AWD underpowered for cold climate?

[pmh013]

See 'calling all cold weather drivers' for the background on my little saga.I want to hear from AWD owners. How cold is it where you are? Have you had any problems with your Vibe being underpowered, downshifting on the highway? This thread will probably become fodder for what may become a lawsuit.

[samsvibe]

When the engine is not up to operating temperature, the car won't rev pass 4000 rpm. So, be careful when you merge on to the freeway when the engine is cold.

[pmh013]

right, but my car does this after several hours of highway driving

[Project Shadow]

Have you tried a winter front? When i have driven my Vibe (not AWD, sorry) in -30 or colder, the engine temp does not rise up to its normal position no matter how long I drive it. Power seemed fine but mileage seemed to drop considerably!

[pmh013]

hey, that makes 3 SK Vibe owners!!! I've had cardboard in the front since January... not pretty, but it serves a purpose. The temps are lower than they were in July-Sept, but the cardboard hasn't fixed the problem. Thanks for the thought, though!! What are you getting for mileage with yours? 5 spd or auto?

[red]

today fairbanks is experiencing gusts up to 30 to 35mph which brings our chill factor down to -45 below zero and my awd is shifting pretty good with no issues on either flats or in the hills..have the gm reps call the local fairbanks dealer- Aurora Motors at 1-907-459-7000 and ask them about any issues w/ the vibes here in town, pmh013 or have them call the anchorage dealership - Alaska Sales and Service- a new member - nytmare-works for them and he has a abyss awd- and see what issues they might have encounter....anchorage has gusts up to 60-65mph with a base temp of 0* ( i bet their wind chill is around -60* below zero). that dealerships ph# is 1-800-478-9641. maybe these dealerships can help you with your issue with your vibe or at least give the gm guys some more info

[pmh013]

Thanks Red ... I've got the DSM's email, so I think I'll send her the gist of your message.

[pmh013]

quote:We should start a AWD Club. Now that would be nice. Ya, and set up courses to go through... big fluffy snowbanks, piles of foam blocks, big mud puddles. Kinda moto-cross meets family sedan

[Project Shadow]

PMH013; I have the 5 speed and am averaging 35 MPG city/highway. In fact even all highway driving doesn't improve this. My last tank only came to 29MPG which made me curious about the quality of some gas stations product. The 29MPG tank was during the -30+ days and hopefully that was the cause. I am now at 300kms with 5/8 of a tank left which looks like I should pass 35 MPG this time. Have you been on the Yellowhead highway lately?

[Project Shadow]

that's 29 MP Canadian gallon. Our gallon is 4.54L while I think yours is 3.73L. So in US MPG it is less, more like 24 MPG US.

[Sub-Vibe-R]

By doing conversion between miles and KM and liters in gallon.Stange you're confused, it to avoit this we convert them.

[pmh013]

Holy confusion!!km = 1000 metres, world-wide1 mi = 5280 ft, world-wide1 L = 1000 mL, world-wide1 US gallon = 4 quarts = 3.785 L1 imperial (Canadian) gallon = 4.8 quarts = 4.546 LSo, on my last tank of gas, I got 10.07 L per 100 km OR 23.3 MPG (US) OR 28 MPG (IMP). Either way I don't think it's that great.

[NSimkins]

Off topic anyone?

[Project Shadow]

I unfortunately grew up in the times when we were switching from IMP to metric. I have learned most units both ways. To make it worse, in engineering tech. we had to cross back and forth between these two systems ALL THE TIME, the professors did their best to trick you into giving the wrong answers due to conversions.

[Kevtim10]

Got my AWD at the end of December and its been below freezing ever since. I have had no problems and with 4,000 mi on it already the mileage has ranged from about 22mpg to as high as 29mpg. The mileage is definitely affected by the temperature - the worse mileage was when it was below zero for a few days. So far its been the best new car I've ever owned!

[Kevtim10]

Abyss with Charcoal lower accent, 16" aluminum wheels, side airbags, moon and tunes, power group value package. My brother-in-law bought one a few days after me .... same as above except Frosty with charcoal lower accents. Both love the car .... great quality! Both purchased the Vibe rubber floor mats ... also good quality and well worth their money!

[SublimeVibe]

Hello, I have owned my Vibe since Sep 02 and it has been a very reliable car since then I did get very poor gas mileage at first but now it has gotten alot better being from the North it got down to -65 with the windchill this winter and I had not one problem with the car when I had plugged it in atleast 2 hrs before trying to start it, the power issue is one I like to talk about ,the car with the AWD should have been aleast 140-150hp being that it has all 4 wheels to power.

[pmh013]

You're not the only AWD owner here that has issues with the HP rating. For me, I don't care that much, as I am just highway driving; not towing or anything extreme.I do think that the car has finally been repaired. I had a blocked catalytic converter that didn't set off the CEL or give off any codes, which is why it took GM 5.5 months to finally determine the problem.Hoping that this catalytic converter will do better than the OE one...