**Updated**Rough idle

[kevera]

I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem.My vibe has 48k on it and when its idling,I don't know if I would call it a rough idle or vibration.The car drives fine but when your at a stop light,you can feel the whole car vibrate a little,Its not too bad,but was wondering about any ideas to cure this.

[hakune]

could be a lot of things but the easy things todo would be clean the MAF and change the PCV valve. some MAF cleaner and a new valve would be ony around $20there are enough guides on this site to tell you how todo it

[BlueCrush]

I wouls also change the air filter if it hasn't been done already.

[CAN-AWD-VIBE]

a few years ago the squirrel cage portion of the heater motor cracked and was causing a wicked vibration (considering it's size) that was absorbed while driving but very noticeable when stopped of if the fan was on high.I dunno maybe thats what you are hearingvibrations in cars are hard to pin down on the web

[hakune]

yepmaybe make a recording of the sound for us ?

[kevera]

I haven't cleaned the maf sensor yet and pcv valve,I will try that first.I know it is not heater related.It just vibrates on idle,say your at a stop light you can feel the car vibrating a little,but idle does not fluctuate though.I noticed it since I bought the car new,just wondering if others have had this problem,maybe someone had this happen on their car.The thing that bothers me is the low amount of killometers on the vibe.I have had other cars that run perfect for 120k with no problems.

[hakune]

all depends on driving conditions and maintenancefollow the schedule in the userguide and you'll (probaly) never have problems

[CAN-AWD-VIBE]

Quote, originally posted by kevera »I have had other cars that run perfect for 120k with no problems.There is no offence to you intended in the following- I hate that comment... I hear it all day and it pisses me off.do you realize that those same cars you had no problems with for all those k's there were hundreds of others who swear they will never buy a car from that company again because of all the problems with it.they are just machines... some are better then others.If it has such low k and it's under 3 years old- then take it in for warranty and stop worring about it.

[kevera]

And they say candians are the nicest people,well most of us are.To be fair I agree with you in a way.I service machines for a living so you don't have to explain that some have more problems than others.But having just passed my warranty,now I can't bring it to the dealer without being overcharged for it.The second,is I have another pontiac,which is a 97 sunfire gt.I bought it new and just reached 110k.I never had any major issues with it,just regular maintenance.Now the vibe,I thought buying japenese maybe I would get better quality.So with that being said The reason I asked the question was hopefully someone had experienced the same issue that I am having,and isn't that what these forums are for.So please next time,just like your mother told you,If you don't have any nice to say,then don't say it.Thanks

[hakune]

Hey i still wanna know if it turns out to be the MAF or PVC

[kevera]

I'm going to get some spray cleaner and a pcv valve ,I may not get to it today but as soon as I do,I will let you know.Anyways,thanks hakune for giving me something to try,Best regards.

[tcam]

Kevera, I experience rough idleing too occasionally. And for a long time I have sworn that I will clean my MAF Sensor and Recharge the Air Filter, but I just haven't gotten around to it. But I hope that when I do, that will be the source of the problem. Like u said though, it's nothing bad at all, it's just slightly obnoxious.

[CAN-AWD-VIBE]

wow you sure did take offense to a comment that was stated that I meant no offense to you.To be fair to you... you did not know that I am a service advisor at a Chrysler dealership. I have worked at a Ford and GM dealer before as well.I hear the "i will never buy a Dodge again" at least twice a week.I heard the same comment at ford and GM about the same amount.But the guy who will never buy a Dodge again goes out and buys a GM and is just as disappointed, or maybe just maybe he gets a good one and becomes a GM guy. (until it breaks and becomes a Ford guy).Ironically your Sunfire is a great example of this. People bought them and freaked out about the clunks and rattles and all the recalls that came out for them and a lot of them bought a Focus or SX (neon) as a replacement. But as they surely found out they are the same poop in a different pile.Now you have had good luck with you Sunfire and so have thousands of others. Others swear they are the worst car ever built.I dont mean to (removed) off a new member and maybe I would have been better off keeping my mount shut. Your right mom did tell me that but again I did not want you to take so personally, it was a comment regarding a comment I am getting tired of hearing.Good luck with your rough idle concern and I hope you have many years of problem free driving.These forums ARE for this exact purpose and I really am a nice guy... I apologize if I came off as a *******. Again it was not my intent.and a Man U fan too, possibly a leaf fan and from my hometown- it's too bad we started on the wrong foot

[Digger]

You said the car runs fine but vibrates at Idle?? If so I read in a popular mechanics article about lose or unevenly tightened engine mounts. Loosen your engine mounts, start the car and put it in gear. Then, put car back in park, turn off motor and tighten mounts. Stopped vibrations for other friends of mine.

[savedbyzero]

Has there been a recent change in your climate? I know my GT will run a little rough if the temp drops and the humidity changes. It's just the nature of these engines. They're quite smart, but take a little while to learn.The computer will learn over a few miles and even everything out for you.

[ColonelPanic]

Mine always idled like crap and I never could stand it since I'm pretty picky about the way an engine idles. Drove me bonkers! One minute it would be passable to my standards, and the next it would be twitching and shaking like a crackhead. I noticed the same thing with a Vibe that my friend used to have, his was running rough the day he drove it off the lot. I was having other problems so I did several things that I had hoped would also clear up the idle, but to no avail... Had the dealer do their fuel system cleaning / engine decarboning stuff, didn't help a whole lot but made somewhat of a difference I guess. Later on I replaced the plugs and that also didn't help. Trying to let the computer "relearn" didn't do jack either. The engine got to idling REALLY rough when in gear after the transmission was replaced, so I brought it back down to the dealer thinking they jacked up with the motor mounts or something when they tore the car apart. They couldn't find anything wrong there, but they did say the throttle body was crudded up and the engine was idling too slow... They cleaned the throttle body which helped somewhat, but it still wasn't idling smoothly to my expectations. Bummer.

[KNINE]

My car only has 7000 miles on it. It idles fine with the AC on. With the AC off it, it idles rough. The RPM's cycle from about 800 RPM to 500 RPM. I know it's still covered under warranty, but I hate waiting around the dealership while the mechanic messes with it, and the dealership is 40 miles from my house so I don't have the option of leaving it.

[ColonelPanic]

If you can readily duplicate that at the dealer, make them give you a loaner/rental. Even if they can't figure it out or find, I had a couple stints behind the wheel of the dealer's rental and they never charged me, maybe you can luck out like that.

[savedbyzero]

I'm telling you, it's just a part of these darn finnicky engines. Sucks, but I feel the benefits out-weigh the 30 secs I'm at a light with a slight jitter in the cabin.

[ColonelPanic]

There were no redeeming qualities about my Vibe's engine to help me get past the running rough thing.

[savedbyzero]

That's becuase it was a 1ZZ!

[zionzr2]

Try running a bottle of Techron Concentrate.Its a Fuel System cleaner you just pour into you gas tank the next time you fill up. It comes in a black bottle and runs typically about $5-$8 there is also a slightly larger bottle of same stuff that runs $10-$12. The smaller treats a 12 gallons and the larger treats 20 gallons. I use the smaller every 3,000 miles as the label will instruct.and you can read more about it here: http://www.chevron.com/product...shtml

[isaaclud]

I'm going to respond to this thread. My 06' base 5-speed is at the dealer NOW getting checkedout for what I described to them as random rough idling.Thing has 11,700 miles on it. Will vibrate and dip like it feels likeit wants to stall. Not all the time...SHOULD NOT HAPPEN at 11k miles though.I took it there yesterday and they said they could NOT replicatethe problem. Go figure.......So becuase me and my wife commuteto work I told them to keep it another day and let it sit and idle forabout 20min and THEN see if they can record anything happening...I predict them telling me the same thing....in that event....Here is how I'm going to deal with this issue.1.) I know the visit was logged.... I will record in my owners manualthat I took it in and it was not able to be fixed.2.) I will take it in in about 2-3 months. For the same thing. Just so thatI know when I hit 60k-70k miles on this thing thatthere was testing and therefore a papertrail...3.) I might clean the MAF if you guys hit me with a STEP-BY-STEPprocedure...which I humbly ask for4.) put up with the "random rough idling".....as long as it stays anannoyance rather than a "serious issue"that will be all

[Digger]

I would not do anything with the MAS untill you take it back in. don't let them off the hook After three trips it is good to go lemon law path.

[ColonelPanic]

I'm with Digger, you shouldn't need to do crap to your new car man... If your luck goes anything like mine, if they see that you have been taking things apart, they won't assume you have taken stuff apart to try to fix the problem... Instead they'll be blaming you for taking the car apart and in turn causing the problem, and now you want them to fix what you screwed up. If it is idling rough enough to seem like it will stall at any second, perhaps it is best to stay on the dealer about that one... Definitely get that paper trail going. If they can't get it resolved to your satisfaction, then it's time to make lemonade. Mine took 50-60k before it started feeling like it was going to stall at idle... I would have loved to have had the opportunity to pursue the lemon law route but I didn't begin to have problems until after the point where I could no longer file any claims. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if it bothers you enough, you should get it taken care of now before it gets too late and your only option is taking a hit on trade-in to fix the problems with your car.

[tcam]

Issaclud, I agree with what the others have said. but when u do get around to cleaning the MAF Sensor, it's just a simple cleaning solution that u can get at any Autozone. It should have the instructions on that bottle too.

[isaaclud]

WOW I'm stunned you cats are responding inthe manner you are....which I do reallyappreciate...I guess I'm not too too too concerned becuasethe idle dips...and is a little rough sometimes...but only occasionally...and when it does dipit feels like if it kept going, that it would eventuallystall....but it never does...anyway, I do plan on taking it back in after 5000 more miles or so....AND WHEN I DO I will sit in the car with themand WE WILL EXPERIENCE THE PROBLEM TOGETHER..... I already spoke to them about this..the VIBE is great though...I LOVE THIS CAR

[tcam]

Quote, originally posted by isaaclud »the VIBE is great though...I LOVE THIS CARno doubt about that no matter how many ticky tack, small problems this car has, I still love it too. lol

[kevera]

Okay,I replaced the pcv valve(They have 2 types for the vibe-a 16mm and a 3/8 one-mine was the 3/8 type.Anyways,I checked the spark plugs-They were ok but should be changed soon-100k my a$$.I was talking to a few other fellows on this site and they said that the throttle body carbons up and causes the rough-vibrating idle-we will see.I will update when I'm finished.If anyone has any other suggestions please feel free to post.Thanks

[meistees]

I've been having weird idle problem off and on but only right after I fill up my car... it only happens every so often the last couple months while I was at red lights the engine would run rough like it was going to stall out... today after I filled up and stopped at the red light my car stalled out..could something be in the tank be stirred up at fill up and clogging up??

[markdb]

has anyone determined a resolution to the idle vibration when stopped in drive or reverse?motor mounts, pcv, plugs?? what fixed it?

[arkania]

Having a similar issue with my car, except that it is hard to start up after fill up.From what I've been reading it can be a bad gas cap, or a problem with the purge control valve/canister. I'm going to try and replace the gas cap today to see if it helps.In combination with this my check engine light came on.

[Jharrison]

I had a rough idle at stop lights in my old car. Come to find out it was just bad gas. Once I changed gas stations I never had the trouble again. I know a few people that had the same trouble.

[POLO]

Me too i got this problems,i hope we will figure out what cause this.