Pontaic Vibe 2009 Weird Noises and There Is Video! HELP!

Maintenance/Repairs
,
1

Hey all,

Hope you can help!!! Our car is making weird noises and I just moved to a new
area and got definite wrong answers from local shops and they charged me
$50-$100 each to tell me different things, all overly priced, all definitely wrong!

If anyone has any idea right off the bat what is up here I would appreciate it!

I apologize for the odd edit, but I also just got a new phone! I did my best! Its
only 5 minutes and you can watch it all in beautiful HD right here!
https://youtu.be/-dwaXht-qW8

Most likely going to sell this car soon, but my wife needs it for a few more
weeks and if it is a reasonable repair, I will try to do it myself possibly (I am
excellent at utilizing youtube videos!)

Thanks so much!

2

Ah… does it sound like it’s coming from the middle of the car? I’ll bet it does it especially when the car is cold (running a bit rough).

For all the world, that sounds like a cat-conv or exhaust shield rattling. It’s probably worked loose (or in some car models it’ll collect rocks). You might also want to have your engine and tranny mounts checked for wear (or broken). Sometimes they’ll allow a bit more engine movement.

I’d start by taking it to a muffler shop. I haven’t been to one for years, but (when not busy) they’d often put it on their lift free of charge. With the car idling, they should find that rattle in a minute. The clips, bolts or clips fall off. (With the video, you might be able to fix it yourself.) I wouldn’t follow his exact steps, but the opening 2 minutes shows you what it could be.

2 Likes
3

THANKS SO MUCH!

I think there might be an audible illusion? It is fairly tough to tell where it is coming from, seems all over, and this may lean towards all your excellent theories.

That video is spectacular too! THANKS!

Super appreciate this! I will look into everything you’re saying here and will keep up in this forum until I show you all I can, indeed, fix a car like an adult (lol).

4

lol That’s a good term, audible illusion. Yes, if that’s it, it’s rattling on the exhaust pipe… like rapping on the steam pipe to get the super to turn on the boiler. (OK… probably before your day and out of your region.)

1 Like
5

I will double down on a heat shield or clamp rattling somewhere. If so, nothing to loose too much sleep over. Just fix it when you get s chance. When the car is completely cool go underneath and tap at all the metal around the exhaust system and see if you can find anything loose.

1 Like
6

If you can get it to make the sound idling or rev’ing the engine in the driveway, sometimes you can narrow down where it is coming from using a length of old garden hose as a sort of stethoscope.

7

Thanks! Going to spend the weekend after the rain stops fixing this. I got a lot of stuff to try! I’ll let you all know what it is!

8

Safety alert: use jack stands or ramps if you work in your driveway. Don’t use a lift only, and don’t use the scissor lift in the trunk at all.

1 Like
9

I think you have a muffler clamp that is loose and vibrating, making the rattling noise.

if this car has a rear drive shaft, something rattling against that could also make that pitch noise.

You do not say what these shops thought the problem was???

Why should any of these shops that you took the car to, diagnose your problem for free.
They took the time to examine the car and they should be paid for their time.
If they did not charge a diagnosis fees, some days they would spend 25% of their day and not be paid for the time.

Tomorrow we expect you to go to your boss and tell him/her that you do not expect to be paid for the first hour of each day.

I

Yosemite

10

I had heat shield rattle a hole big enough that it needed new bolt with a large washer…same sort of thing you describe (rattle)