Manual transmission issues

juggler311 · Post by **juggler311** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:34 pm

Hi everyone. I posted this in the Maintenance Bay forum but like one looks busier, and I am hoping for some advice about this...It's starting to make the whirring sound again. It almost sounds like heavy wind noise or an exhaust leak coming from under the passenger floorboard. It only happens under load, and goes away immediately without gas, or with the clutch in. My 04 Vibe MT has 113,000 miles on it and I replaced the original trans last year in April at about 91,000. I opted for a used one with 55,000 miles, so my current trans now has about 75,000 miles. I thought this noise was normal when I first bought the car last year, but it got worse (louder) pretty quickly and ended with a blown tranny. The noise was gone after the repair.I was wondering (should it fail again) (%$#*!) what your preferred course of action might be.Do the Corolla and Matrix manual transmissions have the same problems? I tried to look around but didn't find anything conclusive.Is a 6 speed possible? Would I need a new (possibly problematic) clutch? It was new last year.What did you do? How did it work out?I love my car! What's the deal with this part?!Thanks!

prathman · Post by **prathman** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 12:17 am

Quote, originally posted by juggler311 Â»Do the Corolla and Matrix manual transmissions have the same problems? I tried to look around but didn't find anything conclusive.Is a 6 speed possible?Can't see why the Corolla/Matrix would be any different. When the Vibes and Corollas go down the assembly line together at NUMMI they just grab the next transmission from the stack.There was a report earlier from someone with a Matrix who had the dealer replace his 5-spd manual and he accidentally got a new 6-spd by mistake. So the two transmissions appear to be directly compatible.

juggler311 · Post by **juggler311** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 4:23 pm

prathman:Is this a working solution? Would I need a new clutch all over again too? And will it be a pain in the neck eventually? Anyone got a bunch of miles on their GT with an aftermarket clutch?? Anyone else done this swap lately? I've always wanted a 6 speed. I did a search and read some things, but I'd like a testimonial. I saw that going from a 5 to 6-speed adversely effected gas-mileage. I was hoping it would increase! I only get 34 or so on the freeway, but I get 36mpg everyday driving (at least, in the summer) mostly country roads. I wish 5th was geared higher!

Mr GoLucky · Post by **Mr GoLucky** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 4:27 pm

i replaced my clucth after 50k miles, it completely went out on me, i haven't had any problems since, i have a 03 6 speed

juggler311 · Post by **juggler311** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 4:31 pm

Quote, originally posted by Mr GoLucky Â»i replaced my clucth after 50k miles, it completely went out on me, i haven't had any problems since, i have a 03 6 speedNice! How many miles now?PS. and what kind of gas mileage do you get??

Mr GoLucky · Post by **Mr GoLucky** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 4:39 pm

i'm at 56k and i get around 30 on the highway

juggler311 · Post by **juggler311** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:45 am

Quote, originally posted by Mr GoLucky Â»i'm at 56k and i get around 30 on the highwayOh yeah. I forgot you had GT engine, too...I wonder how the 6-speed would do with my 1.8

Mr GoLucky · Post by **Mr GoLucky** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:49 am

is yours an 03?

prathman · Post by **prathman** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:36 am

Quote, originally posted by juggler311 Â»I wonder how the 6-speed would do with my 1.8I don't think it would have much of an effect on fuel economy. Don't have the gear ratios handy right now, but AIRC the 6-spd just gives you gears that are more closely spaced rather than giving you a higher top gear.Clutches don't have a good reputation for longevity in the 6-spd GT/XRS models, but my guess is that's linked more to the higher power and shifting at 8000 rpm to enjoy 'lift' rather than to any inherent difference between the 5-spd and 6-spd transmissions. If you enjoy shifting and want the extra engine responsiveness from a close ratio transmission then look for a 6-spd, otherwise stick with the 5. Hopefully the noise will turn out not to be a major problem and you can drive many more miles with your current gearbox.

juggler311 · Post by **juggler311** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:14 pm

Quote, originally posted by prathman Â» If you enjoy shifting and want the extra engine responsiveness from a close ratio transmission then look for a 6-spd, otherwise stick with the 5. My main concern at this point (even before fuel economy) is getting a gearbox that will LAST. I still owe a bit of money on my Vibe, and can't afford to replace the tranny every couple years.I wonder if anyone has had a 6-speed tranny fail like the 5-speeds seem to.

prathman · Post by **prathman** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 3:40 pm

Quote, originally posted by juggler311 Â»My main concern at this point (even before fuel economy) is getting a gearbox that will LAST.With one replacement already and signs of trouble on the second I can certainly understand your concern. But I'd note that Consumer Reports still rates the Vibe as excellent in reliability in the 'Transmission - Major' and 'Transmission - Minor' categories for the '04 and up models, indicating that less than 1% of owners reported a problem over the last year. Of course many of the owners probably have automatics, but there are clearly also many owners of manual transmissions who are not experiencing any issues. But I know that's not much comfort when you're part of the 1% instead of the 99%.Our '06 5-spd Vibe is still too young to make any judgment on the transmission reliability, but I've been reasonably satisfied with the one in our previous NUMMI product - an '87 Nova. The manual trans. was trouble-free for the first 190 kmiles but since then it hasn't wanted to stay in 5th. Still runs fine in the other gears though and fuel economy is good even while highway cruising in 4th (45+ mpg on trips) so I've been willing to live without the 5th gear.

juggler311 · Post by **juggler311** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:02 pm

Quote, originally posted by prathman Â» But I'd note that Consumer Reports still rates the Vibe as excellent in reliability in the 'Transmission - Major' and 'Transmission - Minor' categories for the '04 and up models, indicating that less than 1% of owners reported a problem over the last year. Thanks for the info. I was wondering if CR had changed their reviews at all since the early Vibes are getting older. Mine was driven on 400 mile round trips twice a week before I bought it so it's got a ton of miles for its age. Still looks and drives like new at 113K miles, other then the upsetting whirring sound. Hoping it's not a bearing again.Do you know, are the reviews for the 03 still excellent?

prathman · Post by **prathman** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:21 am

Quote, originally posted by juggler311 Â»Do you know, are the reviews for the 03 still excellent?The '03s are listed as very good with respect to transmission issues, i.e. their half-filled circle. According to their explanation of the rating scale, this indicates that the incidence of problem reports was less than 2% but more than 1% of owners in their last annual survey. All subsequent model years show less than a 1% problem incidence rate.

juggler311 · Post by **juggler311** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:57 am

Quote, originally posted by prathman Â»The '03s are listed as very good with respect to transmission issues, i.e. their half-filled circle. This makes me wonder the obvious..Does my car simply have more miles then 99% of 04's, and 98% of 03's..?Thanks for your interest and insight!

Neouka · Post by **Neouka** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:22 am

check your a/c drain tube, it might have fallen off. Mine came off recently, and it caused a bunch of extra noise in the cabin. Reattached it, and the engine noise under load went away instantly.

juggler311 · Post by **juggler311** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:08 am

Quote, originally posted by Neouka Â»check your a/c drain tube, it might have fallen off. Mine came off recently, and it caused a bunch of extra noise in the cabin. Reattached it, and the engine noise under load went away instantly.Thanks for your suggestion! I will try to find it...The only difference in the noise I have this time (besides the volume) based on my memory is that this time it distinctly sounds like it's coming from underneath the passenger floorboard, instead of more centered in the engine bay, or underneath the shifter...I hope you are right! Is this where the a/c compressor is located?

juggler311 · Post by **juggler311** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:41 am

Quote, originally posted by Neouka Â»check your a/c drain tube, it might have fallen off. YES!Thank you SO MUCH. Its waaaaay quieter! That's a HUGE weight off my mind!!Now I'll be able to fix my moonroof this spring!! YES YES YES YES!!

Neouka · Post by **Neouka** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:11 am

I'm awesome

pljenkins · Post by **pljenkins** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:40 pm

Hey, anyone have a picture or a description of where this A/C drain plug is? I'm having some funky noises much like what Juggler described, and I'm hoping it's this and not what I fear it might be...I have an 03 vibe, 5spd manual.Paul

mntn-biker · Post by **mntn-biker** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 1:42 am

Quote, originally posted by Neouka Â»check your a/c drain tube, it might have fallen off. Mine came off recently, and it caused a bunch of extra noise in the cabin. Reattached it, and the engine noise under load went away instantly.Can anyone give me some idea of where this a/c drain tube is at? If I look behind the motor and down low, I see a short stubby little rubber hose coming from the passenger side firewall above the passenger side transaxle. Is this it?

Manual transmission issues

Manual transmission issues

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