GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hey guys, I’m new here and new to vibes and Pontiac and all. However, I’ve found myself the owner of an awesome 05 Vibe GT 6 speed manual. It’s been a badass little car I got it with a little over 175,000 mi on it and it now has just under 180,000 mi on it. Now everything was going great until last week I noticed that I was losing acceleration power. At first it was no big deal, being new to manual shifting I thought I was just doing it wrong, but now however, I have to top out to fifth gear just to get up to 40 mph. I’ve stopped driving it and I’m kinda pissed because I just got it, haven’t even made the second payment and I have no clue what to do. Please help???!

Assuming there's no check engine light (CEL), look at the obvious tune-up stuff like air filter, spark plugs, clean the MAF sensor. Try some injector cleaner. If there is a CEL, it will tell you the problem.

Tires, brakes, clutch okay?

Remember you're driving a 13 year-old machine and things will break. Budget for it.

NewToVibe wrote: being new to manual shifting ....... PLUS ....... I have to top out to fifth gear just to get up to 40 mph

That equation sounds like a bad clutch to me

tpollauf wrote:That equation sounds like a bad clutch to me

I'd agree with Tim. Can you put it in third gear and after letting off the clutch pedal, do you start moving? You might need to feather the throttle a bit to keep from stalling. When you step on or release the clutch pedal, do you hear any "chirping?"

Welcome to GV though! Post some pictures and your location. Maybe you are near someone who could be of assistance.

NewToVibe wrote: I have to top out to fifth gear just to get up to 40 mph.

I am not sure what you mean.

If you are redlining it in 5th and still only going 40 mph, then there is serious slippage, and you're most likely in need of at least a new clutch. When the clutch grabs securely, there is a linear hard coupling between the engine speed and vehicle speed. When the clutch is slipping, the engine speed can change without changing the vehicle speed, like when the clutch pedal isn't fully released.

If you have it floored in 5th gear and the engine is still at low RPMs and you're only going 40, then it would be more engine than clutch, and you'll need to figure out why the engine has no power. I can't remember the exact RPM to MPH for the 6 speed, I'd expect 40 in 5th gear to be somewhere around 1000 - 2000 rpms, but thats just a guess

So, what does "top out to fifth gear" mean, specifically?