Hiya Y'all,
Just bought a 2010 AWD Vibe with 152k miles. Carfax showed nothing but routine maintenance but then a front axle change at around 120k. I drove it and because i got a pretty good deal on what I thought was a bulletproof car I ignored a couple things over the honeymoon period.
There's noise coming from the back end. Can't tell which side for sure but I believe it's passenger. It's a kind of whine or howl, sounds kinda like motorcycle knobbies do on asphalt or semi truck tires on the highway. It's pretty audible under 40; at 70 you have to concentrate to hear it. It is related to rpm of the tires (lower pitch as the wheels spin slower). It makes it whether trans is in drive or neutral.
There is also a kind of shudder that happens as I accelerate that happens somewhere between 40 and 50 mph. It sounds like you're hitting rumblestrips and feels like the car has the haptic feedback like a cellphone, if your cellphone weighs 2000 lbs. It usually happens in two or three short bursts of a second or so each. They don't repeat until I stop or go below 40 for a while.
Today on the freeway I began to lose power to the wheels. Engine was still going but the trans went wishy washy. No clunk or any audible event. These lights went on on the dash: Check engine, AWD, and the traction control icon. Don't know if it's related.
[ EDIT: I pulled onto the shoulder, prepared to turn the car off and start it again to see if it would 'fix' it, but then the lights went away and it was driving fine. Has been fine rest of the day....knockonwood ]
I just checked the trans fluid (cold). It's the right color but is high (over where it should be at hot). Don't know how that happens unless maybe the previous owner was covering up something? Don't know if it's in danger of frothing like an overfilled oil pan.
Any experience, guidance, and/or advice is much appreciated.
[also-I'll try to do a video for the sound coming out of the back]