GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

The 5 sp in my Vibe Just failed on the highway yesterday. I have 120k miles. The gears are ginding when I attempt to move it. I had it towed to the closest GM dealership last night. Of course the dealership wont be open until tomorrow morning because of the holiday. Has there been a recall or a TSB on this trans for 05? Should I have the dealership look at it or have it towed the the nearest AAMCO? I would appreciae any help.

Need more info. Do you get a grinding sound upon letting out the clutch? Or a grinding sound with the clutch depressed to the floor - upon trying to shift into gear? maybe something else?
Baring a recall, I'd have an independent garage replace the clutch (if needed), and a junk yard replace the transmission with a used unit (if needed). I wouldn't use GM or aamco. You should talk to friends and family for a referral to a repair shop and get several estimates if possible, once you know what went wrong with the car.

Thank you for your response. I am able to shift into gear but the transmission grinds and the car bucks. It grinds putting it into gear and makes a grinding sound while in gear. I can depress the clutch and I can still feel it grinding. Could it be the clutch?
I am in Saratoga Springs NY and not aware of auto junk yards in the area. With all the environment laws in NY..I havn't seen an auto junk yard in years. The ones I knew of years ago are gone.

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Time for a c60

I have read other places that this is a problem with some of the manual 5 speeds at around 120k or more mi. Most have fixed it by putting the guts in a 6-speed housing. For some reason some of the 5 speed housing are having problems, not a recall or anything just what other owners have said. I have the 6-speed GT so haven't had to worry about this but found out as i was researching befor i got my 03 vibe. You can look on line for a salvage yard and have the case sent to the garage you chose if there are no salvage yards around you.

M1MECHANIC wrote:Most have fixed it by putting the guts in a 6-speed housing. For some reason some of the 5 speed housing are having problems, not a recall or anything just what other owners have said.

The 5-speed housing isn't the problem, its the bearings Toyota used for the gears. The 6-speed doesn't have this problem, and the 06+ 5-speed doesn't have this problem.

M1MECHANIC wrote:I have read other places that this is a problem with some of the manual 5 speeds at around 120k or more mi. Most have fixed it by putting the guts in a 6-speed housing. For some reason some of the 5 speed housing are having problems, not a recall or anything just what other owners have said. I have the 6-speed GT so haven't had to worry about this but found out as i was researching befor i got my 03 vibe. You can look on line for a salvage yard and have the case sent to the garage you chose if there are no salvage yards around you.

Why not just put a 6spd in there in place of the 5spd?

Ask thebarber. He has put a 6spd into a base vibe before. shorter gearing so you'll have a bit more get up and go. You'll lose a bit of gas economy on the highways. But I think its a good trade off. I've also had a 5spd in my XRS temporarily. And it sucked ballz compared to the 6spd!

The 6spd and 5spd share the exact same housing and uses the same axles. It'll bolt right up!!! Any 6spd from 03-08 Vibe GT, 03-06 Matrix XRS, or 05/06 Corolla XRS will work. The Celica GTS 6spd will require some modifications to make it work on your vibe(pm me if you want details).

Also, you should be able to find a 6spd for cheaper than a 5spd.

EricTMah wrote:

M1MECHANIC wrote:I have read other places that this is a problem with some of the manual 5 speeds at around 120k or more mi. Most have fixed it by putting the guts in a 6-speed housing. For some reason some of the 5 speed housing are having problems, not a recall or anything just what other owners have said. I have the 6-speed GT so haven't had to worry about this but found out as i was researching befor i got my 03 vibe. You can look on line for a salvage yard and have the case sent to the garage you chose if there are no salvage yards around you.

Why not just put a 6spd in there in place of the 5spd?

Ask thebarber. He has put a 6spd into a base vibe before. shorter gearing so you'll have a bit more get up and go. You'll lose a bit of gas economy on the highways. But I think its a good trade off. I've also had a 5spd in my XRS temporarily. And it sucked ballz compared to the 6spd!

The 6spd and 5spd share the exact same housing and uses the same axles. It'll bolt right up!!! Any 6spd from 03-08 Vibe GT, 03-06 Matrix XRS, or 05/06 Corolla XRS will work. The Celica GTS 6spd will require some modifications to make it work on your vibe(pm me if you want details).

Also, you should be able to find a 6spd for cheaper than a 5spd.

With the 6 speed you should get better gas mileage with lower RPM's on the highway. At 120k miles you might just need a new clutch. Don't stress out just yet.

The 5 spd will rev lower on the highway. Trust me. I've had one in my car and actually got better gas economy than the 6spd

C60 has a higher final drive for lower gearing

I had a c60'd 1zz vibe and it was great. I bought it with a broken 5 speed, so I have no idea how it affects fuel economy. I drive mostly city so I love the 6 speeds ability to be granny shifted (under 3000rpm) and still be at a reasonable rpm in the next gear. I get about 8L/100km in my GT. Its also nice to stay in the power when you run the car up....no tall 3rd gear like the 5 speed

That, and c60's can be found for $5-700 where the 5 speed is often north of $1000