GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hey All, I recently purchased a 2003 Pontiac Vibe, but am having a problem with it. Every once in awhile it will start making a buzzing noise (sounds like coming from the drivers side dash), the check engine light will come on, and then the car will start to stall out and eventually die...After it dies the buzzing continues for a few seconds and then the car will start back and run with no problems.... I've taken it in to the dealer but since they cant recreate the problem, they don't know what to look for... This doesn't happen very often and isn't consistent.. Has anyone heard of this problem? Thanks,VibeLost in Texas

what code is the check engine light giving when you take it to the dealership

By the time I get to the dealership, the light is off... I dont know if they are trying to check that? Can they check that even though the light is off?

They can pull the code even if the CEL is off. It stores in the car's computer for so long. I would take it to Autozone or some other auto parts store, they typically will check the codes for free and then you could give us a better idea as to what to help you out with.

The code is going to be key here, not much anyone can do without knowing what the code is.

Ok.. It happened again this morning on my way to work... so I went straight to AutoZone... They ran the test and got 4 codes... all relating to the ignition coil.... there was a code for each coil 1 thru 4.... I'm taking it in to the dealer next week.. surely they can use the codes to resolve my problem!

Was it these codes?

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Quote, originally posted by VibeLost »Ok.. It happened again this morning on my way to work... so I went straight to AutoZone... They ran the test and got 4 codes... all relating to the ignition coil.... there was a code for each coil 1 thru 4.... I'm taking it in to the dealer next week.. surely they can use the codes to resolve my problem!Well looks like you are getting there! I have never had a coil fail on me but I have had an ignition module fail before which when that happens the car just dies. Coils supply spark to the spark plugs if you did not know that. Sounds like a coil failed, the car was running on three cylinders and eventually could not do that for long and died. The computer says what is going on here and shuts her down! Worst case is it is your ECM which would not be a cheap repair.

I'm heading to the dealer .... YAHOO for extended warranty!!!!

Is this in anyway connected to humid or damp weather? I ask for I had a Nissan Sentra that would do this. Nissan replaced ignition coil, but the problem remained. Any time it would rain or be very humid, the car would stall. Problem was a cracked distributor that allowed moisture inside. I had that replaced and there was no problems afterwords. This happened a few years later after 4 - 5 trips to the dealer, yet they never could solve the problem. It was only after I heard about a similar problem that my dad had before I looked at the distributor cap and noticed a small crack.