2° F and my Vibe won't start

[BaseVibeDriver]

It was 2 degrees this morning and my car won't start. The starter was not turning. My first instinct is to check the battery, which was ok (green eye). The clutch pedal safety switch came to mind. Assuming that there might be some internal lubricant in the switch that froze, I heated it with a blow dryer. Lo and behold !, the car started. I hope this doesn't happen when I'm going home.

[Vibe-rate]

Mine is normally in the garage, but it had to sit outside a few days last week. It was a little sluggish on the 10-degree mornings, but it did turn over. BTW, howdy, neighbor!

[Sub-Vibe-R]

I haven`t have this problem too. But I usualy do not use the clutch to start my Vibe in the. I use the remote car starter wh has a clutch bypass. But, everytimes I used the clutch to start, it worked perfectly(even at -5F)

[Triton]

It must have got some water on it some how. I would user that hair dryer for a while longer on it to make sure you have dried all the water from that area.

[Sub-Vibe-R]

May be condensation cause this trouble. I doubt water splashed up to the clutch pin switch.

[NovaResource]

quote:It was 2 degrees this morning and my car won't start. The starter was not turning. My first instinct is to check the battery, which was ok (green eye).That "green eye" is not a good indicator of the battery condition. Test the voltage with a multimeter.If you don't have a multimeter try turning on the headlights and high beams. If they are on and strong, the battery is probably good.If you know where the starter is and what it looks like, try hitting it with a hammer a few times (seriously). Not real hard but not little taps either.

[Pump233ca]

My Vibe barely turns over....for the first time since I`ve been driving or owned a car , this is the ifrst car I have to plug in..the "WIMPY" 350 cranking amp battery is no where sufficient enough for old man winter..wonder will Gm subsidize my cost of a more efficient battery.....the guys in Nummi should have sent these cars to great white north first.

[2fatty]

Interesting...-26C and my car turns over no problems. Although I must say I wish the car would start with less cranks if you know what I mean.

[NSimkins]

It was -4F this morning and I had no apparent problems starting the Vibe. I agree, normal temps above 40F, it will only crank 1 or 2 times but this morning it took about 4 slow cranks. I didn't have any distrust that it was not going to start, but it's unnerving when compared to normal operations. I've been slacking on buying a DieHard (or equivalent) replacement for some time now just for reassurance purposes.As BaseVibeDriver stated about his clutch pedal safety switch, that was one of my first suspicions as well when he had mentioned that.

[2fatty]

What I find really un-nerving in this weather isn't the extra cranking, its the initial rpm idle rate. 2000+ on these really cold days.

[Sub-Vibe-R]

My neightboor has a brand new Nissan Altima and his car had hard time to start this morning but my Vibe started without trouble.

[2fatty]

I spent 2hours last night helping my buddy try and get his 2001 Saturn going. No luck at all. I ended up giving him a run down of how to heat up this engine compartment with a light bulb and blankets (ah the things I learned driving my student beater car).

[Stang2Vibe]

On really cold mornings, mine has had to do some extra cranking too. I doubt that any part of the clutch switch froze, however, the switch is notoriously sensitive and you have to mash the clutch all the way to the floor to start the car. Also, many posts here have noted that the increased thickness of winter floormats has caused problems with the clutch switch.quote:I hope this doesn't happen when I'm going home.No problem. Just take the hair dryer with you and plug it into the dash!

[Sub-Vibe-R]

If the trouble is coming from the clutch pin switch, when you'll try to start the engine, you will hear only 1 little clic, coming from the glove box. It is the cumnputer relay. If the starter crank, the trouble is not with the clutch pin switch.

[drb22]

quote:What I find really un-nerving in this weather isn't the extra cranking, its the initial rpm idle rate. 2000+ on these really cold days.A dealer told me this initial high idle was designed to warm the car faster - you think he was pulling my leg?

[NSimkins]

quote:A dealer told me this initial high idle was designed to warm the car faster - you think he was pulling my leg?No, he isn't pulling your leg.. it's normal for these engines.Here are some threads with more information:http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id ... ad?id=1038

[ragingfish]

Mine cranks more than I would think a car would, and some of the cranks sound weak...but it has always started without a problem. I always start it, go inside, have breakfast for 10-15 minutes, by the time I get back outside, it's all nice and toasty inside...plus I put the rear grid on so any ice/snow falls off, and blast the frontward defroster/defogger so the windshield clears. It's a system, but it works! I do this with all my cars...beats freezing my (removed) off and waiting for the heat to kick in...Anyone besides me notice how AWESOME the heat is in this car? It gets so hot, it hurts! I LOVE IT!!!

[robdog]

I don't know what you did to make your heat work so good. The heat in my Vibe is really bordering on terrible. I had it looked at and they said it was normal for these. It takes a very long time to take the chill out of the cabin. The air really never gets real hot until I hit the highway for quite a while. I always warm my car up for at least 10 minutes every morning...

[Frosty]

quote:The air really never gets real hot until I hit the highway for quite a while. I always warm my car up for at least 10 minutes every morning...I have had cars that actually cool off in the winter while they are idling. There is no benefit for idling the car before you drive away. Driving moderately will warm it up faster, save gas, and pollute less.see http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=2168 and other posts on maintaining cabin temperatures.

[Frosty]

quote:I was wondering also if GM has winter tested the Vibe at the Kapuskasing Winter testing centre in Northern Ontario...???Anyone from that area around that would know>????Old Man Winter would be our closest deligate from GenVibe. Would any lurking GM people know?Wouldn't that coast to coast media challenge indicate the confidence that GM had in the Vibe's winter prowess? It was Feb 26 though so the coldest of the winter has pretty much past by then.

[MJN2]

I've been having the same sort of issues up here in Northern IL. Even though I keep my Vibe garaged, it still starts really hard when it's cold outside. Got to go out soon, incidentally, and it's snowing. Should be fun with the 17" tires *sigh*

[ragingfish]

quote:I don't know what you did to make your heat work so good. The heat in my Vibe is really bordering on terrible. I had it looked at and they said it was normal for these. It takes a very long time to take the chill out of the cabin. The air really never gets real hot until I hit the highway for quite a while. I always warm my car up for at least 10 minutes every morning...Well, today it was about 15-20 F out, I went out, started the car, put the fan on high, the heat to hottest, set it to defrost mode, activated the rear grid, went inside, messed around for about 20 minutes. When I went outisde, it was SO hot in the car! I can't explain it, but this is the only car I've ever had that actually had killer heat...it's wonderful.My parents Grand Prix had a heat problem for the longest time...they could never find anything wrong. Finally, they found some service bulletin that applied to GMC trucks that involved the heat core, checked it, and sure enough, that was the problem. Granted, this is a toyota, but stil, never hurts ot have them throughly check the core out, if there is a legitimate heat concern. As for cold feet, I know it sounds obvious, but check to be sure your mat hasn't shifted upward and blocked the vent. Before I discovered the hooky things that hold it in place, I had the mat shifting all the way up...when my feet weren't getting warmer, I realized the mat had obstructed the vent. Go figure. We tend to always overlook the obvious.But I will admit, the under dash vent is not well designed...it seems to shoot air straight out towards the seat rather than down towawrds the floor...but, all in all, I have no heat complaints.

[pmh013]

I haven't had any trouble with mine starting (even yesterday when it was -50C with the wind chill), but I do plug mine in. Always throws good heat, I aim the ducts at my steering wheel until my hands start to burn (but it's a good pain!!)I would also like to know if this car was tested at Kapuskasing ... I'm starting to think that the Vibe was not designed with Soviet Canuckistan (aka Canada) in mind ... what kind of outside temp sensor only goes to -30??!!??My $0.02

[ragingfish]

wow, i wouldn't think the sensor had a minimum temp...lol..

[pmh013]

The outside temp sensor has a min & max -- -30C to +50C (-22F to +122F). I'd rather have a lower bottom end than a higher top end.