GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

So last week I go to turn at a light and put the clutch in at 35 or 40mph and go and shift into second gear with the clutch still pushed in. All I hear is a grinding noise. I think that is strange. So I try it again and same noise. So I take into the dealer and they tell me they can not get it to make any noise and that the tranny is not made to be put into second at that speed EVEN with the clutch pushed in. I yes it is and I have done it since the day I bought the car. Am I just losing my mind or are they trying to pull a fast one. I told them I would be there in the morning to show them.This guy when I was there to drop it off did have a clue what it could be, now he is MR GOODWRENCH know it all. This guy really pissed me off!!! What do you guys think. By the way I have a 2003 GT. Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!

if you were in second gear going 40 mph, what would the tach say?If it keeps happening, I'd say either try to match engine and tranny speeds better on the downshift, or maybe the synchros are going. If you were getting grinding at other times I'd say check clutch/brake fluid, maybe it's not releasing all the way, or maybe your left foot was just being lazy.

take them for a drive to prove your not hearing things.

the car can handle second at 45 mph. i think second can go all the way past 50 mph. i downshift all the time. no matter how fast you are going. the car should NEVER grind because of downshifting.like someone else said. the shynchos must be going.on my last car. i downshifted into second by accident at 80 mph once.no grinding. engine just over sped.

Hey...Yeah, 2nd gear is good up to about 55-60 mph but I wouldn't downshift into 2nd at that speed. I've never had the grinding when downshifting but sometimes it's difficult to downshift when the speed is high for that gear. At least for my GT, really difficult to downshift into 1st going much faster than 5mph till it's warmed up. 2nd is difficult to downshift into from about 20mph on up though when cold. Did you have to force it into gear? The trannys aren't all that great on these things so maybe it's an issue with the tranny itself. Just a thought...Dave

Yup..mine's never grinded with the clutch all the way in... now, when I get ahead of myself and let out the clutch WHILE shifting..that's different...They're definitely trying to get you to go away, that's not right..

That is what I think too. I should be able to push the clutch in 70mph and put it into second as long as I DO NOT let the clutch out without any grinding. I think it is a syncros. I am going in today to show them. I will keep you updated. Thanks

2nd gear should take up to ~62 mph +/-1mph. That is what I've always seen when I redline 2nd in my GT. I never have a problem downshifting, although I try to match the revs to match the gear. 40 mph in second is just about the starting point of the sweet range of lift. You'll be around 5800 rpm probably because lift begins in the low 40s when in 2nd. Hopefully your synchros aren't worn out, but could be. Good luck, doesn't sound like those mechanics know much about the 2ZZ.

That is why I stick to automatics!! I have no clue how to drive stick and have no intentions to. I tried once and it scared me making me never want to try it again! It is so confusing!

yeh...i remember my, lets say, accident. I was on drag, and becouse of no practise on Vibe(I had it for several weeks), at the and of 2-nd gear(~63mph i think), I shifted in to 1-st gear instead of 3-rd...The noise was like bike's I don't know, how many rpm the engine reached, but it was high, ir took only a second, but there was nothing bad with gearbox or engine...After I did similar shift with my exOpel Calibra( http://www.elekta.lt/~hollow/c...esija/ ), this ended with changing gearbox and clutch...Vibe is better than Opel in this case