2009 Vibe, saying hello, asking a question

[69chevyguy]

Good day,

I'm new to this forum as I have just bought an '09 Vibe with the 2.4L and 40,000k on the clock (so that's about 24,800 miles).

It has this strange bumpy thing going on with it. Had it out on a 3 hour trip at 110 km/h (or almost 70 mph), I felt like I was riding in a mid-70's pickup truck. I don't mean having a shimmy in the steering wheel like tires out of balance, or having a vbration in the seat or pedals like brakes being worn, and it tracks straight as an arrow and the tires are at the exact pressure on the door sticker (32 psi front and rear).

Still, I find myself and my passengers bobbing up and down in their seats like we were running down old country roads in a beat up half ton truck. I actually have a stiff neck from it. It's like every single tiny imperfection in the road surface makes the car bounce, only way I can describe it is like when I was young and we used to cut springs to lower a car. That sort of thing.

Is this just a characteristic of these things?? I see no uneven tire wear, actually tires are in great shape, no obvious flaws or buldges, and like I said no signs of other things like balance problems or allignment problems. There is an intermittent low rumble noise that sounds tire related, but comes and goes. Oh yeah, these are all raods I travel on regularily so I can rule out just being bad road conditions.

Ideas?

[trb]

Welcome, and sorry to hear you are having issues with the ride. What wheels/tires do you have? I know the 18s on my 2010 GT do ride a bit harsher than the other tires. I have one section of my commute where I feel every little crack in the pavement too. Nothing serious, but I hear it and feel it in the steering wheel/floor a bit. It does not bother my other vehicles. Other than that, mine drives rock solid. It is a pretty good handling car on all kinds of surfaces. If every bump is making it bounce, it sounds like the shocks to me, but with that few miles, who knows. Could someone have changed suspension pieces on it, springs/struts etc?

[joatmon]

welcome to genvibe

never been in an 09, so can't say what the ride is like in one.

Are your shocks/struts bad? Low mileage on the car, but it's hard to say how the previous owner treated it.
Are all the wheel lug nuts properly seated and torqued?

[69chevyguy]

Thanks for the quick reply!

trb...the wheels are stock factory 16" steel wheels with the original goodyear rubber.

joatmon...Yup - checked all that as far as lug nuts go. But I have considered the struts. I would find it really odd if they had an issue but hey, you never know what it went through with the first owner.

I just wanted to be sure it wasn't just a characteristic of the vehicle since I'd feel pretty dumb taking it back to the dealer to look for something others may consider "normal".

[joatmon]

You could look for another 2009 Vibe for sale and take it for a "test drive" to see if the suspension on the second vibe is the same or better than the one you bought.

[xenictime]

My 2009 doesn't ride that harshly. On the other hand, it's a small Pontiac, not a Cadillac. I run my stock tires at 35, as well. You definitely feel the road in a Vibe and I like that. Still, mine seems pretty smooth, even at 85 mph on the freeway. I've got 36,xxx plus on mine, but maybe the previous owner of yours carried heavy loads or lived on rural dirt roads.

[star_deceiver]

The wheels are stock factory 16" steel wheels with the original goodyear.

Get new tires! The stock Goodyear RS-A's are literally crap. The 17's I upgraded to are much quieter, grippier and ride better then the Goodyears ever did. Even if you just upgrade to a quality all-season you will notice a world of difference!

[j42.snyder]

I think it really depends on what you're used to driving. I think as the car gets more miles (or kilometers) on it, the ride is slowly improving - or I'm getting more used to it. I also found it very harsh and "bouncy" at first - very "trucky" compared to the Sunfire I had before. Now that I'm used to it, many other cars feel very "wallowy" in comparison. My wife has a Mazda 5, and it most definitely has a smoother ride than the Vibe does - but it also has nicer riding tires.

The factory tires are rather responsive for handling (I find), but provide a rather firm ride. I replaced two last year with Michelin Primacy MXV4's, and noticed an immediate improvement in ride and noise levels. I have the identical tires on the Mazda and we're very happy with them so far.

I doubt there's anything actually "wrong" with your car - it's just the nature of the beast. If it really bothers you, changing to the above tires will help somewhat - but it won't turn it into a Caddy either. Maybe a longer test drive was in order...

I've got just past 100k km's on mine now, and I'm quite happy with it - although some portions of the roads around here can get irritating at times with the bumpiness.

Hope it works out for you!

John

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! As others have stated, I don't think there's anything "wrong" with your Vibe. The ride is probably just a little rougher then you're used to with other vehicles. I have a 2009 GT with IRS (Independent Rear Suspension) and 18" wheels with 215/45/18 factory Goodyear Eagle F1 AS/C tires. It rides pretty stiff and "sporty", but to me it's not rough. I have 16" steel wheels and 205/55/16 Kelly Explorer tires that I use in the winter months and while they do ride a bit smoother then the 18s, I find the ride is still pretty stiff and "sporty" which leads me to believe the ride in your "new" Vibe will just take some getting used to.

Post some pictures of your Vibe when you get a chance !

[69chevyguy]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Well, on the test drive the symptoms weren't noticeable. BUT the dealership was in a rural area and an hour away from any roadway where you could legally get it to 60 mph and higher, and that's when the symptoms became noticeable.

I actually like a stiff ride, that lets you feel the road. I'm not so keen on (for example) the old Lincolns and Crown Vics where you would kinda float along. Previous to this I had a 2002 Saturn SC1 which was a stiff ride also, but I didn't have the "bobbing" up and down. That being said the Saturn was also 1000lbs lighter....

The more I think of it, my mind is leaning more towards tires than anything else. I noticed on the repair history it had a rear caliper replaced under warranty as it was seized, leads me to think if it had been dragging I could have one tire with uneven wear and that could explaing a lot. Beyond that I think star_deceiver even said the stock tires are a little less than stellar anyway.

BTW, the Matrix I drove before this one in shopping around had the 1.8, this has the 2.4. Holy heck! I can't believe the power for being a 4-banger.

So here's one last question...my parking brake handle seems to have no tension on it at all for the first two inches. In fact, if I drive over a bump, it flops around to the point the brake warning chime will "ding". Although the p-brake works just fine and holds the car well on a hill without effort, I'm used to those handles having tension all the way down. They checked that and it passed the safety inspection but it seems odd to me.

[vibenvy]

So here's one last question...my parking brake handle seems to have no tension on it at all for the first two inches. In fact, if I drive over a bump, it flops around to the point the brake warning chime will "ding". Although the p-brake works just fine and holds the car well on a hill without effort, I'm used to those handles having tension all the way down. They checked that and it passed the safety inspection but it seems odd to me.

That definitely doesn't sound normal or good. The parking brake handles in both our 2009 GTs are nice and tight and take a bit of effort to engage.

[star_deceiver]

The E-brake is easy enough to adjust. Pull up the boot and plastic surrounding it and you will find a bolt to adjust the cable.

[journeyforce]

Welcome to Genvibe

First off take the car back to which ever tech told you it was normal and get them to adjust it. My Vibe did the same thing and I took it back and they adjusted it and it was perfect.

The harshness may be tires(those goodyears blow) but check to see if any of the rims are bent. A county made pot hole bent one of my rims.

Yes you are going to feel every bump even with all the suspension parts working. I was used to it because I had a Ford Focus before my Vibe but after trips in my 2005 LeSabre which cushioned every bump, it was hard to drive the Vibe