GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I've been lurking here ever since I bought a used 2003 Vibe 5-speed a few years ago. It's a great site with great info!Well I saved my first post for a doozy! My transmission has died with 120K miles on it.Just wondering my options for replacement. I appreciate all the knowledge and experience here and I'm hoping you can help me out! Here are my thoughts...1. Rebuild the current tranny.Seems painfully expensive and are the replacement parts any better than the original ones (i.e. bearings) that caused it to die? 2. Replace with a used 5 speed.Seems like a lesson in insanity because from what I've read another 5 speed is doomed to fail also unless newer models were more reliable.3. Replace with a 6 speed GT tranny.I like this option but seems too good to be true. An exact match with no issues? What about the speedo gear? Does the computer need to recognize the tranny? Does the shifter linkage need to be addressed? Don't want to buy a 6 speed and not have it work, that's an expensive paperweight.4. Push it off a cliff and call the insurance company. Any additional advice/experience is appreciated. It's going to be expensive no matter what and I want to put my money to good use.Thanks for the help!

There are several threads on here that refer to replacing the 03 manual trans with a newer one or the 6 speed one. That trans is known to be a bad one, and I would not spend a dime on rebuilding it. Of course any used trans is a gamble, but a used 6 speed or newer 5 speed would be better than another 03 trans.Looks like there are many transmissions that can be used as a direct replacement. 03-08 Vibe, Matrix or Corolla - not FX transmissions will work according to http://www.car-part.com Just look on there for a place close by with a used trans for your car.Good luck!

Just like trb said, from what i've heard doing the 6 speed GT tranny swap is one of the best options you can do. The 5 speeds were pretty notorious for going bad. I've heard of lots of people doing the swap for the GT with great luck. I'm no mechanic, but just from experience and from talking to people who have done the swaps between the newer 5 speeds and 6 speeds, that'd be your best bet. Best of luck and hope to see you around more!

W/a 6-speed swap, your mileage is going to suffer because the final drive is quite a bit higher... unless the final drive gears of a 5-speed are installed before the swap. That just might be the best of both worlds.One the other hand, a 5-sp has one less gear to shift on the roads and after '04, Toyota redesigned the shaft/bearing that goes bad (so I have read,) so installing a '05+ should be a good option.

I wish theses threads would stop popping up. Makes me nervous with my 135K Mile 2003 5 speed.Out of curiosity, what kind of fluid change schedule did the original poster follow, and what kind of fluid.

Quote, originally posted by sideshowalan »I wish theses threads would stop popping up. Makes me nervous with my 135K Mile 2003 5 speed.Out of curiosity, what kind of fluid change schedule did the original poster follow, and what kind of fluid.Being not sure what to do I followed the Vibe manual which is somewhat vague on fluid change. "If you tow a trailer"....and so on.So it was changed when I replaced the clutch at about 115K with synthetic fluid. At that time the tranny was making a little noise but I was hoping it was clutch related. Unfortunately it wasn't and now I get to tear it apart again. Grrrr...hindsight right?So it looks like the 6 speed is more available and cheaper to buy. Can anyone tell me if it is in fact a direct replacement? People's opinions seems to differ. Take the crappy 5 speed out and replace with a 6 speed and it's good to go?Thanks so much everyone!

Yes, direct replacement. May want to throw a 6 speed knob on there when you're finished so whoever drives your car can find reverse.Blox makes a really nice looking 6 speed knob, just make sure it specifies toyota, as the honda ones have a different thread size.

Quote, originally posted by Vibican03 »Being not sure what to do I followed the Vibe manual which is somewhat vague on fluid change. "If you tow a trailer"....and so on.So it was changed when I replaced the clutch at about 115K with synthetic fluid. At that time the tranny was making a little noise but I was hoping it was clutch related. Unfortunately it wasn't and now I get to tear it apart again. Grrrr...hindsight right?So it looks like the 6 speed is more available and cheaper to buy. Can anyone tell me if it is in fact a direct replacement? People's opinions seems to differ. Take the crappy 5 speed out and replace with a 6 speed and it's good to go?Thanks so much everyone!get one from a vibe or matrix and the 6 speed is a 100% direct replacement bolt for bolt. Carolla's have some differences and require a lil work so skip em. car-part is a great site for finding them and $700 is a solid price it seems but it will vary with area and availability. the only thing you need to do as already stated is get a 6spd knob for people other than you that might drive it. The 5 speed knob works without an issue but people can't find reverse unless you tell them ahead of time.There are plenty of proper 6 speeds out there and yes, indeed they are cheaper. you will lose 2-3mpg due to the final drive, but other than that it is a stronger transmission and a worthwhile upgrade. Biggest thing for me when going into the mountains is i no longer have to downshift to 4th since 6th is geared well enough to maintain speed and accelerate even slightly up long hills.search some of the swap threads. don't follow that long write-up though step for step. use your head doing the swap and you can save a bunch of time. Prepare to swear at the rear engine mount; it was designed by a royal a-hole. Other than that it is a straight swap and no additional hardware is required. get a nice new clutch kit and be on your way.

Just pulled the trigger on a used Vibe 6 speed tranny with 57K miles on it for $550 shipped. Thanks for all the help. I'll post once the swap is complete and my car can actually move again!

Quote, originally posted by Vibican03 »Just pulled the trigger on a used Vibe 6 speed tranny with 57K miles on it for $550 shipped. Thanks for all the help. I'll post once the swap is complete and my car can actually move again! great price. now find yourself a shiny new clutch kit to go with it. you don't want to have to do this job again for a long time.

Quote, originally posted by Bedlam »great price. now find yourself a shiny new clutch kit to go with it. you don't want to have to do this job again for a long time.The clutch that's in it has less than 1,000 miles on it so I'll stick with that one. Yes, that does mean that the car was torn apart less than 1,000 miles ago. Bummer, but that's the way it goes.I have a trusted mechanic doing the work for me. I do a lot of stuff on my own but also know my limits! I could probably figure it out but finding the time right now just isn't possible.

I am going to be doing the clutch on mine this spring. Could you direct me to the wreckers in Michigan that may have them?

Yea the early 5 speeds (03-04) have been known for issues. I also think the same is true for the early 6 speeds. From what I understand it a straight swap.

Quote, originally posted by chevelle_lover »I am going to be doing the clutch on mine this spring. Could you direct me to the wreckers in Michigan that may have them?I think you're asking about where to find transmissions? If that's the case I used http://www.car-part.com/ per the suggestions of others here.I actually found mine in Indiana but the company shipped parts nationally. There are quite a few 5 and 6 speeds available with fairly low miles.Good luck!

Well the transmission swap is complete. Much to the doubts of my family and mechanic the transmission is a perfect fit. The only thing that needed to be transferred over was the speedometer gear from my old transmission. The 6 speed had a plug in that particular spot that my speedo gear fit right into.I found a GT transmission with 57K miles in Indianapolis for $450, shipped for $100. I was pretty excited about that find.The crappy part is that the new clutch I put in less than 1000 miles ago was ruined. It's a long story but apparently the broken transmission was in gear even though the shifter was in neutral. At least in gear enough to heat up the clutch when idling but not in gear enough to stall it. Rather than chance it I just replaced it with a new one. No need to tear this whole thing apart for the third time in two weeks.Total cost for two clutches, tearing it apart twice and a used transmission came to $2000. Not bad, but too bad the transmission didn't die first. So pros and cons of the swap:Pros:- Hey, now I have a 6 speed!- Stronger transmission- Not worried about another 5 speed pukingCons:- Shifter is stiff in reverse and clunky into third- Increased RPMs on highway to about 3200 at 70mph- More shifting- Forgetting that 6th gear ISN'T reverseOverall I'm very happy. Like I said it's too bad the timing wasn't a bit better with the transmission and clutch. This could've been one tear down instead of two but hindsight is always 20/20. If your 5 speed has died don't even think about it, go with a 6 speed. Better transmission, cheaper to buy, bolts right up, a no brainer really.

Glad it all worked out! Now you need to put a GT 2zz engine in there.

Hello. I read over your postings due to the 5 speed manual transmission, on my 2006 Vibe (with 149,000 mostly highway miles), failed early Sunday morning just as I was getting onto the freeway. 5th gear went out with a very loud sickening whirring sound, then by the time I got to the next exit 4th gear went out. I was in 3rd gear limping home and about a mile from home 3rd finally gave out. I made it home in 2nd gear. I had just taken the car in to the GM dealership last Friday to check my clutch because I had thought it was beginning to go since I'd been hearing a high speed rhythmic scraping-type sound for a month or so. It only made the sound when the clutch was engaged. When I would depress the clutch pedal, say going down hill, the sound would disappear. Dealership had the care for 9 hours and told me that the clutch was bad and would cost over $2000! I was shocked at such a ridiculous quote. They assured me that the clutch would be good for another few months, unfortunately, the transmission didn't live that long. Wish I had known about the issue with the transmission bearings failing prior to this happening. I'm now in the process of buying a 6 speed transmission to replace the 5 speed after reading so many postings on this topic. Since there were no significant changes to the Vibe for 2006, am I right in assuming a 6 speed transmission will bolt right up? What, if anything further, do I need to have done after the 6 speed is installed? I am a little concerned about some saying that the RPMs will be higher in 6th gear. I am surprised at this. Can anyone shed some light on this issue? If the 6 speed transmission is a direct fit and is a stronger transmission, from what people have stated on this and other forums, will it truly be a worry free transmission? Guess I would like some reassurance that I'm spending a good chunk of my hard earned pay for a good reason. I've driven standard cars all of my life (foreign and domestic) and this is the first transmission problem I've ever experienced.

While the trannies are physically interchangeable, the overall gear ratio of the 6 speed in sixth gear is higher than for the 5 speed in fifth gear, so the engine has to rev more to get the same vehicle speed.

Worry free is more of a state of mind. Nothing mechanical is ever truly risk free, stuff breaks. Your 5 speed from a 2006 was supposed to be from after Toyota supposedly fixed whatever was wrong with the early 5 speeds, it should have been trouble free. Nobody can guarantee putting a 6 speed in will be the last you'll ever have to worry about transmissions. If you get a used one, get one with at least some warranty. And put in a new clutch while its apart, Its about the same non-trivial amount of labor to swap a tranny as it is to replace a clutch, so might as well do both while it's apart.