GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Any ideas on improving hill climbing ability? Can't pull interstate long hills without serious down-shift; even at 65 MPH. Would throttle 'reset' help?

The DBW reset won't help the Vibe do any hill climbing b/c it doesn't add (or "unlock") any power. It just seems to smooth acceleration & shifts out.

have a big truck pull it!

I have no problem with hills other than the occasional shift down one gear. Even towing a 1600lb trailer I have little problem on hills and there are serious hills where I live.You don't mention whether you have an auto or standard. My 5 speed is very good. I've driven autos and they do like to downshift loudly. Check the basics - tire pressure, fresh plugs, fresh air filter and MAP/MAF /Temp sensors cleaned in the intake, remove excess "stuff" stored in the back. You do need to be in the power band - above 3000RPM so an auto will kick down and with a standard you'll have to downshift to stay in the power band.Other than that you'll have to modify for more power. Even going to a smaller overall diameter tire next time you replace would help but I can't see this issue warranting major work to overcome...

Seems to be common with our automatics. Maybe someday the engineers will tweek the PCM programming, send it to all the dealerships and they will re-flash our PCM.........for free. Yeah, right!

turn off the O/D!!

A cold air intake system or unichip will help with that low end torque.

That is why I put the short ram on. It is a bit louder but has much more torque

Thanks, all. I am considering cold air intake and unichip. The car is a base '06 with auto tranny. Turning off OD at 65 MPH is exactly the same result as the down shift!It's nice to know I'm among so many intelligent, helpful people.