Pontiac Vibe High Idle Problem

[raydolinger1980]

cylinder head gasket can cause a misfire, my vibe is an 03 and it had a rough idle and misfire code...then i noticed it using antifreeze and had a sweet smell from the exhaust.....what great symptoms to have huh!!! well coolant must be going into a cylinder and causing a miss...fudge!!!

[MrBansheeguy]

my 03 vibe did the same thing when cold, believe it or not a 6$ intake manifold gasket will fix this problem , let me guess your running too lean, random misfires.. 6$ and about 3 hours problem solved

[diftoyota]

@MrBansheeguy it would make sens that could be the problem. i tryed to switch over the coil and the spark plug from #1 and #2. as i was expecting the check engine light came back on and said misfire #1 cylinder again. my dad told me to try to take a propane torch and just open the valve without a flame of course. then just take the tip of it around the gaskets. he said if the engine revs a bit higher at a spot, the gasket is no good.

[MrBansheeguy]

@diftoyota yea i went through so much shit trying to figure mine out, was driving me crazy i had my computer flashed trying to kick the code out. the mill light went off for a few then after it came up to heat it came right back on, my buddy mentioned it to me that his aunts 05 matrix with a 1ZZ-fe was doing the same thing and she changed out that gasket and it solved the problem so i did the same and it runs like it should again, is your car coming up with a random misfire code cyl 1&2 (bank1)

[diftoyota]

@MrBansheeguy yup it has the misfire code,on the #1 cyl. i dont have the light on the bottom of the rpm guage on (near the zero) my engine is the 1zz-fe too. it make sence to me that it would be a bad gasket. 

[diftoyota]

i have a 2004 matrix xr with a 5spd. does the exact same thing. once it gets warm it stops. my check engine light was on and it was cylinder 1 misfire.my dad erased the code with his code reader and nothing changed,i put in new spark plugs too and haven't changed.i have no mods either.i was thinking of the throttle body. my old tercel did this once. i have cleaned the throttle body and it have solved it. going to try it soon as it is annoying wen people is around

[bigtopbollocks]

if you disconnect map same thing happens.

[mi3pwns]

i think its suposed to do that.

[paulmerz]

It's a fucking Vibe. Might as well firebomb the piece of shit, hahahah.

[arjen5en]

that is normal for the toyota engine in the vibe.  it revs untill the engine warms up. all vibes, matrix and carollas will do this

[devilmaycryx]

Ah Ah Dude My 04 XRS DO the same thing......CEL CODE P0505 IDLE AIR CONTROL MALFUNCTION..... I changed my IACV, Cleaned PCV and all shit and no result!!! I Like my Toyota, but with this problem I think a lot to sell my car.

[pmateychak]

Once the engine control transitions to "closed loop", it walks the idle down to 800RPM and everything is normal. It's very annoying and a poor design, but there isn't anything "wrong" with the car that will cause it harm.

[pmateychak]

There is also an idle cutoff switch that kills fuel to the engine if the accelrator pedal is at the idle stop and the engine RPM exceed 2200RPM. So these two systems essentially fight one another when the temperature is cold.

[pmateychak]

I have a an 04 1.8 5sp that does this exact thing. I looked into the problem and found the following. When the engine first starts it operates in open loop mode which means the cars computer doesn't actively control the idle/mixture using the O2 sensor. It starts with a high idle based on temperature that corresponds to the outside air temp to warm up the Cat Conv as previously mentioned.

[fil2299]

the audio system to is Gm

[fil2299]

the only that as broke up in my vibe is the only pontiac, Gm part, the radio !

[derekbragg1]

This high rpm idle is to heat up the catayltic converter fast, thereby reducing emisions.

[Saskatchewan17]

O2 sensor? MAF?

[Rousenheimer]

Mine does the same thing especially when its real cold

[rick9565]

IAC maybe?

[CadillacTone]

To all you people saying Pontiacs suck due to this video, the only thing Pontiac on this car is the sheet metal. The rest is 100% Toyota!

[terayon]

AMEN brother!! when i found that out i was crushed. but yup this thing is a Matrix with a pontiac badge...but it does look better then the matrix i think

[JesseandPaula]

all pontiac are shit.

[StrykerV8]

This has a Toyota drivetrain.

[EnemyRCA]

pontiac isnt shit..and first of all its not the car its the driver and your only as good as the car with a good driver taking care of it

[specialbuddy1]

Mine does this too. It also won't shift into 4th gear until the engine warms up. I think it's normal though for this car. My 04 only has issues with steep hills.

[muscle064]

its a problem. it does this in cold weather, reving by itself then dropping down. we have the same problem :(

[muscle064]

Mine does that too but only in the cold weather. wwe took it back to the dealer and he said that it would be just $100 to look at it, not even to fix it.

[leightondw]

The older vibes and matrixs (2004 and later) Are exactly the same except different body styles. Same interior, chassis, engine, trans, etc. But only thing different on the interior is the big hazard light button on dash.

[GunsnTons]

I am planning on getting one of these Vibes when i redeploy back home as a family wagon, due to its safety and gas millage, now would you have any hindsight as to why i should go with Toyota Matrix instead? I'm sorry to beat an old bush here, but its better to hear from someone that has/had one.

[thinkingoutloud9]

hey i have a 2003 vibe its pretty sweet all wheel drive all the seats fold down so its like flat, and it has a wall outlet, right in the dash board, plus mine has 201,000 miles already, with a new transmission , it runs fine

[Gromitdog1]

Safety? Thing is a fucken coffin ffs. I have one and its the tinniest pos i have ever driven, would never want to be in an accident with one, the rear liftgate hinges looked like they were cut out of a soup can.

[specialbuddy1]

If you live in Colorado or places with 7%+ grades I would not buy one. I have a 04 and I like the car but it's not geared for mountains. It doesn't have enough power in 3rd gear so it will downshift to 2nd redline causing it to shift back and forth repeatedly. Feels like the engine is going to blow.

[djliquidsmoke]

The Matrix XRS 04 is overpowered for its size making it a bitch on your clutch. but it accelerates like mad, makes passing bitches on the freeway a breeze. 4 wheel abs anti-lock breaks make it stop on a dime, ultimate control. 6 speed makes it great on gas!

[jazzybee1]

I have a 2005 vibe and in cold weather it is hard to haul a** up a hill without the rpms at least going up to 3.. thanks for posting i thought i was the only one that experienced something similar as this..

[sleepisyummy]

I've started my Vibe in 10 degree weather and its never had this problem, but i guess it just all depends on how you maintain your car. I always try to keep my Vibe clean. And yes Toyota did make all the Vibe's performance parts. Engine, transmission, suspension, etc. The only thing Pontiac actually is responsible for is the style and the interior, which, i have to say, is very good looking for a hatch.

[zaw21]

it happens to all the cars when it's cold ... it'll take a few minutes for it to warm up

[rfs12345]

get rid of it. gm products suck. if u don't believe me read consumer report. gm products are rated pretty low out of all manufactures.

[micqwert]

hey this ar was made by toyota ;)

[rfs12345]

if this is true then it wouldn't have messed up and even if it is made by toyota, they would have posted a recall. if you don't know, jap car manufacturers post recalls much sooner than american ones.

[sebsebdouze]

jap car manufacturer post recall even if it's not dangerous, check, when GM post a recal, it's because it's dangerous form someone life. if not, why post a recall, this is why, us, as buyer, we should check one a while if there not a silent recall on our car. Personnaly, i never have trouble with GM car. the jap car broke the same thing as american. it's mecanic. like everything, if you don't do the proper maintenace, it will bust. even if it's a toyota or honda

[rfs12345]

just read consumer reports. they show how many people had problems, what things they had problems with and many other areas. sorry but the facts are hondas and toyotas are better. and yes all things mechanical will have problems and break at some point, it's just the japs have less problems and do break but usually later in that vehicles life.

[sebsebdouze]

hey you, don't you remember in the vibe it have the fucking 1.8L VVT-I engine from toyota in it?

so toyota suck?

[rfs12345]

first of all i have never heard of an alliance between pontiac and toyota and secondly the problem is probably due to a good well designed engine in a crap car. nothing wrong with the engine just the crappy electronics and other GM parts. read consumer reports, toyota is rated at the top with honda, GM is rated very low. these are the facts nothing more nothing less.

[mrquag]

Sorry, what's your source? The Vibe and Matrix are both made at Toyota's Fremont plant in California.

Both cars share the same platofrm (and engines) as the Corolla. GM's greatest influence for both vehicles was on the interior.

A quick google search will lead you to this information.

I think that developing a car in partnership counts as an alliance between Toyota and Pontiac.

[djliquidsmoke]

The Pontiac GT and the Matrix XRS are made in Canada. I got a Matrix XRS and its bad ass. 6 speed manual VVTL-I Variable Vertical Timing & Lift. The 2004 was the last one, all matrix after that have been weaker engines in terms of horsepower. Matrix 04.

[calvinyuenblinke]

Well now the 2009 matrix's have better engine options.

[muscle064]

calvinyuenblinke i dont like the new 2.4 liter engine, i rather have the 1.8 liter vvtl-i because with 6 speed , high reving (red line 8200 rpm)with more horse power and less weight makes it fun to drive. also the 09's look like shit

[pmateychak]

@muscle064 I had the same problem with my 2004 1.8 5sp.

[muscle064]

VVTL-I stands for variable valve timing with lift intelligence, just sayin :)

[jazzybee1]

toyota matrix and the vibe have the same chassis and the same engine design.. a fact..

[jazzybee1]

but i like this car because it is real good on gas i can fill the tank up for about 30 dollars and it lasts for about a 1 1/2 weeks with me driving 15 miles round trip i kid you not

[woerthsusedcarsinc]

@rfs12345 ....what don't you get about this being made in a Toyota plant in California by TOYOTA?! You really love Consumer Reports! This is a Matrix with Pontiac badging on it! Get over it already that Toyota made something that's not perfect!

[arcomienda123]

i replaced my cat-converter and it fixed the problem

[breakitdownx21]

my friend's car did the same thing, but it was an older corolla, 90 sumthin. so we changed the spark plugs on it and it stopped.

[mathrobert1]

yes its doing the same thing with my corolla who has the same 1.8l engine

[alleyezonme91188]

its either an o2 sensor, vaccuum leak or a muffler sensor. run a dtc code.

[woah4]

we have an 03' vibe base 5-speed and it has the same idle problem. has it been recalled yet do you know?

[albanian102]

sucks for u

[RiceReaper]

Perhaps the computer is sensing faulty condition s and its over or undercompenstating for it. Bring it back to the dealer and scan for dtc codes. Thats about all I can think of

[evanmcglinchey]

My '04 Vibe which has been babied since new (oil change every 5000k, scheduled maintenace, 91 octane only) does this exact same thing - it revs up and down between 1000 and 2000 RPMs when I start from cold (below 0 celcius). The dealer and all other mechanics tell me that's normal for this engine. I even had the injectors replaced before schedule to see if that would solve the problem - which it didn't.

[evanmcglinchey]

I hate it because it sounds like I'm a mentally handicapped driver when I'm at low RPMs in parking lots in the winter. (I'm the brunt of office jokes in the parking lot LOL)

[soulfulalone]

oh wow there stopping the matrix @ 2008 but theyre selling really well. I am surprised

[toyotacooper]

oh dammit

take it in to ur dealership... hopefully its got a warranty on it

lol i got an 05 matrix thats givin me problems about the emmisions system. luckily i barely got on the warrenty, it cost like $400.

Maybe that's why they're stopping the matrix at 2008 models.......

[tommythao]

change the thermastat it won't do that noise any more and the sensors on the muffler!!!

[Intersonus903]

Scan for codes.

[coke845]

Really? I would have guessed that it was the oxygen sensor. If the sensor goes, it would try to make the fuel mixture more rich and in turn idle at a higher rate.

[directorb06]

yeah it is def. a computer problem or maybe some bad injectors but yeah have the computer checked on that dude

[LovePontiac]

It might just be a problem with the computer. My vibe revs pretty high on cold startups too. It may be over estimating how rich to run the engine, and then cuts back when it gets to a certain point.