09 vibe base check engine light

Discuss any problems, warranty, repair, or replacement issues you are having with your Vibe & Matrix
Post Reply
JTMichalak
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:51 pm

09 vibe base check engine light

Post by JTMichalak »

Just bought the car on 3/7/22 from a dealership. As is so I know I cant just take it back and im somewhat mechanicaly inclined. 2 days after I bought it check engine light came on. After doing some googling found out it disables traction control and vsc turns off

I had the codes scanned and there was 14 of them all relating to the PCM and exhaust. unplugged the PCM and the connection was pretty dirty. Cleaned it and when i plugged it back in all the codes went away. 2 days later check engine light came back on and when I tried to read the codes with a cheap OBD2 scanner it told me there was 4 but would not tell me what codes. After I cleared them it says EVAP, CAT, 02s and H02s not ready. Is it safe to assume that the codes had something to do with the exhaust system? There is an exhaust leak. (the muffler is rusted where it connects to the flange) so i plan on getting that fixed this weekend and i will be replacing the battery because it is 9 years old. Do you think that its that causing the check engine light to come on? its been raining recently and i wanted traction control for the rain that is why i cleared the codes.
Thank you guys in advance for the help
andrewclaus
Posts: 482
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:38 pm
Location: Golden, CO

Re: 09 vibe base check engine light

Post by andrewclaus »

I haven't heard that a check engine light will disable traction control. That doesn't sound right. With some malfunctions, such as low battery voltage, you'll get both lights on, but if the VSC light is not on, you're probably okay.

The "not ready" messages just mean you haven't completed a drive cycle yet. A drive cycle is a somewhat complicated set of parameters, and it takes highway and town driving to meet them. Driving around town a few times won't do it. That's designed to keep you from resetting codes while waiting in line for emissions testing.

For future reference, the system will be reset and the light will go off on its own if problems are solved and a drive cycle is completed. Old codes will be saved in the system. So it's not always a good idea to reset codes in the hope they'll go away.

If you're getting exhaust related codes, make sure the CAT is okay before you do much work on the system.
JTMichalak
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:51 pm

Re: 09 vibe base check engine light

Post by JTMichalak »

Thank you for the reply, ive read somewhere on here that the traction control light and vsc light come on when there is a check engine light for safety. and i will be going to the muffler shop this weekend to get everything looked at and i will update after
Caretaker

Re: 09 vibe base check engine light

Post by Caretaker »

JTMichalak wrote: Thu Mar 10, 2022 5:12 pm ive read somewhere on here that the traction control light and vsc light come on when there is a check engine light for safety.
Nah. The primary reason a check engine light illuminates is because of a gas cap not being installed properly. The VSC and TC lights won't come on for that. All other emission control issues are number 2 on the list of why the CEL comes on. My VSC and TC lights made an appearance when I took my car in for the (billowing white smoke-elect the next Pope) engine cleaning carbon removal service: the equivalent of a car colonoscopy. :shock:
Bookworm
Posts: 764
Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Houston, TX

Re: 09 vibe base check engine light

Post by Bookworm »

Caretaker wrote: Fri Mar 11, 2022 4:14 am
JTMichalak wrote: Thu Mar 10, 2022 5:12 pm ive read somewhere on here that the traction control light and vsc light come on when there is a check engine light for safety.
Nah. The primary reason a check engine light illuminates is because of a gas cap not being installed properly. The VSC and TC lights won't come on for that. All other emission control issues are number 2 on the list of why the CEL comes on. My VSC and TC lights made an appearance when I took my car in for the (billowing white smoke-elect the next Pope) engine cleaning carbon removal service: the equivalent of a car colonoscopy. :shock:
The Project Farm special?

With my 'new' used Matrix, I was replacing so many parts, including spark plugs, cleaning everything, battery removal, etc - I cleared all the trouble faults right afterwards. There was zero point in my hanging onto any of the old codes in memory because I'd changed so much on the vehicle.
Post Reply