Rotten Egg Smell under Warranty? for 2003 used Vibe

Discuss any problems, warranty, repair, or replacement issues you are having with your Vibe & Matrix
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Nutella
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Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:34 am

Rotten Egg Smell under Warranty? for 2003 used Vibe

Post by Nutella »

I'm eyeing some used 2003 Vibes at local dealers.I checked this site for issues with the Vibe and came across the Rotten Egg TSB. I like this car but this TSB is driving me away If I purchase a used 2003 Vibe and end up getting the egg smell, would it be covered under warranty to replace the CAT and PCM ? Would they not cover me because I'm a 2nd or 3rd owner? How much would it cost out of pocket?
northvibe
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Post by northvibe »

the Cat is part of the emissions thing so I think thats covered for 75k miles... Also ask to get the car checked for TSB's before you buy it and if some are missing on it dont buy it until they are done. Im not sure the cost of a cat converted though.by the way nutella is freaking awesome!! I love putting it on crackers.
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joatmon
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Re: Rotten Egg Smell under Warranty? for 2003 used Vibe (Nutella)

Post by joatmon »

the factory waranties transfer with the car, so not being the original owner doesn't matter.http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1010 has softcopies of owners manuals and warranty info, but the warranty is the US one, which says"1. Federal Emission Control WarrantyBoth the Emission Defect Warranty and the EmissionPerformance Warranty described below begin on thedate the vehicle is first delivered or put into use andcontinues for a period of 2 years or 24,000 miles,whichever comes first.If a catalytic converter or vehicle (powertrain) controlmodule is found to be defective under either of thesewarranties, those parts are warranted for 8 years or80,000 miles, whichever comes first."I do not know what the warranty on emissions parts are in Canada, but if the car is under the mileage limit (or is that the kilometerage limit ) , then the converter and PCM would still be under warranty.If you had the problem, and they replaced it under warranty, then it should cost you nothing. If you had a dealer replace both the CAT and PCM and had to pay them "sucker just walked in off the street" rates, probably a grand or so.I never had the egg smell problem from my car, so I wouldn't let that potential problem be a stopper. Up there in Canada where winters are cold I'd be more worried about the small OEM battery they put in the 03's. I'd rather have a car with stinky exhaust than one that I couldn't start. If you are going to buy an 03 in 07, then try to get one that doesn't still have the factory battery..
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kevera
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Re: Rotten Egg Smell under Warranty? for 2003 used Vibe (Nutella)

Post by kevera »

I wouldn't worry about it to much.As Joat said here in Canada the cat is covered by 8 year 80,000 warranty.I got my cat and pcm replaced for the rotten egg smell,but it was bearable.Gas is the major problem with the smell,some brands have more sulfur than others.I noticed Esso to be the worst.I wouldn't let that TSB be the factor in buying a Vibe.I replaced mine mainly because I was about to get a new exhaust system and wanted a new cat installed.
June '07 VOTM Sept '07 MOTM HCVO /HCMO The Red Devil
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