2006 pontiac vibe runs rough and stalls at stop signs or when idling for a short period of time.

140

Asked by Dan Jun 21, 2014 at 09:46 PM about the 2006 Pontiac Vibe Base

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 06 pontiac vibe with a VVTi 16 valve motor. It is running rough and stalling at stop signs or if idling for a short period of time after the car warms up. there are no codes being produced. I have put new spark plugs in (iridium and E3), new 02 sensor up front, cleaned mass air flow sensor, new crank position sensor, valve cover gasket, cleaned throttle body, air filter, 4 injectors, fuel rail. I have swapped around the coils and there is no change. I have inspected all vacuum lines and have found none with rot, damage or any unplugged. The motor doesn't fall under the recall for the ECM. The next thing I was thinking i would check is the fuel pressure to see about a fuel pump. other then that I am out of ideas as to where to look next.

13 Answers

199,785

Sure sounds like it could possibly be a dirty/faulty idle air control valve.

6 people found this helpful.
140

The problem is on this car I cant clean that valve because it is built into the throttle body. it has electronic throttle. I took the throttle body off and tried spraying down the lines into the valve with throttle body cleaner but this changed nothing. A new throttle body for the car is around 500 so I really want to nail it down before I buy one.

6 people found this helpful.
143,745

That,s what you going to find more than likely fuel pump,don,t you hate it when you tear every thing apart and check it,then the last thing you have to check is the one thing that was wrong, ; ) Good luck with it.

2,345

So all of that work you mentioned above, is that what youve checked or is that what you've replaced?? If thats all work youve done on car and parts youve replaced, I would ask why did you have to replace all of those parts in the first place? sounds like the work you would have to do to a '96 grand am to get it running, not so much on a fairly new vibe? just curious what was wrong with the car initially. Also, im not sure about the 2006 and up vibes with the newer engines but I do know if you put anything other than Copper spark plugs in the 1.8 liter vvt's including platinum and irridium, the cars ran like garbage 9 times out of 10. that might be a cheap thing to do just for fun. Also, how did you clean the MAF sensor? those are very fragile and if you touched it, I might consider it was damaged maybe? did that with my infiniti, wiped it off gently and thought it was fine but car barely ran and stalled out idling, I assumed I damaged the MAF sensor when I cleaned it so I bought a new one, car was fine. Not trying to discredit your abilities, just that even the best mechanics break things now and again.

2 people found this helpful.
2,345

one other thing I thought of. Why did you replace O2 sensor? was the car misfiring before? My infiniti, bad coil pack plague caused misfire. took a bit for me to figure out it was coil packs. in the time I discovered that the misfire fauled out all the O2 sensors which in turn within time ended up clogging one of the cats on drivers side which caused the car to barely run at all. Different car but still a posibility. since the infiniti had dual exhaust it never stalled but the vibe has only one exhaust pipe so maybe check that out. hopefully its something cheap for you though!

1 people found this helpful.
140

I have found the solution to the misfire problem. The valve cover gasket was leaking oil down the coils and onto the plugs. When I pulled the coils and looked down the tube with a flashlight there was oil puddling around the plugs. Unfortunately this is my girlfriends car and it wasn't until a week after I changed the valve gasket when I asked her how the car was running that she told me great lol. The night I wrote my post was the day I changed the gasket. just wanted to give an answer to the problem.

8 people found this helpful.
30

I have an 05 vibe..same situation.. soon as u plug in the mass air it dies.. or idles like sh*t ..unplugged runs great...idles great..but pops ,of course, the cel.... id really like to know how to fix this issue myself.. also replaced cam sensor..all coil packs, plugs, vts sensor temp sensor ...replaced mass air w 2 junkyard parts finally broke down bought a new one w no difference..

3 people found this helpful.

George have you figured this out, my 07 does the exact same as your description, unplug mass air flow idles good plug it in it dies, brand new mass air flow censor too.

40

I have an 06 Vibe 82k with same issue. So its a valve cover gasket??

4 people found this helpful.
10

I have a 2004 vibe and just got the cover gasket replaced coils and spark plugs i spent 600 getting this done at a shop ...the thing is the car still turns off when a come to a complete stop

1 people found this helpful.
10

Oh jeez gurl, you can do those repairs yourself for less than $100! Next time!

1 people found this helpful.
130

My first question is ??? Was the battery ever disconnected or changed????Run the vehicle for approx. 30 miles... if the battery was disconnected the ECU will have to go through a re-learn stage. Adjusting the idle / air control.

13 people found this helpful.
20

I have received an 05 Pontiac Vibe Base. Sat for almost 2yrs not running and the previous owners couldn't figure it out. Once in my possession I started with the normal "used car" tune up. I cleaned the throttle body, new plugs, changed thermostat, a few seals here and there, upstream O2 sensor, MAF, new battery, new starter (reason for no start - wire from solenoid to starter was fried). At this point, it runs... but not with the MAF plugged in.. the MAF kills the car... Only thing I have been able to conclude atm is it is the MAP which works with the MAF.. I still don't know because you can't find one for a pontiac Vibe Base since it is using a Toyota motor.. so have to get one that works on a Toyota... will respond if I can get one and get it changed.

2 people found this helpful.

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