Question for you guys.

[Anrosphynx]

Hey folks, I am not exactly a new Vibe owner, have had it for about 5 months.I have a 2003 Vibe GT. Love the space on this car. It is my daily commuting to and from work.I have been having a problem that I was wondering if anyone else had.Cruising in 6th on the freeway, when I want to make an aggressive move, I attempt to downshift to 4th, so that I am in "lift". However, its as if I am locked out. I can't downshift. The car will allow me to shift to 5th gear, but not 4th? It makes me sooo mad. Anyone else have a similar problem? What's the deal?And please don't tell me I can't drive a stick. All my cars are stick shift.

[northvibe]

I dont have a manual, but are you sure it wont let you so you dont blow the engine?

[AKLGT]

that's odd. i used to down shift to all kinds of gears all the time. the only thing i can think of is if the car is too cold and you're hitting the rev limiter. that was the only time it wouldn't let me down shift gears (if i remember correctly)

[damronjr]

No Stick here either, but welcome to the site! Nice to see another San Diegan on the forum! Post some pics, give us some more info on the Vibe. A few of us will be getting together this weekend (Sat early afternoon), so if you want to come let me know!

[Mrizzle05]

maybe you cant drive a stick!!! LOL.... i had to before someone else threw it at ya.I have a base so i dont know if the ECU controls it.... but ive gone from like 5th gear to 3rd goin up a hill and it goes in gear and send me into my seat and hits about 5K RPMsThats from a base 5-speed view so im not sure whats the deal with a 6 spd. maybe it just wont catch... these clutches are different then most clutches ive driven before.Hope you figure it out.And welcome to the site.... saw its your first post!

[Jahntassa]

There's no ECU control of the transmission in a stick. No idea how that'd ever happen..You shouldn't be having that problem.

[iinan]

I have never had that problem...wish I had a solution for you

[millster]

As the others have noted, there's no sort of ECU control over a manual.The only thing I can think of that would cause that problem is a failing syncro.

[Mavrik]

well you should be able to shift a manual down into any gear while in motion but first. But one thing to keep in mind is down shifting which could throw the car's RPM higher then its suppose to go. I know with the Subaru, if your say... in 5th gear and down shift to third and it buries the RPM needle well past the limiter, you can seriously damage the engine. Perhaps the Vibe GT has a fail safe for such a case?Anyone with a GT wanna try this?

[Anrosphynx]

I can certainly understand that if the car was going to shift point beyond its limiter, that it would not allow you to downshift into that gear. ie- if going from 6th to fourth would cause you to beyond the redline, then it would lock you out of that gear.Unfortunately, that isn't what is happening. I know that at the speed in which I am travelling, that I should be around lift in 4th gear at the time I try to down shift. However, the trans seems to lock me out of that gear. I can get it to go into 5th, but i feel like I'm fighting to get it into 4th..

[Anrosphynx]

On a side note, I am very familiar with cars that you have to downshift to get into its power band. One of my other cars is a Honda S2000.

[Anrosphynx]

Thanks for the welcome! that goes for everyone. Much appreciated.Where do you guys meet?Lets see.. my vibe is a 2003 GT, abyss ( I think) Moon and Tunes. Here is a pic of it..

271269=9831-vibegt_002.jpg

[DavidPIL]

Hiya...At what speed are you generally going when trying to downshift into 4th? 1st gear can take you up to 40, 2nd, up to 60, 3rd, 75 or so. 4th should be safe to go into under 75 easily (though I've never tried it). I have downshifted into 4th around 60-65 without problem. Maybe it's time for better MT oil? If you have over 30,000 miles, I would suggest it, even if that's not the problem.Dave

[Anrosphynx]

freeway driving.. probably around 70ish..

[damronjr]

Nice Vibe. Haven't quite figured out for sure where we're going to meet yet, and there will probably only be a few people there, but you're more than welcome to come by if you want. I will IM you when I find out for sure where it's going to be, so if you want to come just keep an eye on the site.

[mcgusto82]

on the 5 speed, there is not ecu control of the tranny. like someone else said. a bad shyncro coulkd be causing it. you can bury any gear at any time. it's a little difficult to do it to first, but you can. i've downshifted into second at 60+. on my spec v, i've downshifted into second at 80. (accidently) keep in mind. 3rd gear topped out at 80. i don't know of any manuals that lock you out of any gears.

[Mavrik]

The GT Vibe might be on a different set up being a 6speed. I know the GT cruise has no resume on the cruise control if you come to a complete stop.But if you say your in 6th at about 70MPH then that puts your RPMs at roughly what.... 3500? So to downshift into 4th could possibly be burying the needle/spike the RPM past the limiter and it won't allow the shift. So David PIL have you tried shifting from 6th to 4th at 70?

[damronjr]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »So Blue Crush have you tried shifting from 6th to 4th at 70?Bluecrush has an Auto AWD. Did you mean someone else?

[Mrizzle05]

Blue crush got the SE.... 6 speed auto.

[Mavrik]

I ment David PIL... not sure why I thought it was Blue Crush... so different. I need another coffee lol So does Mrizzle. There is no 6speed auto

[jwalcik]

i've got an '05, and i've never had trouble downshifting at freeway speeds. it seems like i can get up to around 85 while still in 3rd while in lift if i'm accelerating from a stop.i've never experienced a shift "lock out" of any sort, it'll even let you jump over the little "bump" into reverse while you're rolling forward (my father will never live that down) at a reasonable gait.

[LUVROK]

Quote, originally posted by jwalcik »i've got an '05, and i've never had trouble downshifting at freeway speeds. it seems like i can get up to around 85 while still in 3rd while in lift if i'm accelerating from a stop.Same here, no issues going 80 in 3rd.

[ToolGuy]

Seems like it should not be an issue. The only way the engine will see the higher RPMs from the lower gear is when the car actually gets to that lower gear. While shifting from 6th to 4th, the car has no idea what gear you are trying to get to since no computer controls the shifting, only your hands. The only lock out and found on just about all manuals is going all the way down to 1st or reverse from a higher gear. Seems not right and I can go from 6th to 3rd in my six speed car. I rev match on the way down too... It is how I win most highway runs! I can also go from 4th to 2nd on my auto stick, auto trans car. Just cannot go from 4th to 1st, it locks me out. Who knows though, we all could be wrong and surprised here...

[DavidPIL]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »So David PIL have you tried shifting from 6th to 4th at 70?um, not yet... any more I'm trying to conserve as much fuel as possible. My downshifting into 4th going 60-65 is usually on single-lane highways to pass pokey semi's. Don't usually have the need to accelerate that much at 70+ interstate speeds.Oh, but now I'm interested in finding out so, maybe soon...Dave

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »I ment David PIL... not sure why I thought it was Blue Crush... so different. I need another coffee lol So does Mrizzle. There is no 6speed auto there were only a few 03 XRS auto's made. no vibes though. not sure why they didn't offer it for the vibe when they did for the trix that year.

[AKLGT]

yep, they are few and far between for sure!but going back to the original question, since i don't have my VGT anymore and it's been a little over a year since i did, don't know why it won't let you down shift. maybe take the car in and have them go on a drive with you.

[03VibeGT6Spd]

I know what your problem is, I would bet your shifting cable bushings are wore out. I forgot about those little devils!you can buy a brass replacement for them.I forgot when it use to get hot, they use to act up causing the shifter to bind up. not allowing you to hit your gears.You should be able to find more info on them here in the archives!

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »there were only a few 03 XRS auto's made. no vibes though. not sure why they didn't offer it for the vibe when they did for the trix that year.If I had a couple bucks, I'd bet that GM thought it was pointless to bolt an automatic to this engine with the way this engine has to be wound waaaaaaaaaaaaay up to get anything out of it. I don't think that an automatic would work well at all in this application, IMHO you need more power and torque down low to make the automatic useful...

[Psychobroker]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »..have you tried shifting from 6th to 4th at 70?I've not had a problem doing this. Possibly a bad synchro or, as 03VibeGT6Spd said, shifter cable bushings?

[Smokin' Rubber]

It does get a little stiff sometime times if you are going way fast for 4th gear (like shifting to 4th when going 90) which can be fixed by rev matching, so I'm gonna say it probably is some issue with the synchro not lining up very well

[goodvibe]

Cheap fix is trying a different fluid and check the bushings. 4th wont get you lift at 70. Try third, it's more fun anyway.

[ballrub]

First off, welcome to genvibe!!!Second, sorry to hear you're having some issues with the Vibe. I own an `03 GT 6-speed, and have never experienced your problem.Last August, when I drove out to the Texas Heat Wave event in Austin from California, there were several instances of me cruising at around 90-mph, when I had to downshift going up a hill or passing semi's where I down-shifted into 4th gear from 6th to get the "valve lift", and had no problems at all.It could be a synchro going bad on you, or the shifter bushings as 03VibeGT has suggested. It might be as simple as a clutch pedal adjustment as well. Regardless, if you still have any warranty left (I've still got two more months and/or 3000 miles before my 36,000 miles/3-yr warranty expires), I would take it back to the dealer for a checkup! If it's out of warranty, maybe a trip to Aamco for an inspection might be warranted. Either way, there seems to be something wrong with yours if myself and several other `03 GT owners aren't having this problem.Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do, and the results!

[4X4CHICHI]

Just double clutch and slam it in.

[Anrosphynx]

I will check the bushings. I can't think of it being anything else really. Other than this issue, I haven't had any problems with my Vibe. Love it. and compared to my other cars, this one has TONS of space and doesn't guzzle the 4 dollar gas.