GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I started by 2009 Vibe GT today and it had difficulty starting. 2km into a drive in heavy traffic a rattling sound was heard every time I accelerated. I noticed that the temperature gauge was not working. Smelt some burning and then a lot of smoke came from the car. Oil and Tranny level okay. One of the hoses was spraying smoke as it seemed to have a leak. There was smoke in the white plastic reservoir where the excess coolant goes.

I had the check engine and the traction control and VSC flashing but that was because of the O2 sensor gone bad and preexisted this problem.

Any ideas what this can be? Is it the water pump that died maybe?

Have you ever witnessed a car overheating? Rather than smoke, you may be seeing water vapor.

If you've driven any distance with a loss of coolant from a leaking hose, there could be substantial damage.

An O2 sensor problem should not light up the VSC and traction control light. If anything is flashing, it's a bad, possibly fatal, problem. A steady light is typical for an O2 sensor problem. Get a new reading of codes if you can.

For this vehicle besides the tempeerature gauge going high are there any other warning lights that would indicate an issue?

So the initial assessment is that the radiator, hose, and overflow reservoir for the coolant all need replacement. The mechanic said he can't tell if there was further damage to the engine. Looks like one of the hose broke releasing the coolant.