GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

pingber

I need to disconnect the battery to install a new headlamp bulb... Will i need a passcode for the radio? Is that little blinking anti-theft light for real?

pingber

I was removing my glovebox door on my '05 vibe, unscrewed the rod from the right, lowered the door and removed it and then, the rod and cylinder fell out ... obviously I can see where it attaches to the glove box, but have absolutely no idea where it mounts under the dash. The cylinder has two holes...

pingber

nope, not the battery ...just replaced that ...I think its coming from this thing ...(photo attached) .. any ideas what this thing is and or does? I also noticed that even after the ratcheting sound, this thing cliks/clacks until the car is thoroughly warmed up, and the heater fan seems to surge als...

pingber

Now that the temps are cold (8 this morning), I have a weird noise thats occurring on startup only ... almost like an electrical sparking, arcing or something, not the starter solenoid, starter engages fully and well, but while starter is turning, another noise, VERY rapid clicking, almost a quick r...

pingber

I just had the pads and rotors replaced on my '05 Vibe and now it smells like its burning ..I can;t locate the smell from either the left or right front, except that its just under the hood ... I think I may have had this problem last time I replaced the brakes too, but not sure ... is it possible t...

pingber

To begin with. lets just say that my dealer wants to replace the entire fan motor/housing etc ..I'm not convinved because here are the symptoms.1) fan works great, quiet on ALL speeds2) When the fan is working, switch is working too.3) Here's the problem ...after running for a while, usually in wet ...

pingber

..so here's the problem, since I purchased the car (I now have 100,000 miles), each time I change the oil, the mechanic comes ot to me and shows me the tranny fluid which is kind of gray/black, not burnt, not dark bron. Of course, he wants to put in fresh fluid. Now here's the problem ... Toyota has...

pingber

Well it turned out NOT to be the blower fuse .... the blower wasn't working ...its died before after I parked the car and it rained or was very hot. This time, I tapped the blower housing under the dash a few times and it started up again ... any ideas? Loose connection somewhere? I don't think its ...

pingber

Thanks a bunch .... and my chiropractor is sending a thank you basket of fruit to those great engineers at Pontiac.

pingber

ok, I'm an idiot , so I'm on my back, looking up at this thing ... can you give me some orientation as to where this release tab might be? pedal side, window side, seat side, cneter console side? I just can't see it ... if anyone has a photo, it would be helpful.My back will never be the same after ...

pingber

ok ... I give up, I've hired a contortionist (she was cute), a midget, etc etc ... how the &^%& does that fusebox open????? I can;t believe its location ... that's alot of confidence on the part of Pontiac that a fuse won;t blow out ... HELP (LOL) PS --- might it be easier to remove the dash...

pingber

...and one more thing .... the wheel bearings are made in China ....

pingber

You are correct about a few things ... Toyota can't service the car under the warranty, they CAN service it if you want to pay. However, I think that you do have to watch out for pre-existing conditions in that you can't purchase a warranty to cover something for which your car is sitting in the sho...

pingber

I don't know about the pressure solenoid, but I also have an '05 with 56,000 miles on it (that's right, I do 100 miles/day) ... mine was also in for possible tranny work, but it turned out to be a left front wheel bearing ... just to let you know, I think that most of the problem w/ the car stems fr...

pingber

wow ... no idea ... its not listed on the bill, just the dealership's part number ... that's all

pingber

Hey --- got the car back from the dealer today & it was the bearing .... will wonders never cease

pingber

Mine came with Eagles ... roated them religiously every oil change (convenience) ... they had feathering on the inside/outside edges on all four ... got rid of them at 30,000. Got a set of Bridgestone Turanzas ... 26,000 miles later, same problem, feathering ... and the alignment is dead-on. I think...

pingber

Hey all --- it turned out that it WAS the left wheel bearing ...grinding/crunching is all gone, just left with that good ol' Vibe tire noise.

pingber

...picked up the car this morning ... all of the crunching/grinding is gone ...only thing left is alot of tire nosie from the chopped up tire edges. So I rotated the tires and about 50% of that went away too .... Now I need to do the brakes, get an alignment, all of the usual stuff ...Oh and btw, my...

pingber

looking at the diagram and at a manual for a Geo Prizm (Corolla) ,,, also, I once did this on my older PT Cruiser ... the bearing fits into the knuckle, then the axle shaft w/ the spline slides through. the hub then fits over the spline (usually keyed somehow) .. the large axle nut tightens the whol...

pingber

Is this something I need to worry about? like being left with defective parts that are installed?

pingber

...one more thing ... the front bearings can't be repacked ... they are sealed ... maybe that's what the dealer meant? THe part is about $37 - $40 (US)

pingber

..well. I'm not too smart with cars, but this much I do know .... the hub assembly doesn't need to be replaced ... the bearing presses into the steering knuckle. The only time that the hub assm needs to be replaced is if the axle/hub has also been damaged ... from what I understand that's rare ... a...

pingber

OK, so now I have the diagram & I think I understand ... let me know if this is right ... The wheel bearing is pressed into the steering knuckle? That means that to do the job, the steering knuckle needs to be removed. Am I correct on this?

pingber

dealer just called .... they need another day ...car is now taken apart, but the NEW bearing, out of the box, is seized, so they need to get another one from the warehouse .... I'm starting to feel the insertion of a shaft ......LOL

pingber

Does anyone have a pdf that could be sent to me? The dealer is trying to explain a repair to me and w/o a diagram, I'm in the dark.

pingber

Hey Mav --- are you a service person (ie. mechanic?) --- if so, have you been reading my posts re my vibe awd with either a transfer case problem or wheel bearing problem? Could use some advice.

pingber

we've hit a few things over the past two years ... definately a curb once, a deer (don't ask ... no damage to car, just kind of ran over it?) ... assorted pot-holes (we're in N.Y. after all) ..... and the car has always had a weird problem when driving through torrential downpours where there is sta...

pingber

It would seem to be that IF it was the transfer case gears, I'd see (hear) some other kind of symptoms and that the sound when doing right/left turns would be pretty identical since the rear wheels drive together under normal circumstances on a dry road/highway speeds.

pingber

I just don;t understand why this car has so many "little" problems ...Matrix owners don;t seem to have so many problems and the cars are supposedly identical?

pingber

THis sounds like a load of dealer sh*t to me .... I've had a brake problem for almost 30,000 miles (that's right) and the dealer has yet to find it ... it now appears to have been a bad wheel bearing from the beginning days of ownership that's now gotten SO bad its become noticeable ALL of the time....

pingber

I understand the theory nehind a viscous coupling, but what exactly is in that transfer case besides the output bearing? I don;t think its the same kind of heavily mecahnical case that's in a Jeep for example? It seems that its alot simpler and less to go wrong? The reason I'm asking is that I have ...

pingber

nope --- mine is an awd automatic ... my tranny guy insists its the differential to the transfer case, but the dealer says a bearing ...

pingber

I have an '05 vibe purchased in April '05. The transfer case is stamped with a date of 01/06 near the drain plug.... how can that be?

pingber

really interesting that you posted this ...I have an 05 with 56000 miles on it (yes, 100 miles per day) ... and it was diagnosed by a local guy (who I trust) as a transmission transfer case problem. He went over the entire car, using a stethoscope and sore up and down (and still does) that is the tr...

pingber

..so I brought the vibe in to the dealer ...they called me within the hour saying its the fron left wheel bearing ...I asked them to double check it and I had my tranny man call them .. They stethoscoped where my tranny guy said to do so and they still think its the front left wheel bearing ... so $...

pingber

regarding your tranny repair --- my tranny just completely failed after 56000 miles on an '05. Its grinding, crunching etc etc so its in the dealer today for diagnosing (they're charging me for that too!) ... Of course, its not under warranty ... did your dealer pick up any of the cost of the tranny...

pingber

I'm assuming that stamping my feet, yelling/screaming won't get me anywahere ... what kind of approach should I take? I'm not looking for Pontiac topick up the whole tab (of course that would be nice), but at least 1/2.

pingber

...so do you have any suggestions as to how to bargain with the service manager? I still think that a transfer case should last more than 2 years / 56,000 miles.

pingber

The transfer case is shot on my '05 AWD Vibe .. making loads of noise and just had it diagnosed. Anyway, it has 56,000 miles on it so this certainly isn't normal. DOes anyone have any suggestions or know of any TSB's or something that can help me out of this mess? Of course its not warrantied.

pingber

My Vibe (06) has been doing this for the past 30K miles (100 miles per day) ...had it back to the dealer 2X and they thought I was crazy until I stopped in one day during a torrential downpour and insisted that they drive it and BOY did it GRIND ... and POOR stopping, definately a problem, BUT they ...

pingber

I have a 2005 vibe with about 45k miles on it ...since around 11k miles, EVERY time its really soaking wet out, the front brakes grind and are so rough that I feel that its like metal to metal and that the breakes don;t feel like they are grabbing well at all. After they dry out, everything is ok ag...

pingber

I FOUND THE TSB on the NHTSA site ... here it is for those who need it! Office of Defects Investigation Technical Service Bulletins - Search Results--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Report Date : October 23, 2005 at 06:33 PM SEARCH TYPE : VEHICLE YEAR : ...

pingber

Its an '05 ...if you have that tsb, or the tsb# it would be appreciated ... its going to the dealer tomorrow ... they keep saying its NORMAL! If I smelled that bad I'd go to a gastoenterologist!

pingber

1. comes from the front ...groaning/grinding sound2. goes away after awhile3. occurs mostly during wet weather with 3-4 passengers4. all conditions, flat and hilly5.yes6.vibeI'm glad that someone is doing this ...I experience this problem when its really raining hard, the brakes sound like the pads ...

pingber

ANyone have problems with rotten egg smells? Whew!!! What should I do??? What is it????

pingber

Have any of you had to have the front pads replaced after 15K miles? My vibe is making grinding sounds when stopping, but it doesn;t happen all of the time, sometimes gone for a day or two. Seems to be worse in wet weather ...any ideas????

Search found 47 matches