How noisy is the Vibe on the Highway

[ilearner]

Hello.... I am new to this site.I am considering on buying a used 2007 Vibe. On many sites I see that the biggest complaint is the amount of engine noise.Just wondering how noisy is the engine on the highway.Much appreciated.

[northvibe]

hard to say because the noise is based on personal opinions.... the shape of the body/windows do create some drag that does make some noise, the engine isnt to loud at high only full throtttle. Id say test drive one as you'll get 80 different opinions and none of them will match yours.

[keithvibe]

what are you driving now? what cars have you drove? maybe one of us can compare it for you to a car you have already owned

[iucu]

On Highway, engine RPM is aprox from 2500 to 3000. If you compare with ather cars where RPM < 2000, Vibe engine is noisy ! But not too bad !

[Gandalf]

My last car was a 1988 Civic Wagon, with the 5 speed. At 80MPH, the tach read 4000RPM! Talk about noisy!My Vibe seems REALLY quiet, by comparison!

[star_deceiver]

That depends on weather or not you like noise... Personally, I think the Vibe is too quiet. Very little road noise, very quiet engine.

[Jims08Vibe]

Welcome, be prepared for some fun. Let me start at 160mph my Vibe doesnt go , now at 80 its ok I just turn up the the monsoon tunes and ZIP along, at 40 its is acceptable still the tunes are up, at 25 quiet and tunes still up and at 5mph I am stuck in traffic on RT 128 the tunes going and knowing that I can pass many gas stations I DRAW GREAT COMFORT knowing this. My Vibe has been a pleasure to have in the 18 months I have had it, OTHER than the danm lights dont go off, i know pin #12 snip, just to cold right now.

[djkeev]

If you are a person who has driven large, relatively expensive cars as a regular practice you will complain about the noise. I grew up in Air Cooled VW's (still have one) moving up to Toyota's and Datsun's in the 70's and have always stayed in the small to mid car size range. This isn't a neighborhood known for luxury but rather known for economy.I find the Vibe overall to be fairly quiet. My worst complaint was road noise and that was fixed with a change of tires. Pay very close attention to noise ratings when you purchase tires, it makes a HUGE difference.Some would say this is an underpowered, cheaply made econobox. Others like my self, love this car and find it perfect for our transportation needs.My 2007 Automatic 1.8 give me a stead 28-33 MPG's and I'm in NJ traffic and Highways posted at 55 or 65 where the average speed is at times closer to 75 and 80.As suggested by a very wise man, test drive one, overnight if possible and take it on varying highways. at various speeds.This is a subjective question that only YOU can answer for yourself.Dave

[Silversn95]

It really depends on your current experiences. Compared to my old Escort GT, the Vibe is actually pretty quiet on the highway. Compared to my Taurus, it is noisy. For the '09 anyway, you really don't hear the engine when cruising at or near the speed limit. There is more wind and road noise than a good sedan would have but it really isn't that bad. Take it out for a test drive and see for yourself.

[ilearner]

I really appreciate all you quick responses! This forum is more active than some others I have been on. This is a credit to all of you!All of your responses make sense. Certainly noise is subjective and dependent on previous experiences and current expectations.I currently drive a 1998 Pontiac Trans sport. It is getting near the end of its life. My children are now taller than I am and one of them has his own vehicle so it is time for me to downsize to something more economical.My mechanic is a friend of mine and also sells cars on the side. I have asked him to find me a good 2007 Vibe. So... haven't had a chance to test one out yet. I was drawn to choose the vibe because of the flexibility of the cargo space, the high reliability ratings given by "the Consumers Reports" website and because of the excellent gas mileage.Based on the replies above, I will likely be pleased with it as a replacement for my van.

[ilearner]

One more thought. Someone mentioned about noise ratings on tires. I wasn't aware that there was such a thing. Any additional info is appreciated.

[jake75]

My memory of the 2003 is fading. I think my 2009 has less engine noise. But the biggest source of highway driving noise is from the tires. I suspect more expensive cars have better noise insulation - but that adds weight as well as cost. My subjective opinion is that the Vibe is probably a little better on noise than most other cars in its class.

[lowincash]

i think the vibe is pretty quiet on the road. before i got my 09 vibe, i've been in a first gen vibe rental and it was definitely quieter than my previous car. i'm comparing this to my 2002 maxima. both my current 09 and the first gen rental is quieter than the maxima. wind and road noise was pretty bad on that car lol

[vibolista]

What kind of driving do you do on a daily basis? Tires will make the biggest impact on noise in a Vibe. Tire compounds, tread patterns and tire build make a huge difference. I have a summer only tire on a little del Sol that I'm slowly resurecting, and noticed that the tire is very quiet in warm weather... above 65 degrees... and best (quietest) above 75 to 80 degrees. In the fall, when I drive it in temps down around 45 degrees, these same tires become noisy beasts! Nearly unbearable at any speed.So if you get a Vibe or just test drive one, make sure that you take the tires and their condition into consideration. The original tires on my Vibe were Goodyear RS-As, and I found them Ok, fairly quiet when new, but horrible in rain, so I upgraded to an aftermarket 17 inch wheel and tire package. I chose a very quiet tire, and so far, so good. Of course, now I have my snows on.The Vibe is a great car to downsize from a minivan. This little car has huge room out behind the seats. and an incredibly durable and efficient engine. Unless you have to have Lexus/Cadillac quiet, you'll probably like driving a Vibe. A manual FWD Vibe, if driven moderately, will get you 35+ mpg on a daily basis.Good luck on your search.

[MSAGRO]

Quote, originally posted by ilearner »Hello.... I am new to this site.I am considering on buying a used 2007 Vibe. On many sites I see that the biggest complaint is the amount of engine noise.Just wondering how noisy is the engine on the highway.Much appreciated. Having driven both, The Vibe is quieter than the Matrix.There is more sound deadening stuff in the Vibe, and even though they are identical in many ways, the Vibe has a more quality feel to it.

[03VibeOttawa]

I never had any complaints with road noise on the highway, or driving in general. My only beef when I first got the car was getting around suburban parking lots in 1st and 2nd gear due to the lack of low end torque. For someone like me who coasts whenever possible, gently putting the car back into gear generally has unsexy sound results. Uprading the exhaust mostly cured this beef for me, and the header helped further.

[djkeev]

For tire reviews, a good site it Tire rackhttp://www.tirerack.comClick on their links to find a tire and when you click on the tire selections they have a whole rating system for almost any aspect of the tire. A major help even if you are buying locally.Dave

[cptnsolo77]

To me the engine is pretty quiet but lots of road noise. I switched to quieter tires & that helped a bit. Remember, its economy car that is essentially a Toyota Corolla & to keep costs down they skimp on things like sound deadener. Still a GREAT car though.

[michaelgt]

The Vibe engine will not be as quiet as the Transport, wind noise will be about the same. Depending on the tires on the Transport it could go either way.

[ou.grizzly]

2009 Vibe with 2.4L is very quiet compared to my old 2008 with 1.8L engine. Now, when it is windy it, different story.

[ilearner]

I want to sincerely thank everyone for taking the time to reply to my question. Much appreciated. When I get my vibe and test drive, will be sure to post my thoughts.I have a gain a lot of valuable information in such a short time from this site.

[jamalogist]

Agree engine is quiet and non-issue.Last few days of snow flurry conditions & high winds reminded me that wind noise could become an issue. Not sure if it got worse after they replaced my recall-prompted window bolts, but at 80mph you start getting a whistling wind-blowing noise, as though one of your windows isn't closed tight (they are). Could be just me. Great car though.

[knaffie]

Biggest issue for noise is the tires. The stock tires are LOUD and garbage. My new ones make the car a lot more enjoyable to drive.

[LavaIlliniVibe]

The first time I test-drove my 2004 I thought I would never get used to the engine noise, particularly on the interstate, but I LOVED the Vibe. It depends on what you are used to ( I had been driving a 2001 Chevy Silverado!) and this is what the GM dealership told me (quote): "The engine is a Toyota and GM CANNOT and never will be able to make a better 4-cylinder engine than this. The sound of the engine means it is good." Yes, I know he was a salesman, but I believed him and I still do. Buy the Vibe! You will not regret it!

[L5K]

I thought my 03GT was hard to get onto at first because of how quiet the stock exhaust is... lol

[vibolista]

Quote, originally posted by LavaIlliniVibe »... this is what the GM dealership told me (quote): "The engine is a Toyota and GM CANNOT and never will be able to make a better 4-cylinder engine than this. The sound of the engine means it is good." Yes, I know he was a salesman, but I believed him and I still do. Buy the Vibe! You will not regret it! The salesman knows what he's talking about on this one... except that the sound of the engine really means that it is on and running! In that case, it is good. There are a lot of crappy engines out there that sound great, but don't run as well as they should. By the way, if the engine doesn't make any sound... it's off or it just won't start. Not a good thing ilearner hasn't posted since the 19th of December. No test drive? Or the engine noise factor may have been too much for him?

[csxt8058]

My wife's '05 base Vibe with a 5 speed is quite noisy at highway speeds, but it's mostly the tires, as has been mentioned already. She's due for new tires in the spring, so we'll shop around and find something a bit quieter, engine noise is there, but not overpowering. My '10 AWD is pretty quiet, no engine noise to speak of, and even though the tires are the same as what's on wifey's car, it seems quieter overall, but still noisy.Now...my '05 Malibu Maxx LS was incredibly quiet and smooth on the highway, no tire noise and the engine was very quiet. JR

[jkm311]

For my '06, the only excessive highway noise is the exterior driver door handle area or the driver door rubber seal by my head. Something about that area is a MAGNET for wind noise above 50 MPH.

[SinisterMind]

'03 Vibe was fairly quiet considering how much it cost. New '09 Matrix AWD transmits more road noise than the old Vibe did. Toyota really cut a lot of cost in the sound deadening department.

[ParknVibe]

On a section of the Garden State Parkway, They have repaved parts of the highway recently. I would ride down the old pavement then on to a newly paved length. So in the same lane, it would be old then new then old and new pavement for a few miles. The road noise difference is like night and day. The old surface would give a LOUD (what I thought was a WIND sound). Then on the new surface, the car was as quiet as could be. ( 2009 Vibe with Goodyear RS-A Eagles). In recent years, they began to apply special asphalt that is designed to reduce road noise (from highways) into the local residential areas.

[ilearner]

I am finally back. I have just purchased a used 2006 black Vibe. With the van you don't hear the engine but road noise is more. With Vibe you hear the engine but road noise is less.But, overall, the Vibe is quieter than my Pontiac Trans sport Van, so my I am pleased with my purchase.

[Meagan]

I love my Vibe. And it is very quiet compare to the husbands 01 Mustang Gt. Some times I have to turn the radio to make sure Scarlet is running.

[jkm311]

Quote, originally posted by ilearner »I am finally back. I have just purchased a used 2006 black Vibe.Put up a few pics on the Team Abyss thread! There's far too few on there for my taste. http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...age=3I also drive an '06 Abyss. Welcome back!

[jake75]

Might be subjective, but I think my '09 is significantly quieter than my former '03.

[lordvic]

I've driven a bunch of other cars. The vibe at highway speed ranks near the noisiest onesThis is also in comparison to a wide rangeCars I've driven that were louder:1992 Cavalier Convertible (450,000kms!)2003 SunfireQuieter:1998 Maxima SE1994 Camry1996 Cutlass Supreme2001 Avalon2008 Caddy STS2009 Caddy Escalade.The big picture though; The Vibe, at least the 2006 i own is based off the Carolla. th Vibe is meant to be a compact style hatch (not subcompact at least like the wave). it's not a luxury vehicle, so I think the ammount of road noise that is heard is completely acceptable. It is also easily overcome by my radio and easy to have a conversation in.

[vibolista]

Would those be a set of Goodyear RS-As within your Vibe's wheel wells? These tires will get pretty noisy as they wear. Most tires do that, but the RS-As are better than average at generating and transmitting noise. A set of quiet summer tires could significantly lower your Vibe's highway volume levels. Something else that might help hold down the noise at speed...1) a thick mat over the cargo surface.2) clean and siliconed rubber door seals with a nice clean surface around all the door openings (door jambs, and don't forget the rear hatch and glass hatch!)3) clean window seals and clean window top edges, too. 4) Ditto for the sunroof, if you have one. You can get quite a bit of wind noise through seals that leak air, but tires usually contribute most of the noise you hear in the cabin at speed.