transmission replacement after 9500 miles!

[kayla]

We bought our Vibe -'09 awd-last April and noticed, sporadically, that it would lag before a burst of acceleration; it felt like it was lunging into gear. It also was piling up milage faster than expected since it is only used occasionily- we were close to 10,000 after only 8 months. A generous "guesstamation" of miles driven places it at 7500. On Christmas Eve, the car slid, in a parking lot and all the dash lights lite up- check engine, tracton control, and awd. Took car in, couldn't find problem so reset buttons. On the way home, lites came back on with loss of awd and traction control(not good during winter in Upstate NY). Car went in for a month long stay at dealers. After replacing fuel evaporative canaster then valve body, solenoid, computer and new programming (and test driving over 400 miles), GM engineers decided to replace the transmission and torque converter. The dashlights are, for now, not flashing. GM will not discuss compensation except via phone, we refuse since we would lack documentation. Lemon Law papers have been filed but it seems that other Vibes have experienced some of same. I don't have a "new" car any longer and worry about its viability.

[northvibe]

Sorry to hear about your problems, but is the car fully working now with no lights on or blinking?The lemon law really wouldnt work yet until the car has had more of those same issues. As long as the dealer got you a rental car for the time your car was in being fixed and the problem was fixed I dont see a full issue. Also your refusal to speak with GM is slowing the process down, you could always record the convo and have the person state their name and place of work etc. Problems happen and things break thats why you have a warranty.

[kayla]

Spoke to Att. General's unit- said send in paper work- might be applicable for NY law. GM is not answering my e-mails, my feeling is we are the injured party and they should take that into account and try to be a bit agreeable to a long time customer. I'm willing to wait.

[northvibe]

if the car was fixed and its working, what compensation are you looking for? I guess I dont understand, if you got the car fixed whats the problem?

[kayla]

Forgot to thank you for your suggestion of having GM rep state name, date, etc. My concern is loss of use for a month, the ensueing rattles and squeaks car now exhibits after so much work, the added mileage, and car is still exhibiting strange behavior sporidicaly. I have a $20,000+ liability and doubts about the long term viability of this car. This was our second Vibe, we replaced the first so we would have 4 or 5 years of worry free transportation. That is not what we got.

[northvibe]

Hmm now it has rattles and squeaks? yuck yeah thats grounds for more warranty work on it. Whats the strange behavior? the same as before? ugh...the random behaviors are the worst, my ms3 did that with a downpipe leak, I knew what it was but the dealer wouldnt listen to me...never did it for them :/ But just make sure you tell the dealer and have them look at it again, because then its written down and documented.Did you get a loaner car for that month you were with out the vibe?Well the worry free..I mean thats why they have warranties, not every car will be issue free. If its fixed and fixed right you should haven issues with that part again unless something else is still wrong. From the sounds of it, the part or other parts are still an issue. yes this could be a lemon car but it may just be a bad part and once that is fixed never break again. You will never know. Just know your warranty and the powertrain warranty and what it covers and get friendly with the dealer. I'm not trying to be a (removed), but people have 1 issue and scream lemon law...thats just not how it works. I understand the frustration and lack of trust in the car though. but honestly...any car can do this.

[star_deceiver]

When you talk to them on the phone, have a tape recorder handy and record the entire conversation complete with date, time, names ect.Sometimes these things happen

[vibolista]

Unfortunate that you got a Vibe that developed problems. This happens, not often, but it happens. The lemon laws, in most cases, are for repeated breakdowns or problems that after several attempts, can't be fixed. You were unlucky to have a Vibe that glitched, but on the other hand you were very lucky to deal with a company that made the effort to find the real problem, and actually attempt to fix it. I would consider that excellent treatment, and outcome, by any standard.Now you need to see if they will finish the job... taking care of the rattles and whatever. I bought a Jeep Cherokee years ago. Loved the car. After less than 10,000 miles, it would not start up after shutdown, unless you waited at least 2 hours. Fuel mileage dropped to less than half of original and bits and pieces of interior trim and switch gear started to fall off. Eventually the Jeep was in the shop every other week. No one ever figured out why it would not re-start unless you waited at least 2 hours. After a year of this, I gave up and went back to Honda, since we needed reliable transportation. There was no lemon law in place and that Jeep would certainly have met the criteria. It was unfortunate for me, because (1) I loved that wagon, and (2) I knew many others that had great owner experiences with their Cherokees. You came out well. My situation did not. Count your blessings.