it, had to be pulled out... I told him the Subie would do it no problem.... The man was skeptical.... Enjoy the AWD...

[mysaygrace]

Holy Crap, that's quite impressive, we could really use your "car" around here when we bale hay, that's unreal! Talk about fiesty little car!Now, I just have to know ,what are dedicated snow tires? I'm not the most educated when it comes to vehicles, so please forgive me.

[keithvibe]

snow tires are just that, ment for the winter months, they don't get hard like the all season tires do. They have a much softer rubber compound than allseason tires.I have a set of snows for both cars, my awd vibe and my wifes cavalier.They cut threw the snow better, you have better traction in the snow, ice and rain with snow tires.

[Sublimewind]

Those would be Firestone WinterForce snow tires I got a few years ago.... like 3-4 now and still going strong... Nice thing about snow tires, is you use them 3-4-5 months a year and then switch, extending the lifetime of BOTH sets of tires.. To add to what Keith said... they also usually have deeper tread, and more "cuts" in the tread to bite into the snow.. The biggest thing is the rubber, as it doesn't get hard in the cold... I could go out to the car right now at 32* and mush one of the tread blocks with my thumb... try that with an all season tire and you could break a nail... lol... There are other technoligies that help make various snow tires better, but it's the rubber that really make'em special.. the rubber also doesn't like higher temps, because it gets TOO soft... lol... I tell people often, the worst snow tire is better than the BEST A/S tire in the snow.. peroid..

[mysaygrace]

Hmmmm, maybe Santa will bring me a set, LOL. I will definitely be looking into getting dedicated snow tires after listening to the rave reviews on them from you! Thank you for the advice, have a Happy Holiday!!

[Sublimewind]

That would be a great gift from Santa... Safety FIRST..

[mysaygrace]

Just wanted to let everyone know, took my Zippy (my Vibe) into "stealership" and they fixed that horrible noise at no cost. They claim my break shield plate came loose and that I probably just hit a bump or something. I said to them isn't it funny though that I had just had my tires rotated a few days before the noise started but they said it's not related. Just happy to have my car fixed! Thanks everyone for your advice & replies, hope you have a happy holiday!

[ou.grizzly]

Glad all is well now and it is great the tires were not the cause.

[Caretaker]

-----I tell people often, the worst snow tire is better than the BEST A/S tire in the snow.. peroid.. ------Sorry Sublimewind, but the Goodyear Assurance Tripletread is (by 0.1 points in the light snow category and 0.1 points in the ice category) better than the worst snow tire on the Tire Rack website survey page. Close though!!!

[zionzr2]

Quote, originally posted by maxx4me »-----I tell people often, the worst snow tire is better than the BEST A/S tire in the snow.. peroid.. ------Sorry Sublimewind, but the Goodyear Assurance Tripletread is (by 0.1 points in the light snow category and 0.1 points in the ice category) better than the worst snow tire on the Tire Rack website survey page. Close though!!! The KEY Word here is OFTEN! as in not always! So Sublimewind's rule is still valid!

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by maxx4me »-----I tell people often, the worst snow tire is better than the BEST A/S tire in the snow.. peroid.. ------Sorry Sublimewind, but the Goodyear Assurance Tripletread is (by 0.1 points in the light snow category and 0.1 points in the ice category) better than the worst snow tire on the Tire Rack website survey page. Close though!!! And Tire Rack owns their website, so they can post anything they choose..... Marketing can be a real beyoch... I'm not saying that they are dishonest... But, they CAN make you think anything they want... 0.1 of in a subjective comparo, doesn't mean much as you said...