Noice from the front (tranny) after start in cold weather

[Yury]

Hi, AllHere's the story. I have a 05 base with a stick. Pretty much since new I had the rattling/grinding noice coming from under the hood. It normally happens either right after the start of a couple of minutes later and lasts for a few minutes and then it's gone. Normally it has to be cold for it to happen, i would say 45 degrees or so, but it becomes consistent somewhere at the freezing point and below.So, eventually i decided to have it sorted before the warranty expires. The dealer is unexpectedly enthusiastic about fixing tha problem. They don't know what it is....but they are going to put a brand new tranny in !. I didn't even had to insist at all.So....i wonder what's the problem may be and why on earth they are so eager to get me a new tranny ? I mean, they have been good to me, but on the other hand something bothers me. Say the next tranny does the same and I don't fix it (warranty is out now), would I have bigger problems down the line ?On a general note....Vibe seems a nice enough car, but i must say, it is finicky......In 2 years: new PCM, OEM tires barely surviving 50000 km, this transmission stuff, weird alignment issues, gas mileage higher than expected....My ride before that was a 03 Ranger, as basic as they get. Must say, the truck was way more solid during the 2 years i drove it.

[RePo]

Dealers love warranty work. It's billed back to GM, and it's their primary source of revenue. They sell cars with narrow margins just to get the warranty revenue. A big job like a transmission is worth a lot to their service department.

[Atomb]

hi Yury,My vibe does that too (base, 5 speed) whenever the temperature is -5C or less...roughly to me it sounds like ice going through the grinder on your refrigerator when you set it to 'crushed ice'. I'm not sure what is causing it and there was a thread on here from a year or 2 ago discussing the issue. In the end, i'm going through my 3rd winter with this sound (and i don't ALWAYS hear it...) and i've decided to just leave it as is.I really don't think it is the transmission...i could be wrong but it sounds like it's coming from elsewhere. Could it just be some slightly frozen coolant working it's way through the system? That could be why it only happens when it's pretty cold and not just 'kinda' cold?hmmm now that i think about it...whenever i plug my car in at night i don't think i hear the noise in the morning!?It's only -6C tonight...but the weekend says -15C at night..so i'll test things then and let you know.Hmm..funny how you notice things when you actually think about them!

[Yury]

yeah, sounds like the same problemmy thoughts exacly - sounds like partially frozen fluid going throuhg a plastic pipe. to me it sounds like coming from the cylinder block, i even thought it's that black plastic cover on it.however my dealer insists on it coming from the transmission. i dunno.btw, recent coolant flush didn't help.

[Yury]

another thing. the dealer says the noice does not happen when it's declutched. i can't either confirm or deny, didn't notice.but for sure it's temperature dependant. if you're plug it in, i guess it's like summer all of a sudden

[joatmon]

Maybe the clutch throwout bearing.I sure hope there are no chunks of ice moving though anybody's coolant system, that could be disastrous

[Atomb]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »I sure hope there are no chunks of ice moving though anybody's coolant system, that could be disastroushow so? wouldn't they melt almost immediately as the temps quickly increase once the engine is started?in my old VW (98) Golf, i was winter camping one year and the temps got as low as -40C (-40F ...interesting fact!) and the coolant reservoir was frozen solid...so i'm assuming the coolant in the block was also frozen solid.I had no way to warm up the car as it was parked at the end of a dirt road....so i started it and watched to make sure no hoses burst, etc. Literally within the first 30-45seconds the coolant was ALL liquid. Liquid appeared almost instantly though.

[joatmon]

Maybe these 4 bangers are different, but a buddy of mine in college had his V8 block freeze up, went on a long trip, blew the freeze plugs, lost all coolant, overheated, and blew big holes in the pistons and block.I don't understand how he didn't notice the loss of coolant or let it go so long to do so much damage, but that car had a killer sound system in it, maybe that was a factor

[Atomb]

so i've been plugging my car in every night for the last week as it has been frickin cold overnight around here.have not heard any 'ice crunching' sounds coming from the engine/transmission during the last week when starting up in the morning.Forgot to plug the car in last night and it hit -10C (that's the temp in the car when i started it today).Heard some of that ice crunching, not much but definitely was there for short time until things warmed up a bit.So plugging in the car in cold weather does seem to do something to stop that sound...based on what i've heard.

[2006Vibe]

Yep,My '06 Vibe with a mere 20K kms on it makes the same "ice through a mixer/crusher" sound only on startup. Oh well, I wonder if Matrixes do it as well.

[Yury]

Here's an update: i got the new tranny and the sound went away. so it was the tranny after all.i would recommend everybody with the problem and remaining warrany go to their dealer.

[Atomb]

how was it in the -17C this morning?had my car plugged in and i didn't hear the ice grinding machine.

[2006Vibe]

I haven't tried to plug in my car.. yet, I'm not even sure if I have a block heater.. either way, this morning it did it at -15 in Toronto and it only makes noise for a quick second, not even enough time to let off the clutch to see if it's the bearing.If it was the bearing, it wouldn't make a difference if it was plugged in or not. It might be elsewhere, but I don't think it's the transmission.. however, I've got issues with my box, so if I can get a new one out of this well perfect!

[21Rouge]

Quote, originally posted by Yury »another thing. the dealer says the noice does not happen when it's declutched.Take a peak at 'my' thread.http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=20765Even now at 45k km I get this sound on startup in cold weather. It is for sure tranny related. I do notice that when I park the Vibe on my inclined driveway, front end below rear (ie facing the bottom of the incline) there is no unusual start-up noise.