09 Vibe: first mechanical breakdown

[Caretaker]

If my luck with cars continues like this, I'm never buying a car again. First (as you all know) the dealership-leaves-bolts-off-from-my-axle-seal fiasco last year with the Malibu forciing me to dump that car after the axle collaped and buy the 09 Vibe. Now, while driving home today, I hear this horrendous noise like a wheel bearing went bad, or that the rack and pinion was grinding to a pulp. The noise was speed sensitive and I could alter the pitch of the grinding by turning the wheel left and right. The steering also felt odd (loose), and I had flashbacks of my collapsed axle in the Malibu Maxx in Harlem from last July. I then picked up my daughter at camp and made my way slowly to the local Pontiac dealer (who just happens to be the dealer that tried to kill me last year). That dealer (same owner) merged his two dealerships into one. The good news there is that they cleaned out everyone since botching my axle seal repair on the Malibu and imported all new staff and mechanics. That's a relief. Oddly, after turning off the engine and picking up my daughter, and then turning on the car again, I did not experience the noise at all for the 2 mile ride to the dealer, although the steering still felt sloppy. I have a very low tolerance now for this kinda junk; not to mention the Toyota downshift problem we are all having. Could anyone else out there possibly have experienced this loud grinding/bearing going bad noise on their 09 or 10 Vibe?

[ou.grizzly]

Rock stuck in caliper?

[Kamikaze]

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »Rock stuck in caliper?Oh very well possible.My wife had one in her civic once.. she complained like her car was falling apart when she heard the noise... wasn't sure what it was and all worried, I backed up the car and heard some noise not thinking much of it... drove it around with absolutely no noise and never had it since.. (I'm positive it was a rock)Another time my friend and I were in my vibe, going to head down to the Cities and heard that AWFUL noise.. I was worried that it was somehing bad (sounded way worse than a rock) we stop, get out check everything over, make sure the wheels were tight and started it back up to see what would happen, we here this PING and the sound was gone. (another rock, but I've never heard a rock make that much noise in the 15 years of driving I've done)I could have sworn that my feeling felt funny, but really there wasn't anything wrong....Does your Steering still feel sloppy?

[Caretaker]

the steering did feel sloppy, althogh I will admit, once you have been through an axle collapse as a result of "superior workmanship from the dealer" you can get spooked easily. The fact that the noise continued for 2-3 miles and stopped once the car was turned off and on; not to mention the fact that I could alter the pitch of the grinding by turning the steering wheel, does not sound like a rock stuck in the caliper. Keep those thoughts coming. I know I'll get a call from the dealer tomorrow saying: "sorry sir, we could not replicate the problem."

[Caretaker]

well, the mechanics drove the car for 17 miles and the noise did not materialize. They also said the TSB for the hard downshifting is only on the 5 speed tranny, not the 4 speed. I guess I'll chalk this up to a rock stuck between the rotor and brake pad.

[jake75]

I think the new electric power steering seems a little sloppy compared to the former hydraulic system. It seems to require more attention to keep it heading straight especially on a highway.

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »I think the new electric power steering seems a little sloppy compared to the former hydraulic system. It seems to require more attention to keep it heading straight especially on a highway.With the ruts in the roads around here, I'd say that the EPS isn't that bad although IMO it is a little too light. It's too easy to move at highway speeds.

[Kincaid]

I have liked the steering. Then I drove my old Civic (now my daughters) and couldn't believe the effort it took - so much more than I'd gotten used to in the Vibe.