Interference Or Not

[itsapurplevibe]

I tried looking it up on the forum and Googling, but I came up empty.

Could someone please tell me if the 2009 Pontiac Vibe Base 1.8L Engine is Interference or Non Interference ?

[trb]

Not sure on your question, but if it is relating to most interference questions about replacing timing belts, all Vibes have timing chains. So there is no reason to worry about replacing a timing belt.

[itsapurplevibe]

I was mostly just curious as to what it was because if the car's timing chain broke, depending on the type of engine, the damage is worse.

[ColonelPanic]

I generally suspect pretty much anything these days is going to be interference. Especially Asian designs. I'm pretty sure the old 1zz was. I never worried about it though, and I'm still not too concerned. I'm more worried about my Hyundai with a belt that's about 4k from its second replacement interval.

With a chain failure on an interference engine, the outcome can be certainly be as disastrous as with a belt. But while chains aren't completely immune to failures, it's still far less likely to happen in the first place. I wouldn't sweat it, at least for a few hundred thousand miles.