2003 base Vibe 5 speed manual. 176,000 miles.
I was on my way to work yesterday morning and had just accelerated up to the 40mph speed limit and 4th gear from a stoplight and suddenly the car started slowing down. The engine was running and revved higher when I pushed the gas but the transmission wasn't engaged.
The shift lever and clutch seemed normal. It shifted fine, but wasn't engaging. No odd sounds, no pops, no grinding, no play in the clutch pedal or vibrations.
I pulled over and stopped. The car was still running. Still shifted in all gears including reverse. No difference with the car on or off.
So I had it towed to a shop and explained to them what happened. They said they'd look at it and get back to me in the afternoon. The guy called about 4 and said the trans was shot and it would cost me about $4000 to replace it. I asked him specifically what it was and he said it's probably got all kinds of broken parts, shafts etc in there and
it'd cost about $1000 just to take it out and open it up to look.
Wouldn't the trans make any noise if that happened? Wouldn't the shifter or clutch be hard to move or grind?
Could it be anything else? I'm not a mechanic but the sudden failure without any previous symptoms leads me to believe it's a solenoid or linkage failure.
I really don't want to junk this car or spend $4000 if it's something less catastrophic. Does anybody know what this sounds like? I need to make some decisions about what to do today. Thanks in advance.