GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hello all, I was driving down the highway when all of a sudden my car makes this really loud noise I would describe as a clank, clicking, or ticking noise so I pull off the highway and park at the nearest parking lot because it sounded very bad.

I drive a 2003 Pontiac Vibe, has never been low on oil, just changed the oil last week infact. Engine has 180k miles on it.

Video of the clanking:


I took the top of the engine so far but everything looks visibly fine.


I have already come to turns with the idea that my car may be done for, but I wanna atleast try to see if it is fixable.

I was reading other peoples post on the forum who seemed to have similar problems and they mentioned rod bearings were bad and alot of people mention "dropping the pan" to check but not sure what that means, perhaps removing the oil pan? The rod bearings are located near there?

Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

I do not see any link to video you wrote about. Pulling the pan to check crankshaft and connecting rods is the oil pan.

jolt wrote:I do not see any link to video you wrote about. Pulling the pan to check crankshaft and connecting rods is the oil pan.

I tried embedding the video, here is a direct link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kd7meKkOis

It is with a saddened heart I have to lay my vibe to rest. I thought it was going to last me many more years. Rip.

Sorry to hear this news buddy...did you ever nail down exactly what the prob. was? Engines for these things are fairly inexpensive and easy to install...

Strata wrote:Sorry to hear this news buddy...did you ever nail down exactly what the prob. was? Engines for these things are fairly inexpensive and easy to install...

Someone looked at it but didnt open it up, said it most likely is broken rod arm and not worth trying to fix it. Said my best bet is getting a used engine which I might as well use that money towards a new used car. Just miss my vibe, it wasn't even showing signs of anything wrong.