GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

My son was driving home from visiting friends at college a couple hours away. He was about halfway home when he said the car engine was getting noisy and losing power. So he pulled over and shut it off. Waited a few minutes, tried to start and and all he got was clicking. I drove down to meet him and had it towed to a nearby repair shop. The preliminary diagnosis is the engine seized up due to loss of oil. He pulled the dipstick and there was black thick oil deposits on it, cleaned it off, rechecked and nothing...no oil!! Not sure how yet but I just checked the oil 2 weeks ago and it was fine. There have been zero engine issues to this point. They are performing an in-depth diagnosis today and hopefully will find out more later....or maybe I don't want to know...

Here's a couple pics of her 11 years ago in her prime. She was a beauty!!

That is sad and worrisome. But she still is a beauty. Get a used engine for her.

Confirmed fatality on the engine. Looking at options for used engines probably looking at $3,000-$3,500 minimum including install.

Wow that sucks No indication as to where all the oil went? A lose plug or cap somewhere? Unexpected burning all of a sudden? No dash light indication or oil pressure gauge to verify the loss of oil pressure? Definitely rebuild it and keep it on the road for several more years. Keep us posted on all progress & good luck!

I'll bet the oil pressure sender failed, allowing the oil to leak out without the low pressure light being illuminated. Turn the key, if the oil light doesn't come on, you've found the cause. Happened to me (documented on this forum). I caught it right before running out of oil.

Look for a used engine on car-part.com: http://www.car-part.com/

Good luck!

Damn Brian, that really sucks to hear ! I hope you can find a used engine and keep her on the road.

Oh no!

Hate to see another '05 AWD get sidelined.

If the drivetrain is still fine (no groaning from bad bearings, rear diff not leaking) and the exhaust isn't rusted out, it's probably worth it to replace the engine. More so if the mileage is under 150k.

On the other hand, $3,000 would go a long way towards a newer Vibe...

Well, that sucks! For $3K.... New engine... Another Vibe...

Well, if you lived here, I could do the engine swap for you for considerably cheaper than $3k : /

Well, I'm getting the transplant this week for $2500. Mileage was at 150K on the existing, the replacement will have 110K on it and warrantied for 1 year.

That's awesome news ! Maybe on this transplant add an oil pressure gauge in addition to the standard oil sensor so you'll know if there is any future trouble brewing internally. Should see another 150k miles moving forward! Keep us posted on the progress.

Good to see you're going to put the Vibe back on the road. Best of luck with the new-to-you engine!

Update: the old engine is out & new engine is arriving today. Lots of internal damage reported by the repair shop. They are going to save some souvenirs for me. they will need to replace both front axles as well as they are not budging and they will need to do some damage to get them out. Not a huge expense, but bothersome none the less. They are doing some exhaust work as well. Could be done as soon a today, but more likely early next week.

1. Did you determine what the cause was?
2. Axles will come out, you just need the right pry tool. You can't just pull on them.

Probably some mutilated rod bearings.

Another update: It took a lot of work but they managed to get the Axles out without any damage. Yay! They have not given the cause of death, yet.

So happy to hear the Vibe will live on! Looking forward to hearing the cause of death and perhaps seeing some pictures...?

The Vibe is alive again!!! The repair shop said a connecting rod failed sending it through the side of the engine block.

Glad its resurrected

A failed connecting rod is not something that is commonly reported here, not the kind of thing one can do anything to prevent either

BlueCrush wrote:The Vibe is alive again!!! The repair shop said a connecting rod failed sending it through the side of the engine block.

I will guess that is the effect, not the cause. Rods exit blocks when lubrication disappears.

jayoldschool wrote:I will guess that is the effect, not the cause. Rods exit blocks when lubrication disappears.

You can also do this if you overfill a Tundra by 8 quarts and start it.

Customer did this.

OP, see if you can find out if the oil drain plug and oil filter were still installed on that old engine.

If you checked the oil two weeks prior and it was fine then there must have been a sudden loss of the oil during his drive. Who did the last oil change?

Here too is Jayoldschool old post about the oil pressure sender that might have been leaking:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=44770&p=508554#p508554

Good to hear Brian!!! Long time no see brother. Glad to hear you are still ticking!