GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Car will go all the way to redline in neutral and park, but in drive it shifts early. I have had electrical problems recently and I am getting a speed sensor code on my OBDII reader, which explains why my speedometer is not working but I'm not sure if that relates to the early shifting. I know that the car shifts early when the engine is cold but I waited till the car was at operating temperature and it still shifts early.

Welcome to genvibe!

Why do you think your base vibe with an Automatic transmission is shifting early at 4,500 rpm. That's pretty high actually.

Maybe you're used to manual shifting, but you shouldn't be getting the tachometer to the red line. Ever.

Have a look at this related post for a 2010 base (numbers should be pretty close): viewtopic.php?f=12&t=31131

Little known fact: the owner's manual says when you're getting on a highway to press the pedal only half way to the floor. If you're flooring it, you're doing it wrong

Thank you for the welcome haha

I know that 4,500 rpm doesn't seem early but even when I'm flooring it it still won't go past that. This also has only happened recently along with some electrical problems.

On my way home from the mall tonight, I punched it at the on ramp (half pedal ) and it shifted around 4,750-4,800. Hard to get an exact reading at 60 miles an hour in the dark

In overdrive, at 3,000 I'd be cruising at 70 so I usually won't be going any higher/faster than 4,500...

But I have an AWD with a different transmission, so unless you were observing shifting at higher RPM before the electrical problem, it doesn't seem like an issue.

What is the code you were getting? Are you still getting it? Post it here and you might get others to help...

Also, flooring it burns a lot of fuel- fun, but expensive.

What is the code you got from it? Is it a "P'' code or a "C" code? Is the code related to the transmission convertor slippage? When was the last time you changed the transmission fluid and filter?

The code is P0500

I've had the car since November last year and I'm not sure when the last time the transmission fluid and filter were maintenanced.

I'm beginning to think that the speed sensor is the problem.

The speed sensor is an expensive part, but replacing it should solve your problem. It does more than run the speedometer. The car's computer uses it to calculate other engine inputs, and to control shifting as well. One of the listed symptoms is bad shifting. It sounds like it's a common failure, as well.

Here is info about troubleshooting the P0500 code:

http://madstyle1972.com/Repair/05/200o8c04/cip0500.pdf

https://www.autocodes.com/p0500_toyota.html

Could it be a bad instrument panel?