GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Second owner of the car which has a 2.4 L engine, with FWD, and automatic transmission. Had the car for a couple of weeks. I entered the highway and shortly after getting up to speed of 100 kmph it started making a very loud humming noise. I noticed that the tachometer was at 6500. In attempting to pass a car I could not accelerate beyond 100 kmph. After exiting the highway the noise went away and the tachometer was back down. About an hour later and getting back on the highway again the car was symptom free. There are less than 84,000 km on the odometer. The power train warranty expired on the last day of September of this year. Anyone experience this problem, or know what could be the cause and possible solution?

Check the obvious... Make sure you are in D and not in the manual mode as you could have had it limited to second gear, no check engine lights, trans fluid at the correct level...

Sounds like you were in 2 instead of drive...

Has it been more then 50,000km since the trans fluid was changed?
If so change it, use only Toyota fluid, and cross your fingers.

According to the maintenace schdule in the owner's manual the transmission fluid should be changed every 60,000 miles (96 000 km) if the vehicle is mainly driven under one or more of these conditions:

− In heavy city traffic where the outside temperature regularly reaches 90°F (32°C) or higher.

− In hilly or mountainous terrain.

− When doing frequent trailer towing.

− Uses such as found in taxi, police, or delivery service.

If you do not use your vehicle under any of these conditions, the fluid does not require changing.

None of them apply.

I don't know how the transmission could have been stuck on the second gear. See attached photos for the shift lever positions for the 2009 and 2010 Vibe. I have the 2009.

None of the warning lights, gages or indicators were lit up, aside from what has been indicated.

I have to take the car in for a tune up next week and see what the mechanic may find.

The 2009 came with two automatic transmissions: the 4-speed, which is pictured above, and a 5-speed with manual mode, which is pictured below.

The one you tagged as 2009 is the 5-speed with manual mode. Sounds like you were in manual mode and simply failed to shift the car to another gear.

Your car was clearly in 2nd gear, or maybe even 1st. Not sure of the ratios. Chances are the reason is that your shift lever just got bumped to the wrong position.

When I test drove a 2010 Vibe GT with the 5-speed auto I accidentally had it in shift mode the whole time (obviously I wasn't familiar with the vehicle at the time). It didn't do anything abnormal because unless you manually push the shifter up or down, it automatically stays in 4th gear when you put it into shift mode.

I got the 2.4L 5 speed auto. When you pass the car usually experience a "wind up" moment (4000rpm -5000rpm) before it shift to the correct gear. This is very pronounce when you need to accelerate quickly on a super short dual function merge lane that end with a exit lane to transfer from one hwy to another highway. The transmission seems to stuck in neutral forever before pick on the right gear.

max247 wrote:If you do not use your vehicle under any of these conditions, the fluid does not require changing.

Ask any transmission mechanic and they'll be skeptical of this claim, to say the least.
Google "lifetime transmission fluid".