GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hello all :I just bought a 2003 Whtie VIBE ( base model + some stuff ) last week and I am loving it!Now, I just have a few questions:1. I hear some sort of rattle coming from the back ( possibly under the seat ) when I accelerate... is that normal ? 2. When night comes and everything lights up... the part where mirror controls reside does NOT light up, is that right ? 3. when I first start up my car, the sound of engine running doesn't sound very "right"... it's got some kind of muffled sound and a little high-pitch too.4. Lastly, I am looking for a nose mask... what price should I expect to pay ? At the dealer.Please help thank you

quote:Hello all :I just bought a 2003 Whtie VIBE ( base model + some stuff ) last week and I am loving it!Now, I just have a few questions:1. I hear some sort of rattle coming from the back ( possibly under the seat ) when I accelerate... is that normal ? 2. When night comes and everything lights up... the part where mirror controls reside does NOT light up, is that right ? 3. when I first start up my car, the sound of engine running doesn't sound very "right"... it's got some kind of muffled sound and a little high-pitch too.4. Lastly, I am looking for a nose mask... what price should I expect to pay ? At the dealer.Please help thank youWelcome to genvibe and glad you're enjoying your Vibe!1. The rattle could be something in the spare tire area under the cargo floor. Maybe some of the tie downs, possibly? 2. The mirror controls do not light up at night. One of my peeves. As for number 3 and 4, I'm not sure, but I'm sure someone on genvibe can give you some more info.

quote:3. when I first start up my car, the sound of engine running doesn't sound very "right"... it's got some kind of muffled sound and a little high-pitch too.Sounds normal -- how many RPMs are you running at when you start? Should be between 1000 and 2000...When you first start up the car, it will run high...as it warms up, the RPMs come down, and the noise comes down -- AFAIK, that's the nature of cars, and is nothing abnormal. As for a #4, I can't answer that for ya, sorry...

quote:4. Lastly, I am looking for a nose mask... what price should I expect to pay ? At the dealer.First off welcome to GenVibe!Sputnik and Ragingfish are "right on" for questions 1-3 so I'll try to help with #4!Checking the Vibe Accessories brochure shows the factory mask available as both a full mask (GM #12498126, List $100.53) and a hood only mask (GM #12498125, List $42.08).I purchased the mud flaps for my Frosty Vibe over the Internet from P&G Chevy (http://www.partszoneonline.com) because my dealer pretty much insisted on asking more than the list price shown on the GMGoodwrench site. You might check them out. They currently show those parts available for $69.23 and $28.98 respectively.You may also want to check your local auto parts stores to see if they carry "LeBra" brand covers - LeBra makes one for the Vibe but I have no idea what their pricing is (yet). At least one of the members on here has a LeBra on their Vibe and it appeared to fit rather well from the small picture they posted.

thank you everyone Now... one more question:I was driving on a highway ( doing about 105 km/h ) with rain pouring down hard and I noticed something weird with the tires.Every so often one of the tires will seem to be "locking up", it happened about 5 times within 40 mins or so.( maybe 3 of those were rear-left tire )Basically, the tires makes some sort of sound and my car will slow down a little, ( with my foot still on the gas ), and the car slips a little bit too.Later on, when the rain gets calmer... it never happened again.What was going on there? It feels like traction control... but it can't be...I am sure it's not the road because I commute on that highway every weekend and that has never happened before, or in any other kinds of weather.thank you

Could be a loose part rolling under the seat. Take a look.

quote:Basically, the tires makes some sort of sound and my car will slow down a little, ( with my foot still on the gas ), and the car slips a little bit too.Sounds like you may have started hydroplaning. Signs of that are often loss of traction, trouble steering, strange road noises, and/or complete loss of control of the car.

quote:Basically, the tires makes some sort of sound and my car will slow down a little, ( with my foot still on the gas ), and the car slips a little bit too.Sounds like you may have started hydroplaning. Signs of that are often loss of traction, trouble steering, strange road noises, and/or complete loss of control of the car.I agree, it sounds like hydroplaning to me. Its scary when that happens.

Welcome to Genvibe! I'm glad to see that your questions were answered already. As far as your last question, it does sound like hydroplaning. You may want to slow down during heavy rain because of the risk of loosing control or the car.

One other thing I forgot to mention about hydroplaning:Perhaps it's just me, but the vibe seems to have a bit of a tendency to hydroplane more quickly than other cars -- could be it's higher stance, larger tires, or just the choice of stock tires.In any case, do be careful, hydroplaning sneaks up on you, and can often be deadly!

quote:I was driving on a highway ( doing about 105 km/h ) with rain pouring down hard and I noticed something weird with the tires.Every so often one of the tires will seem to be "locking up", it happened about 5 times within 40 mins or so.( maybe 3 of those were rear-left tire )Basically, the tires makes some sort of sound and my car will slow down a little, ( with my foot still on the gas ), and the car slips a little bit too.Do you have ABS?

Yes, I do have ABS on my car.Just to add, the sound I mentioned was like a splashing sound... kind of like water getting rolled up and hitting the part above the tire ( I don't know what that part of the car is called )So, this "hydroplaning" thing is normal given the circumstances ? At least, it's not because the car is faulty or anything right ? thank you everyone

I notice none of us seemed to have defined "hydroplaning" for you!Basically it means that a "wedge" of water has spread through the contact patch between one or more tires and the road, until the tire is "floating" on a film of water. Naturally this means that tire grip goes to about zero and skids, wheelspin and wheel lock-up under braking become major threats. Your symptoms could be wheelspin as you drive through deeper water. Hydroplaning, AKA, aquaplaning, is affected by tread pattern*, tire size, weight/load on the wheel, water depth, and most of all, speed! * (treadless "slick" racing tires can hydroplane at 10 MPH, which is why they are illegal on the street.)

quote:.4. Lastly, I am looking for a nose mask... what price should I expect to pay ? At the dealer.Goodwrench makes one for $86.00 you get the Hood and Nose cover combo that its a perfect fit. You will probably have to order it and it comes in about a week.

Good explanation of hydroplaning, MadBill. I might add that my driver's education teacher taught us that according to physics, a tire at minimum legal tread depth will risk hydroplaning at 35 MPH and above. If the tread depth is deeper, or of a better design, the tire will resist hydroplaning until higher speeds are achieved. I don't know that our new friend here was hydroplaning or not, but from what he describes, it sounds like he ran into some deeper water on the road. As a tire spins quickly in deeper water, it will pick some of it up and whip it against the inside of the wheelwell and make a loud, grumbling noise. When you hit deeper water at speed, it can feel like your brakes were applied suddenly at a moderate to heavy amount. It feels like something grabbed the car and slowed it down quickly for a second or two and you hear the grumbling noise of the water splashing against the wheelwell. You don't have to be hydroplaning to experience this, but if it happens, let it serve as a warning that hydroplaning is a risk in those conditions and you should slow down (sometimes if the rain is heavy enough, you should slow down a lot).Good luck with your Vibe and welcome as a new member!

One other thing to note about hydroplaning:Best way to regain control if you start hydroplanining is NOT to apply the brakes quickly or hardly...Brake gently, or -- to be even safer let the engine slow the car. If you downshift, it will slow you faster., but the jerking of a downshift can also send you out of control more...you will quickly feel the control return to you...I have an auto, and if i start to hydroplane, often turning off O/D helps slow me down enough to stop the process...Most importantly, make sure you don't speed up again, or you'll simply start hydroplaning!!!

I could always tell when it was time for new rubber on my 3 cylinder Pontiac Firefly (Geo Metro clone). Wheelspin in the rain at 120 KPH in 5th gear was clearly not due to raw horsepower...

thank you to all fellow Vibe owners here You guys are great ! Jeff

Hello all...I do want to add something about the hydroplaning. Although I haven't really met with any rain on my new Vibe GT, I have had a similar issue with an older truck of mine. Had stock Firestones and really didn't notice this sensation of "drag" on the wheels as much but after I upgraded to Aquatred 3's, the "drag" became much more. I found out by research and additional experience that this slowing down and underbody water noise was actually caused by the tires displacing the water more efficiently.By no means am I saying everything is ok though. It's a good thing the tires are displacing the puddles of water BUT it's also saying slow down because there's a lot of water on the road. The sensation I usully get is a heavy pull to the side that the water puddles are on. Almost feels like the brakes on the one side are engaging slightly. I'm thinking if he was actually hydroplaning, he wouldn't feel as much drag and much more sense of floating. The engine would rev up due to the less friction on the drive wheels (If that's where the issue was happening)Just my 2 cents...DaveGot Vibe and lovin it.

I thinks its strange that some people don't seem to understand that they must decrease speed in rain. Here in the Metro DC area we have been experiencing a lot of rain lately and just this past week a heavy rain storm rolled through the area (and typically of Metro DC drivers, everyone maintained high speeds). As a result, one car hydorplaned and spun out of control leading to every oher vehicle behind it (I think the count went up to 50 or more) lost control.When driving on wet or icy roadways, it is imperitive that you maintain a proper speed that allows you to keep control of the car.Further, if you're hydroplaning you'll know it. As an earlier poster said, yu should immediately release the accelerator, not break and let the car slow until you feel the tires regain contact with the road.