Cold iddle issues and bucking

[Zeekct]

I have a 2003 vibe that I brought second hand which iddles funny and bucks when the temperature is below 10 outside. It sounds like it iddles up and down and when you drive it for a few miles at stops it seems like it is going to buck forward and seems like it wants to stal. Any ideas on what is going on?? I've had the car for a year with no issues and it seems to run well when the temp is warmer. What are your thoughts?? Thanks for the help. -Matt

[RIT]

Welcome to the "club". Mine has done that for 6 years. Stops once it warms up a little. A little unnerving, but I don't think Pontiac ever figured out a fix.

[Raven]

Quote, originally posted by RIT »Welcome to the "club". Mine has done that for 6 years. Stops once it warms up a little. A little unnerving, but I don't think Pontiac ever figured out a fix.Or was it Toyota By the way, mine does it too.

[tribalman]

i think i may have found a solution for this a few years back when i had my first winter with the car. just to clarify......... when you try and accelerate from a stop (car still cold or only slightly warmed up) the car sounds like it is going to rev really high and take off, but it barely crawls forward and when the rev limiter turns on the revs bounce around and the car shakes?if that ^ is what you are talking about then there was another thread that talked about it, i'll summarize here. i have a base auto 04, what i figured out is to shift into neutral when coming to the light. while stopped the car will rev a bit higher but it won't bounce around. a bit before the light turns green shift back into drive. i can then accelerate as if it was warmed up and i can zip around. i'll see if maybe i can get a video or something up(yeah, i said that last time too.)

[ajflan]

Mine does this as well. I just like to pretend that I have some race cams up in there.

[Sublimewind]

What sort of maintainence records does it have? Have you done anything with it? Like plugs, fluids and such...? The bucking could be the tranny trying to lock up because the old beat fluid is cold... It's normal for the cold start program to run the revs higher for a time... Try letting the car warm up, WITHOUT touching the gas, untill the first big RPM drop...

[RIT]

It is more (maybe only) noticable with the stick. If the ambient temperature is below 20 F or so, it will hunt from 2500 rpm down to about 2000 or so. Very annoying. After about 1 minute, it will stop doing that. BTW, I have the base engine, and it is a 2003.There used to be a clip on youtube with the sound. Search for Vibe idle problem.

[Zeekct]

Thank you all for your help with my car. I haven't done a tune up which I've been planning on since I now have 63,000 on my 03 Vibe. So maybe a tune up might help but the reving up and down and bucking only happens when the temp outside is like below 10 or so. It's a strange thing that I've never had with any other car before. Besides this it's a good car, I love hatchbacks and the vibe is a hidden gem with the Toyota engine and all. I am hoping to get a new Honda Fit in a few years. They are really cool cars. I'll still keep the vibe as a second car. Thanks again for all fo the help. -Matt