2003 Pontiac Vibe Powertrain & Transmission Problems

THE VEHICLE WILL NOT ACCELERATE AT ALL, WORKING VERY HARD TO SHIFT INTO ANY GEARS. IT APPEARS TO BE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ASSEMBLY THAT IS THE DEFECTIVE PART. CAR ISN'T DRIVABLE DUE TO NOT BEING ABLE TO PICK UP AND GO. NO INDICATOR LIGHTS HAVE APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 PONTIAC VIBE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE ABOVE 30 MPH WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 173,334.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 PONTIAC VIBE. WHILE APPROACHING A STOP LIGHT, THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE MADE A LOUD NOISE. AFTER ACCELERATING, THE VEHICLE SEIZED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 199,000.

2003 PONTIAC VIBE 5-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. BEARINGS FAILED RESULTING IN GRINDING NOISE. MECHANIC SAYS THIS COULD'VE RESULTED IN CATASTROPHIC LOCK-UP OF TRANSMISSION LEADING TO A SERIOUS ACCIDENT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. PLEASE DON'T WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO BE KILLED BEFORE INVESTIGATING THIS PROBLEM. IT SEEMS TO BE ENDEMIC TO PONTIAC VIBE AND TOYOTA MATRIX 5-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS. *JS

JUST LEAVING FOR A TRIP FROM MICHIGAN TO TENN. DRIVING 70 MPH ON I-75 SOUTH WHEN COMING DOWN A STEEP OVER PASS, I HEARD RATTLING IN MY ENGINE AND THUMPING. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SPOT ON I-75 WITH MANY TRUCKS TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEED COMING DOWN FROM THIS OVERPASS. MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS, IT WAS A FLAT TIRE. WHEN I BARELY COASTED TO A SEMI-SAFE SPOT MY DAUGHTER GOT OUT AND SAID THE TIRE IS NOT FLAT. I SHIFTED MY MANUAL TRANSMISSION 6 SPEED VIBE GT INTO 1ST GEAR LET OFF THE CLUTCH ONLY TO FIND IT DIDN'T RESPOND. UPSET BECAUSE I HAD JUST BECOME UNEMPLOYED 3 MOS PRIOR AND VOLUNTARILY RETURNED MY 2012 CHEVY SONIC BACK TO THE CREDIT UNION. WITHDREW WHAT I HAD IN MY 401K TO PURCHASE THIS VEHICLE TO ENSURE TRANSPORTATION THAT WAS PAID IN FULL ONLY 6 WEEKS AGO. I HAVE SEEN MANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING TRANSMISSION FAILURE WITH THIS YEAR PONTIAC VIBE. I BELIEVE THIS NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED INSTEAD OF ALLOWING THE CONSUMER TO ABSORB THE COST OF THIS REPAIR WHICH IS AN OBVIOUS FLAW AT THE MANUFACTURER LEVEL. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 PONTIAC VIBE. WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE OVERDRIVE FEATURE FAILED TO DISENGAGE ON COMMAND. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 120,000.

WHILE LEAVING A STOPLIGHT, THE TRANSMISSION BROKE AND LOCKED UP BOTH FRONT WHEELS/AXLES COMPLETELY STOPPING THE CAR AND MAKING IT NOT MOVABLE EXCEPT BY A WRECKER TRUCK. *TR

2003 PONTIAC VIBE 5-SPEED. TRANSMISSION BEARINGS FAILED, CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO GRIND ITSELF UP AND STRAND THE CAR. FLUID CHANGED EVERY 30K MILES. FIRST TRANSMISSION DIED AT 70K MILES AND THE SECOND ONE NOW DIED AT 110K MILES. THIRD TRANSMISSION GETTING INSTALLED TO CORRECT A FAULTY DESIGN. BUYING A BRAND NEW ONE THIS TIME AND IT HAS COST ME THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS SO FAR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 PONTIAC VIBE. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH WHEN THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO SLIP OUT OF GEAR. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE DRIVING AT A LOW SPEED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NEED REPLACING. THE CONTACT WAS AWAITING REPAIRS. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 75,000. UPDATED 12/01/10. *LJ UPDATED 12/13/10

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 PONTIAC VIBE. WHILE STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE CONTACT NOTICED A RATTLING SOUND FROM UNDER THE VEHICLE. SECONDS LATER, THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHO INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 49,000.

HAD A CODE P0770 SHOW UP. NEEDS NEW SHIFTER SOLENOID. COST IS VARIABLE BUT UPWARDS OF $2,000. HAVE DONE RESEARCH ON INTERNET, LOTS OF OTHERS WITH SAME PROBLEMS ON THE '03 VIBE. *TR

2003 PONTIAC VIBE. HAS A TOYOTA ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION. MY WIFE AND CHILD WERE TRAVELING DOWN THE ROAD WHEN THE TRANSMISSION SUDDENLY QUIT PULLING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROADWAY,WITH NO WARNING. THE COMPLETE FAILURE LEFT THEM STRANDED IN A HEAVY TRAFFIC FLOW LOCATION WHERE A COLLISION WAS PROBABLE. NEITHER WERE INJURED AND A COLLISION WAS AVOIDED. AFTER RESEARCH ON THE WEB I FOUND A LOT OF SIMILAR STORIES REPORTED IN REGARD TO THIS PROBLEM WITH THE TOYOTA TRANSMISSIONS. *TR

A SLIGHT NOISE WAS DETECTED IN THE VEHICLE. THE NOISE WORSENED OVER THE COURSE OF A 800-MILE TRIP. THE NOSE WAS A RHYTHMIC SOUND THAT WAS DETECTABLE WHEN THE TRANSMISSION WAS IN GEAR. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP FOR DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR. THE MECHANICS WERE FAMILIAR WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS ON THIS MODEL YEAR CAR WITH THIS TRANSMISSION. UPON INSPECTION, THEY FOUND A CLUSTER SHAFT BEARING WAS DESTROYED. WE WERE LUCKY AND HAD STOPPED DRIVING THE CAR SOON ENOUGH THAT THERE WAS NO COLLATERAL DAMAGE IN THE TRANSMISSION. HAD WE CONTINUED TO DRIVE THE CAR, IT IS LIKELY THE BEARING WOULD HAVE BEEN TOTALLY DESTROYED SENDING BALLS AND FRAGMENTS INTO THE TRANSMISSION. ULTIMATELY, THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO INTERNAL COMPONENTS OF THE TRANSMISSION WHICH, IN A WORST CASE SITUATION, COULD HAVE CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION TO SEIZE. HAD THE TRANSMISSION SEIZED WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, A CRASH WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKELY. ONCE THE DAMAGED CLUSTER SHAFT BEARING WAS FOUND IN OUR TRANSMISSION, IT WAS REPLACED WITH A NEW PART. THE TRANSMISSION WAS REASSEMBLED AND RETURNED TO SERVICE. *TR

GRINDING NOISE BEGAN TO OCCUR UNDER VEHICLE. UPON INVESTIGATION IN ONLINE FORUMS, MANY OTHER TOYOTA MATRIX AND PONTIAC VIBE OWNERS HAD THE EXACT SAME EXPERIENCE RESULTING IN TOTAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE CAUSED BY A DEFECTIVE MAIN SHAFT BEARING. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY 2003 PONTIAC VIBE ON THE FREEWAY THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION FROZE UP CAUSING SUDDEN DECELERATION AND THE ENGINE TO DIE. I BRIEFLY LOSS CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND NARROWLY AVOIDED AN ACCIDENT BEFORE GETTING THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE DEALER INSPECTED THE TRANSMISSION AND DESCRIBED IT AS A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE TRANSMISSION. THIS TRANSMISSION FAILURE ISSUE IS APPARENTLY A KNOWN ISSUE WITH 2003 TRANSMISSIONS MADE BY TOYOTA IN PONTIAC VIBES AND MATRIX. *TR

TRANSMISSION FAILURE. VEHICLE JUST STOPPED RUNNING IN MIDDLE OF ROAD. BY SEARCHING THE WEB THERE APPEARS TO BE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF THESE TRANSMISSION FAILURES 2003 PONTIAC VIBE, AWD. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 PONTIAC VIBE. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO MAKE A LOUD, HUMMING NOISE WHICH SEEMED TO COME FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION AND THE CONTACT HAD NOT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE CONTACT REFERENCED RECALL 02V074002 (POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY) AS HE BELIEVED THAT IT WAS RELATED TO THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 125,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 134,800.

TRANS WENT OUT AGAIN, THIS TIME AFTER 55,000 MILES. CURRENTLY 158,000 MILES ON CAR AND HAVE TO REPLACE WITH A 3RD TRANS. *TR

WITH NO ADVANCE WARNING, MANUAL TRANSMISSION CATASTROPHICALLY FAILED ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. VEHICLE JERKED TO STOP AND WAS UNABLE TO BE DRIVEN. MECHANIC FOUND A BROKEN TRANSMISSION DRUM REQUIRING COMPLETE TRANSMISSION REPAIR. *TR

MY 2003 PONTIAC VIBE (TOYOTA MATRIX SISTER VEHICLE) TRANMISSION FAILED. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS PROBLEM, I DISCOVERED THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM RELATED TO A DEFECTIVE OUTPUT BEARING IN MANY/ALL 2003/2004 VIBE/MATRIX VEHICLES EQUIPED WITH 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS. THIS IS NOT IS NOT A HIGH VOLUMN VEHICLE OR COMMON CONFIGURATION BUT DISCUSSIONS ON THE INTERNET LEAD ME TO BELIEVE TOYOTA AND GM ARE IGNORING A MAJOR (EXPENSIVE) VEHICLE RECALL INCIDENT. PLEASE INVESTIGATE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ASSISTANCE.