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Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sun May 11, 2014 6:55 pm
by Houston
Questions about what coolant to use in our Vibes has been beaten to death, but I don't see that a definite conclusion was ever reached. To those of you with older Vibes, which coolant did you use and, no matter what it was, did any of you ever have any kind of coolant-related problems afterwards?

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 4:59 am
by Doug14
Stuck with Toyota red/pink or whatever. It is what was in there at the beginning so i stayed.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 6:17 am
by kaflex
somebody that had my GT before me had GM green put in, so i'm stuck with that...

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 9:28 am
by jake75
GM Dexcool is orange.
Google "green color antifreeze" and you can learn what you need to know.
I had a 2003 Vibe and it came with pink antifreeze. Thee was confusion as the owners manual said to replace coolant at 24,000 miles or 24 months which ever came first. But that pink stuff was probably 5 year antifreeze. When the GM Dealer changed mine they used orange Dexcool - that was o.k. though some don't like Dexcool.
Most here would cringe that you have green stuff now - supposedly an issue with pump seals etc.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 6:01 pm
by lannvouivre
kaflex wrote:somebody that had my GT before me had GM green put in, so i'm stuck with that...
You can drain and flush it. If you're any good with a 1/4" drive ratchet, you can drain, flush, and refill easily. You can avoid pulling the alternator by instead pulling the intake manifold, although getting the thermostat housing off and the thermostat out and replaced can be trying. You'll need a 10 mm for that part, I think, then 12 mm and 10 mm sockets (12 mm may be 14 mm).

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 10:03 pm
by 03GTMatthew
I just did a coolant drain on the 2003 vibe GT this weekend.

pulled almost all the coolant out of the system. and then refilled with Peak 50/50 Pre-Diluted... It took One Gallon at the time.. and then a 1/4 after the first drive.. now its all topped off :D

From what iv been reading the dex-cool eats at your seals?.... that kind of scares me.. as my 2003 is already older and id like to make the 115,000 turn in to 450,000 :D

It would be nice if we could get a real determination on what does and doesn't hurt our vibes.. I LOVE MY VIBE

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 12:41 pm
by jake75
My memory is that the dexcool litigation was over the stuff turning to sludge.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 2:09 pm
by Houston
You're right, Jake. Just got this from my dealer: In doing a coolant flush here, I would only use the Dexcool. This is what GM requires and if there ever was a special policy that arose on something, GM could deny you anything if we didn’t put in what is required in your owner’s manual. Probably would never happen, but our policy is to only use what the manual requires.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 4:25 pm
by kaflex
lannvouivre wrote:
kaflex wrote:somebody that had my GT before me had GM green put in, so i'm stuck with that...
You can drain and flush it. If you're any good with a 1/4" drive ratchet, you can drain, flush, and refill easily. You can avoid pulling the alternator by instead pulling the intake manifold, although getting the thermostat housing off and the thermostat out and replaced can be trying. You'll need a 10 mm for that part, I think, then 12 mm and 10 mm sockets (12 mm may be 14 mm).
I took it to a Toyota dealer to have the system flushed and fill with pink, but they strongly recommended against it due to the green already in it. I'm thinking bout getting peak yellow next time, it's for all makes and models, then a system flush and fill with pink

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 4:34 pm
by Vulcan05
Houston wrote:You're right, Jake. Just got this from my dealer: In doing a coolant flush here, I would only use the Dexcool. This is what GM requires and if there ever was a special policy that arose on something, GM could deny you anything if we didn’t put in what is required in your owner’s manual. Probably would never happen, but our policy is to only use what the manual requires.
Ask your dealer if he knows who made the Vibe. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the motor. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the transmission. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the ECU. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the water pump. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the alternator. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the body and running gear.
After you explain it to him, ask him why a Toyota would have GM chemicals in it.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 5:10 pm
by trb
Houston wrote:You're right, Jake. Just got this from my dealer: In doing a coolant flush here, I would only use the Dexcool. This is what GM requires and if there ever was a special policy that arose on something, GM could deny you anything if we didn’t put in what is required in your owner’s manual. Probably would never happen, but our policy is to only use what the manual requires.
And this is one of the many places that the manual as flat out WRONG. On both of our Vibes, I've only used the Toyota coolant to top them off and that is all I will ever use, or the appropriate Toyota substitute. On the Vibe assembly line they also built Toyota cars & trucks and all they put in the vehicles built there was Toyota fluids. I've marked through the coolant spec on the manual and wrote in "Toyota coolant ONLY - this is a TOYOTA drivetrain" so if any of my kids need something done, they will have the right information for reference.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 6:40 pm
by Houston
I tend to agree with you, trb, about the manual being wrong, but at the same time I imagine hundreds of thousands of Vibe owners have already replaced the original coolant with Dex-cool and are not complaining about later problems with their cooling systems. A few are, sure, but not the vast majority. This is certainly a dilemma for those of us who want to do it right.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 6:57 pm
by ColonelPanic
In the '03, only Toyota red here (the non-long life 2-year stuff though they call it "long life.")

If Toyota made a concentrated extended life pink (as they do the red,) I might have used that. But it being only 50/50, I never bothered with it as i figured I couldn't get the mix right when flushing. Though I just let a shop handle changing that out anyway...

As far as Dexcool goes, I'd hazard a guess that a lot of owners of Toyotas and anything else are using Dexcool and aren't even aware of it. The average Joe goes to a box store and picks up a jug of Prestone or similar "universal" coolant type and they're basically getting a clone of Dexcool. :shock:

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 3:23 am
by Caretaker
Houston, since you own a 2009 like me (except you have the Camry engine and I have the Corolla), our cars came with Toyota's Super Long Life Coolant (pink). That is what you should put in. Do not put in Dexcool. Buy it on line or go to your local Toyota dealer and buy it.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 4:47 am
by kumquat
Vulcan05 wrote:
Houston wrote:You're right, Jake. Just got this from my dealer: In doing a coolant flush here, I would only use the Dexcool. This is what GM requires and if there ever was a special policy that arose on something, GM could deny you anything if we didn’t put in what is required in your owner’s manual. Probably would never happen, but our policy is to only use what the manual requires.
Ask your dealer if he knows who made the Vibe. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the motor. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the transmission. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the ECU. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the water pump. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the alternator. Ask your dealer if he knows who made the body and running gear.
After you explain it to him, ask him why a Toyota would have GM chemicals in it.
GM probably knows those things, and in their official service manual for this vehicle they specifically say to use DEXCOOL. The service manual also specifies Toyota WS transmission fluid, so it's not like it's some generic GM recommendation.

Your last sentence makes as much sense as "ask him why a Toyota would have a GM badge on it."

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 9:50 am
by Houston
I really appreciate the comments you've made in this thread.

I just read somewhere (sure wish I'd saved the URL) that Dex-cool doesn't cause problems with GM vehicles unless it - the coolant - is in the system for two years or longer. He said the problems are caused by various components in Dex-cool that begin to break down after that point. He said the way to avoid problems is to change it out every two years. If what he says is true, then we can follow GM's directions and protect our engines even without using Toyota coolant. Your thoughts?

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 10:20 am
by jake75
Houston wrote:I really appreciate the comments you've made in this thread.

I just read somewhere (sure wish I'd saved the URL) that Dex-cool doesn't cause problems with GM vehicles unless it - the coolant - is in the system for two years or longer. He said the problems are caused by various components in Dex-cool that begin to break down after that point. He said the way to avoid problems is to change it out every two years. If what he says is true, then we can follow GM's directions and protect our engines even without using Toyota coolant. Your thoughts?
Though Dexcool is designated as a 5 year or (maybe 5 yera/100,000 miles whichever comes first) coolant.

The coolant in my '03 was Toyota pink and not Dexcool orange. I have not looked at the '09 - it is now 5 years 4 months but only 30,000 miles so I have not changed out the '09 coolant yet.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 10:31 am
by Caretaker
Houston, please forget that Dexcool even exists. The fact that you read that it can cause harm after only being in a radiator for only two years says it all. as Jake pointed out, Dexcool is not a two year coolant, but an extended life coolant designed for around 5 years, much like Toyota's RED coolant. Ours is Toyota PINK and is a Super Long Life Coolant designed to go longer than both of those. From all the horror stories I've read over the decade, putting Dexcool in a radiator seems like a bad idea. Putting it in a radiator that started with something else from the assembly line is definitely a bad idea.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 11:20 am
by Houston
Caretaker: I know that Dex-cool lasts five years, but my point was that he said it doesn't cause harm until after two years at which time some of its components begin to break down. In other words, we will be okay using Dex-cool as long as we change it out every two years. For those who want to stay with their dealerships (and I almost was), this is a viable alternative.

That said, I just made an appointment for next week to have this done by my nearest Toyota dealer. I've been flipping a coin trying to decide what to do with this, but points made by some of you folks kinda weighted that coin. It doesn't hurt that my gut says the same thing. Since I've never seen it, Google Earth was a big help in learning the quickest way to get there.

Thanks for your help!

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 12:50 pm
by Caretaker
You've made the right choice Houston. Toyota did my tranny flush and were the ones who alerted me to the fact your and my car have world standard fluid in them and not Toyota T-IV like our GM owner's manual states. (Getting) Keeping the Toyota pink SLLC in your radiator is the right thing to do. I have not read my manual in quite some time: my Vibe is now 5 years old and 75,000 miles. I'm thinking I would do the "pink" when I do the hoses at 100,000 miles.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 7:17 pm
by Old Tele man
FWIW, GM is *known* for making ERRORS in their Owners Manuals, especially those for vehicles actually manufactured by someone else, but wearing a GM name plate.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 8:42 pm
by triz
Toyota coolant. This is a Toyota engine after all.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sun May 18, 2014 5:44 am
by vibenvy
So, just to re-iterate... 2009-2010 Vibes use Toyota Pink Super Long Life Coolant and (even though it's slightly off topic) World Standard transmission fluid?

Our Vibes are currently about 5.5 years old (built 10.29.08 & 11.17.08 / purchased 04.11.09 & 05.23.09) and are about to turn over 50,000 miles. Should we have the coolant drained and filled or flush and filled or can it wait?

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sun May 18, 2014 5:12 pm
by jake75
I checked my 2009 and the coolant is definitely pink. That indicates it is the Toyota Super Long Life Coolant. [The long life is red.]
That is a 10 year 120,000 mile coolant. Here is something from a Toyota dealer wevbsite.
Every 96 months/128,000 km ,replace Super Long Life Coolant initially thereafter every 48months/64,000 km(except Corolla,Matrix, Highlander (L4), RAV4 (L4) and Venza, Replace Super Long Life Coolant at 120 months/160,000 km, thereafter every 60 months/80,000 km)

So I am at 31,000 miles and approaching 5-1/2 years. I am convinced I can wait.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 11:44 am
by Houston
Well, I went to my closest Toyota dealer today to get the coolant changed and got both good and bad news. The bad news is the Service Director said the cost to flush and refill my Vibe with Toyota Super Long Life coolant is $180.00. The good news is he told me to save my money, because no matter what the GM Owner's Manual says, the coolant in my Vibe is good for another five years. I gotta say this made my day.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 1:30 pm
by Caretaker
Good for you Houston. I had two nice things done for me at the Toyota dealership (not including the cheap paper filters they sell me for our Corolla-Vibes):
1. the service manager allowed me to get the World Standard fluid flush for only $200.
2. the same service manager said he would NOT sell me the $99 Toyota special brake pads because Toyota just recently changed their parts supplier and every Matrix and Corolla owner who has recently gotten the front brake job with the low cost pads has taken them back to the dealer to complain. That was very nice of him to do that. I've since learned my lesson to ignore the special GM, Toyota, Firestone, etc $99ish brake specials.
Since the dealer did not waste your time or money on a radiator flush, you should have picked up a bottle of the SLLC while you were there so you can top it off as needed over the 10 year period. As I have done, I seriously recommend you write with a black marker on top of the plastic overflow bottle: "Toyota SLLC ONLY" so no grease monkey pollutes your fluid while believing they are doing something nice for you by topping it off with non SLLC. Stay pink everybody.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 3:00 pm
by Houston
Thanks for the advice about writing that info on the overflow bottle, Caretaker. Good idea - and I just did it.

I was really impressed with the dealership - Grand Blanc Motorcars (also known as Grand Blanc Toyota and Grand Blanc BMW). They could have easily taken me for a ride by selling me the flush and new coolant I had gone there to get. His honesty about this was impressive as hell.

Regarding the first point in your post: What exactly are you talking about here?

Last but not least, I saw two Vibes while I was just sitting in my Vibe inside the service area waiting to be written up. That tells us something.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 3:19 pm
by Rayven01
World Standard is the Toyota automatic transmission fluid. It's even pricier than the coolant. $200 is cheap for a full flush with it.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 4:56 pm
by Caretaker
Correct. Houston, pull your auto transmission fluid dipstick. You will see a WS on it, indicating it is World Standard (WS) Fluid. It is pricier than the first generation Vibe's Toyota Type IV fluid. Second gen vibes have WS. I got the flush done at the dealer for about $80 less than what it normally cost. He ate the cost because, at the time, I did not know I had WS in my tranny and the Service Manger was sure that I had Toyota Type IV. Once the order was written up, his mechanic came out and said that my drain plug was definitely indicative that I have WS. As an apology, they did the WS flush at the lower price. My lucky day. Although Toyota says that the WS fluid is good for 100,000 miles (just like our Toyota Pink coolant), the Service Manger said that Toyota made a big mistake marketing World Standard at such a long interval, and that he had seen many problems with Toyota transmissions in his dealership due to owners leaving the OEM fluid in that long. He also told me that most of the troubles (slipping, ect) were corrected once the fluid was switched out. I decided to do mine at 65,000 miles and not wait, allowing me to get a flush and not just a drain and fill. Flushing ensures I get "all" the fluid out. When I get to 130,000 or so miles, I should be able to flush it out again without any concern of dislodging hardened varnish from the sides of the transmission. Remember, if you leave transmission fluid in too long, you are better to do multiple drain and fills and NOT flush it because of the "burnt varnish" that sticks to the parts. Flushing very old fluid dislodges those particles and ruins transmissions within a VERY short time.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 8:15 pm
by jake75
I think we may finally have a definite conclusion to the coolant questions.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 9:12 am
by Vulcan05
jake75 wrote:I think we may finally have a definite conclusion to the coolant questions.
Toyota it is. Trans AND radiator.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 7:14 am
by gtv237
I was wondering about that too. The manual says dexcool but they come with toyota SSLC.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sat May 31, 2014 11:27 am
by Water boy
gtv237 wrote:I was wondering about that too. The manual says dexcool but they come with toyota SSLC.
Remember ... the manual is written from GM's viewpoint.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sat May 31, 2014 11:31 am
by Water boy
03GTMatthew wrote:I just did a coolant drain on the 2003 vibe GT this weekend.

pulled almost all the coolant out of the system. and then refilled with Peak 50/50 Pre-Diluted... It took One Gallon at the time.. and then a 1/4 after the first drive.. now its all topped off :D

From what iv been reading the dex-cool eats at your seals?.... that kind of scares me.. as my 2003 is already older and id like to make the 115,000 turn in to 450,000 :D

It would be nice if we could get a real determination on what does and doesn't hurt our vibes.. I LOVE MY VIBE
Unless you did a complete drain of ALL coolant adding 50/50 will not result in 50/50 final dilution.

It is best to take the cooling capacity and add undulated to 50% of the capacity. THEN top off with water.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sat May 31, 2014 8:36 pm
by jake75
Water boy wrote:
03GTMatthew wrote:I just did a coolant drain on the 2003 vibe GT this weekend.

pulled almost all the coolant out of the system. and then refilled with Peak 50/50 Pre-Diluted... It took One Gallon at the time.. and then a 1/4 after the first drive.. now its all topped off :D

From what iv been reading the dex-cool eats at your seals?.... that kind of scares me.. as my 2003 is already older and id like to make the 115,000 turn in to 450,000 :D

It would be nice if we could get a real determination on what does and doesn't hurt our vibes.. I LOVE MY VIBE
Unless you did a complete drain of ALL coolant adding 50/50 will not result in 50/50 final dilution.

It is best to take the cooling capacity and add undulated to 50% of the capacity. THEN top off with water.
And why not? - whatever remained in there was 50/50.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 11:13 am
by tpollauf
Great article and excellent involvement with nobody being negative! If I'm not mistaken Houston, your Vibe only had 13000 or so miles on it also. With that said you can definitely wait a few more years & then some before addressing this issue. I'm right there with you on mine as it's just over 18000 miles BUT Juniors is now in the mid 50000 range so his will get it done first in our fleet. When the time comes I will refer to this post so that I don't make any brain dead decisions and have the wrong stuff put in.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 11:54 am
by Caretaker
Tim: that's why you should walk outside right now and write Toyota SLLC ONLY with a sharpie on top of your coolant jug. If you don't like the look of the graffiti, it comes off over time. I've had to rewrite mine a second time already due to heat-grease-dirt in the engine wearing the marking off.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 4:09 pm
by tpollauf
Caretaker wrote:Tim: that's why you should walk outside right now and write Toyota SLLC ONLY with a sharpie on top of your coolant jug.

Advise well taken ! Just performed that task (mod) .... Thanks :D

Image

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 5:13 pm
by Water boy
jake75 wrote:
Water boy wrote:
03GTMatthew wrote:I just did a coolant drain on the 2003 vibe GT this weekend.

pulled almost all the coolant out of the system. and then refilled with Peak 50/50 Pre-Diluted... It took One Gallon at the time.. and then a 1/4 after the first drive.. now its all topped off :D

From what iv been reading the dex-cool eats at your seals?.... that kind of scares me.. as my 2003 is already older and id like to make the 115,000 turn in to 450,000 :D

It would be nice if we could get a real determination on what does and doesn't hurt our vibes.. I LOVE MY VIBE
Unless you did a complete drain of ALL coolant adding 50/50 will not result in 50/50 final dilution.

It is best to take the cooling capacity and add undulated to 50% of the capacity. THEN top off with water.
And why not? - whatever remained in there was 50/50.
Well, I guess if you are certain that what was in there was 50/50 then I could streeeeetch my thought process. Now if one did a "flush" my reasoning stands.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 7:52 pm
by mbz321
I drained the pink stuff that was in mine when I bought my used Vibe last July, and just replaced it with regular old Prestone and haven't had any issues (This has also been done to a couple older Camry's in my household without any issue whatsoever).

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:41 pm
by Dairgo
Was just searching around on cost and interval...

My vehicle is around 107K miles. I've had most of the fluids changed, haven't had the coolant done. Looking through the logs at the back of the manual, doesn't look like the previous owner did either.

and the Toyota dealer had told me the same price, about $180 - $200.

Will que this up in the next week or two.

Haven't had issues, but it's a good preventative measure.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 6:10 pm
by cptnsolo77
I used the Prestone that is compatible with all types and colors. No problems, actually its time to change it again because im at the 5 year interval :D Im at 185K by the way.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:00 pm
by gtv237
It depends on what you're doing. If you're doing a flush I would recommend Toyota Super Lonf Life Coolant (Pink) or AcDelco Dexcool (Orange). If your just topping off get a universal coolant to be safe. They make several kinds that will mix with any color.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:28 pm
by Dairgo
gtv237 wrote:It depends on what you're doing. If you're doing a flush I would recommend Toyota Super Lonf Life Coolant (Pink) or AcDelco Dexcool (Orange). If your just topping off get a universal coolant to be safe. They make several kinds that will mix with any color.
Likely going to get a flush at the Toyota dealership near by.

Admittedly, the kid at the desk stared at my a little weird when I said I had a Pontiac Vibe, but he was informed that it had their guts in it.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:00 pm
by Vulcan05
gtv237 wrote:It depends on what you're doing. If you're doing a flush I would recommend Toyota Super Lonf Life Coolant (Pink) or AcDelco Dexcool (Orange). If your just topping off get a universal coolant to be safe. They make several kinds that will mix with any color.
PLEASE do not put DexCrap in your Vibe, or anything else that you value. Google "Dexcool problem" and see why.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:02 pm
by gtv237
Dairgo wrote:
gtv237 wrote:It depends on what you're doing. If you're doing a flush I would recommend Toyota Super Lonf Life Coolant (Pink) or AcDelco Dexcool (Orange). If your just topping off get a universal coolant to be safe. They make several kinds that will mix with any color.
Likely going to get a flush at the Toyota dealership near by.

Admittedly, the kid at the desk stared at my a little weird when I said I had a Pontiac Vibe, but he was informed that it had their guts in it.
Some Toyota dealers are real sticklers when it comes to the whole vibe/matrix thing. In my experience a lot of them won't even sell you toyota parts in fear of compatibility issues.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:13 pm
by Dairgo
gtv237 wrote:
Dairgo wrote:
gtv237 wrote:It depends on what you're doing. If you're doing a flush I would recommend Toyota Super Lonf Life Coolant (Pink) or AcDelco Dexcool (Orange). If your just topping off get a universal coolant to be safe. They make several kinds that will mix with any color.
Likely going to get a flush at the Toyota dealership near by.

Admittedly, the kid at the desk stared at my a little weird when I said I had a Pontiac Vibe, but he was informed that it had their guts in it.
Some Toyota dealers are real sticklers when it comes to the whole vibe/matrix thing. In my experience a lot of them won't even sell you toyota parts in fear of compatibility issues.
Hopefully they won't be that way if/when I try to get parts. atleast I know they'll do the coolant flush and just stare at me funny as they turn their noses up at my vibe.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:20 pm
by gtv237
Dairgo wrote: Hopefully they won't be that way if/when I try to get parts. atleast I know they'll do the coolant flush and just stare at me funny as they turn their noses up at my vibe.
The sad thing is unless you make it very clear that you want Toyota SLLC, they will probably put in Dexcool because that's what the vibe calls for. Even though it's factory filled with Toyota SLLC :roll:

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:32 pm
by gtv237
Vulcan05 wrote:PLEASE do not put DexCrap in your Vibe, or anything else that you value. Google "Dexcool problem" and see why.
There is nothing wrong with Dexcool. It does an excellent job at preventing corrosion to aluminum. Now days almost every part the cooling system is aluminum (engine block, heads, radiator, heater core, water pump etc.) The real reason it got a bad reputation was because of the poor design of he intake gaskets on the 60 and 90 degree GM v6 motors. It would sludge up when oil leaked into it. The intake gaskets leaked because they were made of plastic which would warp and crack over time. It is true that Dexcool can eat away at plastics if it's not changed at the proper intervals but that shouldn't be a problem if you maintain your car like you're supposed to. Fortunately for us we don't have any plastic gaskets in our motors so we can use Dexcool without any potential problems.

Re: Vibe Coolant

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:45 pm
by Dairgo
gtv237 wrote:
Dairgo wrote: Hopefully they won't be that way if/when I try to get parts. atleast I know they'll do the coolant flush and just stare at me funny as they turn their noses up at my vibe.
The sad thing is unless you make it very clear that you want Toyota SLLC, they will probably put in Dexcool because that's what the vibe calls for. Even though it's factory filled with Toyota SLLC :roll:
Yeah, going to make sure the Toyota Dealership puts in the Toyota SLLC in my vibe.