dkwallis 2010 AWD Vibe

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dkwallis
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2021 9:29 pm

dkwallis 2010 AWD Vibe

Post by dkwallis »

Hiya Y'all,

Just bought a 2010 AWD Vibe with 152k miles. Carfax showed nothing but routine maintenance but then a front axle change at around 120k. I drove it and because i got a pretty good deal on what I thought was a bulletproof car I ignored a couple things over the honeymoon period.

There's noise coming from the back end. Can't tell which side for sure but I believe it's passenger. It's a kind of whine or howl, sounds kinda like motorcycle knobbies do on asphalt or semi truck tires on the highway. It's pretty audible under 40; at 70 you have to concentrate to hear it. It is related to rpm of the tires (lower pitch as the wheels spin slower). It makes it whether trans is in drive or neutral.

There is also a kind of shudder that happens as I accelerate that happens somewhere between 40 and 50 mph. It sounds like you're hitting rumblestrips and feels like the car has the haptic feedback like a cellphone, if your cellphone weighs 2000 lbs. It usually happens in two or three short bursts of a second or so each. They don't repeat until I stop or go below 40 for a while.

Today on the freeway I began to lose power to the wheels. Engine was still going but the trans went wishy washy. No clunk or any audible event. These lights went on on the dash: Check engine, AWD, and the traction control icon. Don't know if it's related.
[ EDIT: I pulled onto the shoulder, prepared to turn the car off and start it again to see if it would 'fix' it, but then the lights went away and it was driving fine. Has been fine rest of the day....knockonwood ]

I just checked the trans fluid (cold). It's the right color but is high (over where it should be at hot). Don't know how that happens unless maybe the previous owner was covering up something? Don't know if it's in danger of frothing like an overfilled oil pan.

Any experience, guidance, and/or advice is much appreciated.

[also-I'll try to do a video for the sound coming out of the back]
Jedman
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:30 pm

Re: dkwallis 2010 AWD Vibe

Post by Jedman »

I would check the trans fluid again once you have been driving it a while and it’s warm, running in park check several times to be sure. If it’s high I would siphon some out to make it right as overfilled is not good with any fluid.
Actually I would change the fluid and filter as I never trust what wasn’t done by the previous owner.
I just bought my first Vibe about 3 weeks ago and the ATF and filter change was done as soon as I could get to it along with oil, coolant, brake fluid and other things but I am use to car maintenance and have done these things many times.

Starting with the ATF fluid would be a good place to start, getting the level correct.
I would also jack up each rear wheel separate and grab the tire and try to feel for any play in the wheel bearings, one hand pushing in the other pulling out at 12 and 6 O clock and at 3 and 9 O clock. Also spinning the wheel and listening for any noises, it’s normal for the rear brakes to have a little drag or make a little sound of rubbing but a bad bearing will give a noticeably different sound and feel even if very slight.
It could be in your rear tires also, sometimes even when tires look perfect there can be problems with the belts or other defects you can’t see on the outside. Maybe rotate the rear tires to the front on both sides and see if it makes a difference.

Jedman
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