Sick Vibe...Please help!!!

[katvibe]

Hi, Anyone having problems with engines out there? Was on my way out of town the other day and the car turned into a motorcycle and was shifting hard and making AWFUL noises. It is now sitting and awaiting prognosis tomorrow at the dealership. Oil is clean, no overheaeting. I am SO SAD...have had no serious problems and this has been my most favorite car! My mechanic neighbor fears that it is the bearings...please help!

[katvibe]

It kinda sputters when it is sitting, is worse when I step on the gas. It is clicking and ticking and sounds like I am dragging something on the ground (but of course am not). It sounds like a Harley. In fact, we were with a friend today and my daughter was freaking out because she thought our friend's car was breaking down too, when in fact a Harley was in front of us.

[katvibe]

The oil light was flashing a little, but the engine light was fine. The oil was clean and full. My neighbor fears it might be a bearing. I don't know much about cars so am not sure what that will mean or how much it may cost.

[katvibe]

No I don't have the Gt model...though hear it is great. I hope to know more tomorrow. Will post again then. Thanks for the help.

[AKLGT]

welcome to genvibe! sorry to hear you're having probs w/ your vibe. i have a GT so don't know if i've had any sim probs. keep us posted on what they say... incase someone else runs into the same issue.

[joatmon]

sorry to hear about the troubles, the way you describe the sounds make me cringe. are you still under warranty? how long have you had it? what color/options did you get? Where did you take it to get it looked at, and did you hear anything back yet?

[katvibe]

The news is BAAAAD!!!!!!!! I need a new motor. We are 5,000 miles over warranty. We have done a lot of traveling and not a lot of maintenance unfortunately. I promise to get oil changes more frequently from now on. STUPID, STUPID me! We are towing it in the next couple of days outta the dealership and into another shop where the repair will then be half of what we were quoted at the dealership but still in the 3 THOUSAND dollar range. On the hunt for a new motor. The mechanic has found one with less than 100 miles on it. I say if we can get one with a little more miles that is cheaper...keep looking. Can't wait to get her back, am sharing a car with the hubby and that sucks too! My model is 2003 and Salsa. Thanks for the reply.

[AKLGT]

yikes! that really sucks! you can ask fialchar about it too. same thing happened to him i believe... motor blew!

[Mavrik]

Ouch... thats not good at all. Don't forget the regular stuff with this new engine.

[stkos79]

did you call pontiac ? ask them for a goodwillthats bs i would them gm to fix it 5,000 over aint, sh#tjust did s 8,000 dollar engine on a envoy it had 56,000 gm said ok we warr. it cant give up on this did they say its because of lack of maintance?

[MrRich]

So how many times did you changed the oil in your Vibe?

[katvibe]

Hi again, The car will be fixed by midweek next week. Thank God! It will be not sooooo bad around 2500. Wish us luck, will be keeping the car FOREVER now. I hadn't had the oil changed since last summer...so it was pretty bad. There was NO denying that we were at fault the motor was all gummy and clogged. Learn from my mistakes if you do the same thing, I could have done a lot with 3 grand! kat

[Mavrik]

Quote, originally posted by stkos79 »did you call pontiac ? ask them for a goodwillthats bs i would them gm to fix it 5,000 over aint, sh#tjust did s 8,000 dollar engine on a envoy it had 56,000 gm said ok we warr. it cant give up on this did they say its because of lack of maintance?Goodwill will not be considered if lack of maintance was the cause. Obviously it did not happen as a vehicle defect.

[stkos79]

Quote, originally posted by katvibe » The oil was clean and full. ok if is been a year i can see why they did not cover itbetter luck next time

[lumpcus]

i have amsoil in mine they say it can last a year.. but pfft gonna change mine on 10k.. nearing 5k now.

[Vibe Rater]

"Pay me now, er, pay me later"

[Mr. Poopypants]

Sorry to hear that kat. You can't put off the oil changes, IMHO the A-one most important maintenance you can do to keep the engine running right. Best luck with that new motor search.

[itshers,butifixit]

There is a motor on ebay for $950.00. If you knew a local mechanic, you would probably only be out around $1500-$1700 instead of $3000.00. Just a thought.

[ebslopp]

Usually, if you can find an import specialist, they can get you a cheap rebuild from Japan. I put one in my Civic. Turns out in Japan the people have to get a new engine after 100,000 miles by law. So this leads to an abundance of used engines that don't really have anything wrong with them. 100,000 miles on a Toyota engine ain't sh*t! Plus they're rebuilt. It was only $500 for a 1.6L VTEC rebuild and it would have cost me over $1200 to get a used US engine. Everybody keep this in mind if you ever need a Japanese engine.

[katvibe]

Yeah...thanks for all of the support. I haven't posted lately...have been working everyday for the past ten...forseeing a day off on Sunday! Gotta pay for the new engine and labor. Got it outta the shop for 2700. Am happy to be vibing again! It is runnign better than ever and has a used engine in it w/ just 125 on it. Will be changing the oil more often now and keeping it until it dies of old age!