03 Vue VTI

[vuederek]

Need some advice. Have the opportunity to pick up an 03 with a newly dealer rebuilt VTI, that carries a 12 yr/12,000 warranty for $1600 through a relative. It has 97,000 miles on it with all dealer recommended service. From reading it seems like the VTI going bad is a question of when, not if. I don't need the car, but it seems like to good to pass on. Does anyone have any idea of the failure rate of these things?

[VTchemist]

Under NO circumstances should you buy a VUE with a VTI!

It will fail, and the cost to replace the tranny will be more than the value of the vehicle.

Just search for "VTI" on the VUE boards. The horror stories here should discourage you from this purchase.

Try looking for a 4 cylinder with a 5 speed, or either a later model VUE with a regular automatic.

[Gerry Proctor]

No one except GM knows what the failure rate is. And extracting meaningful information from what you find on this board is very selective data mining. Not all Vue owners are members of this board, and not all Vue owners who are members of this board post "no problem" threads. So you're seeing only a tiny fraction of all owners and an even smaller fraction of those who have VTi problems.

It seems that the highest failure rate is with the VTi in the AWD model, followed by the FWD and lastly by the VTi in the Ion. I'm sure that the failure rate in the AWD is probably below ten percent of the vehicle population, the FWD is likely well under five percent, and the Ion is relatively rare for VTi failure.

So, VTi failure really is a question of "if."

Oh, and $1,600 for that car is a steal.

[john95SW2]

Almost too hard to pass on a deal like that... :yes:

Even if you only drive it for a couple of years I think you're coming out ahead...

[Tom92SCm]

Normally I would stay away from a VTi VUE, but for $1600..... I would probably go ahead with it. Just start saving money away for a "new" car for when/if that transmission ever goes out again.

[mikec]

They should pay you $1600 to take it off of their hands. I owned an 04 Vue VTi once. My advise is to walk away.

[wislauson]

I don't think this really qualifies as an "opportunity." This is a head full of troubles for $1600 bucks. I used to sell these things...the 02's and 03 had many problems besides the VTI. But they all pale in comparison to the awful service record of that transmission. There's a reason they stopped selling it (the VTI), and it wasn't because it was just too wonderful.

The enemy you know is always preferable to the enemy you don't know, so if you have a car that runs now and is reasonably reliable I would recommend that you thank them for the offer, but keep your $1600 and use if for something that isn't such a roll of the dice.

[AuraDrvr89]

Or buy it and sell it to someone stupid for 3x the price :arr:

[vuederek]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to buy it for my kid, who will trash it in two years anyway. I'll leave a screwdriver in the glove box and instruct him to take the plates off and walk away when it goes.

[RicksVue]

In the original post, you say it has a 12 year/12000 mile warrantee.
If you really mean 120000 miles, then you might be OK to do as you plan. For $1600 you get your son something he can drive for 23,000 miles. Then, at 199999 you contribute it and walk away.

Without that warrantee coverage, that $1600 is likely to be just the beginning of costs toward keeping it going.

[burnout]

It actually seems like you're coming across a pretty good deal for a first car...

You've gotta figure the chances of your son killing it, and the chances of the transmission blowing up are about the same! :D

The price is certainly right. Go for it! That VTi should last way longer than necessary if it was properly rebuilt.

[OhioVueBoy]

In the original post, you say it has a 12 year/12000 mile warrantee.
If you really mean 120000 miles, then you might be OK to do as you plan. For $1600 you get your son something he can drive for 23,000 miles. Then, at 199999 you contribute it and walk away.

Without that warrantee coverage, that $1600 is likely to be just the beginning of costs toward keeping it going.

There's a 12/12 warranty on the transmission because it was replaced at the dealer.

I'd say go for it for that price... especially for your kid. They're a great vehicle for a young driver.

~D.J.~

[VTchemist]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to buy it for my kid, who will trash it in two years anyway. I'll leave a screwdriver in the glove box and instruct him to take the plates off and walk away when it goes.

Just make sure your son knows about the VTI and the symptoms that leads to its failure. I hope he gets a couple of years out of it.

My main concern would be when the VTI would begin to fail, like when your son was needing to accelerate through an intersection, etc.

So, for $1600, and a screwdriver, it could work out. For your son's sake, make sure he is aware of the problem and will know when to park it if things go bad.

[The Math God]

I have an 03 AWD and the VTi and currently have 74,000 without a lick of trouble (knock wood)

for $1600 I would jump at the purchase and run the Vue til the wheels fell off

[RicksVue]

There's a 12/12 warranty on the transmission because it was replaced at the dealer.

Oh. Duh. That makes sense now.

I still think I'd go for it. It'll be a nice ride for a cheap price.

[wolfman]

FYI: If I had to estimate, given what I know and have "heard" from reliable sources, the failure rate of the VTI is approx 15% total. They do fail far more often in the VUE than in the ION. (Heavier vehicle) though this is not universal.

While 15% does not sound too bad, it is more than enough for a manufacturer to kill a particular piece, especailly since it was outsourced overseas and as a result parts and replacement units (for warranty covered repairs) are prohibitively expensive. The VTI is a real crap-shoot in a USED vehicle, as you have no idea how well it was maintained or driven. Even in a NEW vehicle, it was STILL a crap-shoot due to poor choices made by the manfacturer regarding the parts and assembly locale.

(There is a reason why I was sure my 05' 4cyl FWD was a late model with the conventional "shifting" automatic and not the VTI when I bought it)