GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

perhaps this has been discussed before.I have found on the highway in 5th gear I can put my foot to the floor and the car does not pick up speed.Go down a gear and you can red line it. any other gears can go to red line.car has 114,000 miles changed the plugs at 105,000 miles had the ECU recall done a few months ago.At first I thought bad gas or fuel filter but this vibe has a screen no filter.No codes thrownI was thinking pump or injectors but wouldn't they show a problem in more than 5th gear???I'd replace stuff just because but I'd rather have an idea what before I just toss money at it.Any thoughts???

Hmmm interesting so the rpms don't go up either? Car you hear the engine try to rev up? What happens if you push in the clutch with the car still in 5th and rev the engine?

Any specific rpm in 5th where it does this? What happens when you shift from 4th into 5th at 90mph vs 55mph?

have not tried that but the revs don't climb both speed and revs are the same.almost like the go pedal is not working....

speed does not play a part whatever speed I am at that is as fast as I can go...this was a big shock when I drove it after not driving it for some time, it is mostly my wife's car now and she didn't notice just thought it was getting "tired"since no codes are tossed I am going to have to have some checks done.I'll report the findings...

does it seem like it is completely down on power? 5th gear is pretty anemic on the little 1.8L motor.might have a collapsed catalytic converter causing a huge flow restriction and power drop. if it feels doggish in the other gears as well then this would be something worth checking. Just because it can accelerate in the other gears, does not mean it is accelerating as fast as it should.

had someone put a superdooper scan tool on it, says it is down 3 psi in fuel pressure under load in 5th.perhaps new injectors and fuel pump????????

It could be that the "lifetime" fuel filter is clogged.I would take the pump out of the tank and examine it.May be possible to clean the filter.Injectors could not cause low pressure.

Quote, originally posted by jkchappy »had someone put a superdooper scan tool on it, says it is down 3 psi in fuel pressure under load in 5th.perhaps new injectors and fuel pump????????What were the actual psi readings? The spec is that fuel pressure sholuld be betweeen 44 and 50 psi. If it dropped 3 psi but was still in range I wouldn't target that as the source of the problem.Maybe the car is so bogged down in 5th that the ECU tries to dump massive fuel to get the engine to speed up, the increased flow drops the pressure. What else could cause the fuel pressure to drop like that?The computer doesn't know what gear you are in. The effect of an air intake/exhaust problem should be more pronounced at full throttle in 4th than at light to medium acceleration in fifth. The gear ratios between 4th and 5th are close enough that the extra bit of overdrive in 5th shouldn't cause the problem to only occur in 5th if the problem is something like a stuck parking brake or other wheel related drag. I don't see how anything other than the tranny is going to have that drastic effect on power only in one specific gear. Have you ever had the tranny oil changed? Do you notice any sounds or vibration when in 5th gear? Maybe I'm biased, having had Vibe 5 speed failures myself, I think everything is another tranny bearing failure.Is there some hose or electrical wire bundle that's been mis-positioned in some fluke arrangement where it gets bumped by the shifter cables/levers when you shift into fifth?

The '03's OBD doesn't monitor fuel psi and therefore nothing to read on a scantool. There is no fuel pressure sensor that I'm aware of anywhere in the system, nor is there one in the FSM.But as stated above, even if it dropped 3 psi below spec, 41psi, that might trip a light due to a lean mix, but shouldn't affect overall drive-ability as a 3 psi drop is only about 7% of total flow, which is easily compensated for by the ECU.

'05 not an '03 messed up the title

I changed the tranny oil at 85,000 miles now at 115,xxx miles.this happens often enough it can not be a parking brake. I changed the front pads somewhere around 105,000. The rears are fine.No noises nothing that jumps out and says to me HEY STUPID look at me I am the cause.I don't like that this '05 does not have a filter somewhere, it is beyond belief that it does not. When the pump was pulled the only thing seen was the screen.Can I replace the pump with one with the filer?????

I beleive that screen is a filter...of sorts. It's just keeps all the big crap from going through the engine. Was the screen plugged or dirty at all?

Nope nothing on it either

2005 - no fuel pressure sensor there either.

CHECK THE CAT

I wouldn't be too worried about it to be completely honest, i've got an 03' GT and i can build up power for the first 5 gears but then i put it and 6th, put my foot to the floor and it doesn't do hardly anything. The last gear is basically the same idea as an overdrive gear in automatic cars. It builds up power until you get to a steady speed and it'll knock it down into the lower rpm's for better mileage. I know you have the 5-speed but in my GT i can hit 65-70 still in 4th if i push it up to 5-5500 rpm, i wouldn't worry to much about it though.

Quote, originally posted by Brandort3 »I wouldn't be too worried about it to be completely honest, i've got an 03' GT and i can build up power for the first 5 gears but then i put it and 6th, put my foot to the floor and it doesn't do hardly anything. The last gear is basically the same idea as an overdrive gear in automatic cars. It builds up power until you get to a steady speed and it'll knock it down into the lower rpm's for better mileage. I know you have the 5-speed but in my GT i can hit 65-70 still in 4th if i push it up to 5-5500 rpm, i wouldn't worry to much about it though.this is completely wrong. I have a 1ZZ and have had both 5 and 6 speeds. the top gear will gradually accelerate the car in both. The 6th gear can actually relatively easily bring the car from 40 to 80mph with ease IF your car is running well. 5th gear is longer in the 5 speeds and will have less power, but it should be able to accelerate the car on flat ground and slight inclines when over 2500rpms.people should not be satisfied with something not working properly. Take care of the cars and they will take care of you.

Quote, originally posted by Bedlam »CHECK THE CATThis^^^^Sounds like it's clogged enough to restrict some power.

I intend to find out why and fix it, I want it to run as it used to, this is my wife and daughter's main ride and I want them to be safe and have a great car.I have been so very happy with this car, it was one of my best buying choices...thanks everyone for their feedback.

Quote, originally posted by Bedlam »this is completely wrong. I have a 1ZZ and have had both 5 and 6 speeds. the top gear will gradually accelerate the car in both. The 6th gear can actually relatively easily bring the car from 40 to 80mph with ease IF your car is running well. 5th gear is longer in the 5 speeds and will have less power, but it should be able to accelerate the car on flat ground and slight inclines when over 2500rpms.people should not be satisfied with something not working properly. Take care of the cars and they will take care of you.I wasn't saying that it wouldn't gradually accelerate in the top gear, i was just saying it would be a slower pick up. I've had multiple mechanics look at my car and none has said nothing is wrong with it. I took my car in after i got it saying that it had little pickup in 6th and he said that this is normal for vibes. I'm not disregarding any advice that we are giving you, i was just giving my opinion on it from experience with mine is all.