GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I have a 2009 GT with the 2.4 and about 72,000 miles. The front suspension has recently started an intermittent clunk sound when going over some bumps. Of course it doesn't happen all the time but it sounds like something is loose. I've had the car inspected and the mechanic couldn't find anything wrong. Back in March I had new tires installed where they performed a balance and alignment. That was the last maintenance that had anything to do with the suspension and not long afterwards the noise started. I put the car on ramps and visually inspected the linkage, roll bar, bushings, engine mounts and struts. Everything looks good except the drivers side strut has more dirt and debris coating the cartridge than the passenger strut. It may have the beginning of a small leak. That's the only noticeable problem. I've performed the bounce test. Struts are doing what they are supposed to do. Also I haven't noticed any degradation is ride or handling. Basically I'm completely baffled but something doesn't sound right. Anyone else have this sound and know what may be causing it and if you do how do I stop it?

Could be a lot of things. Strut mount, engine mount, ball joint. Heat shield, exhaust support. I had a similar sound and it ended up being a strut mount, but could be almost anything.

This "clinking" you're hearing could very well be the defective steering columns that ALL of us 2009-10 Vibe owners have My son's Vibe GT had 52k miles and his is very noisy BUT mine at just over 18k miles is still quiet. Although not a known safety issue yet, it is very annoying!

Our 2009 Vibe does the same thing.
We have had the Intermediate shaft replaced and it needs to be done again already.
If you have a clunk when turning and or entering a parking lot it is the same as ours. It is not the column.
Our Saturn Vue (04 Redline) had the exact same shaft problem (popping) as the Vibes have. It is a safety issue. Our steering went completely out while driving. we were turning at intersection from a stop... no injuries.
I am not talking about losing power assist; the steering wheel has zero input to the vehicle now. It is like the steering on a child's ride you might find in front of a grocery store. No wheel resistance at all.
Any metal that is able to move out of spec to the point of a rattle (indicating a wobble/gap) when in use will continue to suffer damage upon further use. There will be more stress on the part with continued use.
Repeated stress on metal causes fatigue. Fatigue causes failure. Think about it! This no different than a U-joint or a CV joint. They all fail. It WILL fail.
If the used defective parts (Thousands of steering shafts by Toyota and GM) were to be looked at and examined I am of the strong opinion that there will be a flaw in the design or production (metal) of our parts.

tpollauf wrote:This "clinking" you're hearing could very well be the defective steering columns that ALL of us 2009-10 Vibe owners have My son's Vibe GT had 52k miles and his is very noisy BUT mine at just over 18k miles is still quiet. Although not a known safety issue yet, it is very annoying!

How does one describe the difference between the defective steering column and something else?
Is there a way to reproduce what cause the defective steering column noise?

For my 2009, it sounds like something occasionally is rattling inside the steering column towards my feet, generally when going over rough payment, like a loose gravel road.

tpollauf wrote:This "clinking" you're hearing could very well be the defective steering columns that ALL of us 2009-10 Vibe owners have My son's Vibe GT had 52k miles and his is very noisy BUT mine at just over 18k miles is still quiet. Although not a known safety issue yet, it is very annoying!

My vibe has 135k, it's smooth as butter and doesn't make a sound. I wonder if it's only an issue with the GT models?

kumquat wrote:Could be a lot of things. Strut mount, engine mount, ball joint. Heat shield, exhaust support. I had a similar sound and it ended up being a strut mount, but could be almost anything.

Or the front sway bar links. Mine would clunk, but only over bumps if I hit them "just so."