Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 3344A | 10017238 | Mu4 mu5 automatic transmission fluid color. *tt | 10/28/2005 | ||
| 01183B | 10007621 | Mu4 mu5 automatic transmission fluid color. *mj | 07/06/2004 | ||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 08/02/2011 | |||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2005 pontiac vibe. the contact stated that the check engine warning lamp illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the torque converter, pcm and valve body needed to be replaced. the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer who then stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was unknown. | |||
| 08/02/2011 | |||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2005 pontiac vibe. the contact stated that the check engine warning lamp illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the torque converter, pcm and valve body needed to be replaced. the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer who then stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was unknown. kmj | |||
| 08/02/2011 | |||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2005 pontiac vibe. the contact stated that the check engine warning lamp illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the torque converter, pcm and valve body needed to be replaced. the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer who stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was unknown. pm | |||
| 09/05/2011 | 90000 | ||
| The 5-speed manual transmission failed at approximately 103000 miles. likely cause was failure of an output shaft bearing. symptoms of failure began at approximately 90000 miles, which included a vibration in the shifter handle and slight buzzing noise. the noise progressively got louder and more frequent until i had it replaced at 103000 miles. had i not noticed the the cause of the noise, the bearing may have failed while driving, which may have caused the transmission to lock up. | |||
| 03/24/2011 | 150000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2005 pontiac vibe. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign id number: 10v387000 (engine and engine cooling) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for repairs. the contact stated that the dealer replaced the power train control module instead of the ecm as stated in the recall. after repairs, the vehicle would shutter and shake abnormally and often times, would stall when shifting from reverse to drive with the illumination of the entire instrument panel. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the contact was advised that the transmission would need replacing. the contact spoke with the manufacturer and was informed that they could make one repair under the recall and any further repairs would be at his expense. the contact stated that he believed that the initial repair performed on the vehicle was not the repair that should have been completed under the recall. the failure and current mileage was 150,000. | |||
| 08/01/2010 | 80000 | ||
| Tl - the contact 2005 pontiac vibe. the contact stated that her vehicle has a faulty power train module. the vehicle was taken to the dealer but they are unable to find the parts to repair the vehicle because they had been discontinue since it was a one time design by toyota and gm. also she mentioned that this was a safety hazard because it can cause the vehicle to stalled. the manufacturer was contacted and they are aware of the problem but they are not offering any help. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage were 80,000. pm | |||
| 09/16/2009 | 105000 | ||
| Hard shifts, bad gas mileage, and the dummy light stays on. new pcm part is only avilable at dealership. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 11/01/2008 | 75000 | ||
| In november 2008 my pontiac vibe (automatic transmission) started to shift harshly (literally slamming into gear), the check engine light came on and my mechanic pulled the code p2716 indicating a solenoid/transmission problem. the car was off warranty, but before i had any work done i called both the local pontiac dealer and gm (11/4/2008-documented). each said the same thing. there was no known problem and no recall. so i took the car to a transmission specialist and paid over $3200 for a new transmission. the car still shifted harshly and the transmission specialist did some research and found a toyota tech bulletin from 2006 that described the exact problem in the toyota matrix (sister car to the vibe-nummi plant). i asked pontiac about this and they still denied that there was a problem. this was also the time of the economic collapse and gm looked like it would go extinct. now, in sept. 2010, i get the recall notice admitting to the exact problem that toyota described in 2006. i was told to wait for the second letter before going to the dealer to check it out. the second letter came in feb 2011 advising me to go to the pontiac dealer to get the pcm checked. i did that but i already had the correct pcm from the initial failure in 2008. the failure of the now recalled pcm caused extremely harsh shifting which caused transmission damage (metal filings etc. in the transmission-documented) which led to a complete transmission repair job costing me $3275.45 as well as the replacement of the pcm. my transmission was ruined because of a known faulty part (pcm) that is just now under recall. the right thing for pontiac/gm to do is pay for my transmission repair caused by their faulty part. | |||
| 08/01/2010 | 102000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2005 pontiac vibe. the contact stated that the vehicle would exhibit an abnormal noise when driving at any speed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that because the power control module was improperly installed, the engine and transmission had become defective and was causing the abnormal noise. the manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 102,000. | |||
| 08/01/2010 | 102000 | ||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2005 pontiac vibe. the contact stated that while driving she continue to hear a unknown noise coming from the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to a dealer who stated that do to the power control module being improperly installed the engine and transmission became defective. the manufacturer was contacted who did not offered any assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 102,000. pm | |||
| 08/21/2010 | 123000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 pontiac vibe. the contact was driving on the interstate and the vehicle started making a grinding noise. the contact tried to get to the side of the road, but the vehicle stop moving. the contact had to have a passerby push the vehicle to the side of the road. the contact had the vehicle towed to a gm dealer were the vehicle was inspected and the dealer stated the transmission would not be able to be repaired. the dealer did not even open the transmission; the diagnosis came from how the transmission sounded. the contact spoke with the manufacturer and was told that the transmission was not under warranty and that transmission for that vehicle were no longer being made. the contact was able to find a used transmission to replace the failed one. the failure mileage on the old transmission was 123,000 and the current mileage was 130,000.rl | |||
| 12/10/2010 | 97000 | ||
| 2005 pontiac vibe pcm failure. engine light came on, and the transmission began shifting very hard. engine code p2716. i have read numerous reports where people are told by dealerships to replace the transmission, and after doing so the symtops still occur. after finally replacing the pcm, the issues were resolved. that means $4000 in wasted repairs. i have contaced gm with case 71-902887626. the car only shifts poorly when the engine light is on, so it seems logical that the issue is electrically related. (pcm) so far gm has denied that the pcm in this car is affected by the current recall. a monkey can put two and two together in this situation. i writing this for other vibe owners who get the run around with gm and their dealership. | |||
| 07/10/2010 | 66719 | ||
| Check engine light on. hard shifting. gas milage reduced epc solenoid burned up and was replaced, still had engine light on. had computer flashed still on. had valve body replaced cause of bad plunger in solenoid valve body fell apart when removed ( bad clips) and then needed pcm replaced. is it possible the the pcm caused the solenoids to fail and burn up along with the pcm going bad? | |||
| 08/10/2010 | 56955 | ||
| 2005 pontiac vibe- pcm unit goes bad, leading to auto transmission erro code p2716, first replaced battery then alternator with delco/gmc part now electrical system errors and trans problems due to faulty pcm - selonoid d failure | |||
| 02/14/2010 | 101800 | ||
| Driving 2005 pontiac vibe and in afternoon of 2/14/2010 shifting became hard. took to be diagnosed and code that came up is p2716; pressure control solenoid; electrical fault. took to have diagnosed at several locations, and same code arises. found out will have to replace computer on a 5 yr old vehicle. was told by my mechanic that this was an issue that gmc tried to cover up, but knowing that my car has a toyota engine, he contacted toyota and found they had the same issue for their matrix & corolla for that same year. toyota corrected the issue, yet gmc denied there was one present.(tsb tc014-06). at the time of the incident, i had roughly 101,800 miles on vehicle. per pontiac--they are requesting me to pay to have another diagnostic test done at a gmc dealer to verify the codes are correct before they would consider offering, if anything, any type of resolution. i requested to have the part @ no cost and i would pay for the labor. they are refusing to acknowledge there is an issue that was not caused by me and unless i pay to have another diagnostic test done, they will not offer any re-imbursement or parts at no cost. i now am stuck with not being able to renew my plates b/c @ the emmission station failed my vehicle. all because of the computer needing to be replaced. i do not want to pay for another diagnostic test when 4 seperate mechanics have tested my vehicle--including a government run agency--and all came up with the same code and part that needs replacing. i requested to have the part specifically sent at no cost to me from pontiac and i would pay for the labor, but again, pontiac is refusing that option until i have it diagnosted at an actual gmc dealership,which is going to cost me another $75, on top of any repair/replacement costs. i also have no guarantee from pontiac that they will provide any re-imbursement/parts at little to no cost to me, so i feel that i am wasting more money for a faulty computer gmc refuses to acknowledge has a problem | |||
| 05/17/2010 | 81000 | ||
| The check engine light came on. i was making a left turn at a traffic light and the car stalled in the middle of the intersection. i put the car in park and restarted it. shortly thereafter the car stalled again while i was driving but i was able to make a turn into a parking lot. also, the transmission will slip out of gear while driving the failure occurs randomly while driving. was diagnosed as computer performance problem with po607 engine code. | |||
| 03/30/2009 | 33096 | 1 | |
| 2005 pontiac vibe automatic transmission 4-cyl 1.8l at 33k miles, had intermittent check engine light + tough shifting for 1 week, took to 2 repair shops and told it needs a new transmission + torque cylinder. specifically, the code was pressure control solenoid and the transmission fluid was black. car has been well-cared for, mostly city driving, no mountains or cold winters (but located in houston with heat + humidity). there should be no reason for a car this new with this low mileage to have a serious transmission defect. engine + transmission are toyota made in the us. internet searches reveal this may be a known defect of the toyota matrix and pontiac vibe, yet no recalls or service calls have been issued by gm. *tr | |||
| 07/25/2005 | 1000 | 1 | |
| While driving at any speed a cycling vibration can be felt in the steering wheel. it feels like somethi;ng is momentarily binding and slowing the car minutely, as if a shaft were too tight or out of round. seems to be coming from the transmission or drive shafts. this was noticed shortly after purchasing the vehicle new. the gm dealer in fredericton n.b (o'leary's), was not able to determine the cause but admitted it was present. there is approximately 70,000 kilometers on the vehicles at this time. *tr | |||
| 10/27/2007 | 27000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 pontiac vibe. while driving at any speed, the steering wheel would vibrate and the front end would make a rumbling sound. the contact did not notice any differences in the vehicle prior to the failures. the vehicle is currently being diagnosed by the dealer. the vin was unknown. the current mileage was 32,000 and failure mileage was 27,000. | |||
| 01/14/2007 | 46884 | 4 | 02/15/2006 |
| Tl* -the contact owns a 2005 pontiac vibe. while driving there was hesitation and force when changing gears and accelerating. a yellow warning light illuminated. the failure mileage was 46,884. this failure occurred intermittently. the dealer stated that the pressure solenoid has been diagnosed as faulty. the consumer stated the vehicle jerks into gear first through fifth. updated 03/19/07. *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) | |||
| 06/21/2010 | 131423 | 1 | |
| 2005 pontiac vibe. consumer states transmission stalling problem *tgw the consumer stated he sent his receipts to pontiac regarding a transmission and stalling problem he experienced with his vehicle, which was in response to a recall notice he received. there has been no response from pontiac to date. the consumer stated he spent over $2200 to correct the problem.*jb | |||
| 02/22/2007 | 29608 | 3 | |
| 2005 pontiac vibe. consumer writes in regards to several vehicle repairs and request repair *tgw the consumer stated on february 22, 2007 the vehicle was first diagnosed with a failed power control module. on march 9, 2007 a new pcm was installed under warranty. on march 23, 2007, the oxygen sensor and exhaust were replaced. on october 22, 2009 the pcm failed again and the computer was reflashed. in sept. 2010 the consumer received a recall notice regarding the pcm. the consumer faxed over all the necessary paperwork for reimbursement. however, the consumer received a letter from gm stating they had not received all of the required documentation to process his reimbursement. *jb | |||
| 04/01/2011 | 1 | ||
| 2005 pontiac vibe. consumer writes in to express discontent with recall repair *tgw the consumer stated her vehicle was running perfect before she took it to the dealer for a recall. the consumer stated when the vehicle was returned to her, it was idling badly. the next day, the vehicle would not start. the consumer returned to the dealer and upon diagnosis, it was determined the recall part that was installed was faulty. *jb | |||
| 07/01/2009 | 1 | ||
| 2005 pontiac vibe. consumer writes in regards to transmission problems *tgw the consumer stated he experienced transmission problems prior to the recall being issued. the check engine light illuminated and the transmission started changing speeds abruptly, especially at low speeds. within a couple of weeks, the vehicle began stalling in traffic. the consumer was informed that only 863.00 would be covered from the 2199.00 of the money he spent to fix the problems caused by a defective powertrain control module. the transmission was internally damaged and had to be overhauled. *jb | |||
| 03/01/2011 | 1 | ||
| 2005 pontiac vibe. consumer states that after a new powertrain control module was installed per the recall, the car began to shift very hard and consumer states hearing a high pitched whining sound when she accelerated *tgw the consumer was advised by an independent mechanic the vehicle was not safe to drive due to the damage that was caused to the transmission. the consumer believed the pcm was installed incorrectly. *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 07/25/2005 | 1000 | 1 | |
| While driving at any speed a cycling vibration can be felt in the steering wheel. it feels like somethi;ng is momentarily binding and slowing the car minutely, as if a shaft were too tight or out of round. seems to be coming from the transmission or drive shafts. this was noticed shortly after purchasing the vehicle new. the gm dealer in fredericton n.b (o'leary's), was not able to determine the cause but admitted it was present. there is approximately 70,000 kilometers on the vehicles at this time. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 06/15/2011 | 159365 | ||
| Transmission failure on a 2005 gm pontiac vibe | |||