Michigan Newbie

[53Bowtie]

Hi All!

So just moved to Michigan from Texas and needless to say my 2wd Silverado was not cutting it even with a minimal amount of ice or snow on the ground. So started shopping for a cash car. Wanted to stay GM (so I could park in the parking garage here at work) but wanted better reliability than the GM vehicles of the error that fit into my price range. So that's where the Vibe came in. I purchased a 2009 Base 1.8L with 136k this past Saturday in hopes of maximizing mpg so that it will pay for its own insurance with the savings on gas (and maybe start paying for itself too!).

So first things first......engine and transmission oil looked terrible so changed those yesterday and will probably change again in 1,000ish miles with a transmission filter this time too. Hopefully this will get the engine and transmission back into good shape for another 100k. Next on the list are: plugs and belt, brakes all around, service cooling system, replace misc. plastic covers under the car and in the front fenders that are missing. Other possible work is struts all around and lower control arms on the front.

All that being said, I have two main questions for you guys right out of the gate:

1) What can you make me aware of that are known issues with these cars so that I can be on the lookout? (already searching for recalls as I type).
2) What can you recommend to improve the performance of the vehicle with a HEAVY emphasis on mpg?

Thanks guys/gals! Happy to be here and learn all I can!

Thomas

[ColonelPanic]

I'm not familiar with the 2nd gens, so I don't have much advice to offer. But I did want to say welcome to the forum!

[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe Thomas. As a neighbor just an hour to the north of me also We have two 2009's in our fleet and love them both. One is a manual and the other an automatic. They have the bigger 2.4l engine unlike yours. Radios have knobs that are very delicate and break so that may become a problem. Most of the 09's have already had their gas pedals circumsized due to a Toyota recall. Also the master power window switch may catch fire (supposedly). That's it for recalls. I think there are several TSB's (technical service bulletins) which are one step before a recall, on various different issues. For us 2.4L owners one big one is the bad piston rings which cause engines to consume a bit more than normal oil. You may notice a noisy, shaky steering column. Especially when going over rough terrain. Just learn to live with this for now. One of ours has this condition real bad and the other does not have it at all. Other than that they are great affordable cars. Post pics soon. You already passed the first test .... your location

[petervivian]

Welcome to the forum.

[53Bowtie]

Thanks for the welcome guys!

Welcome to GenVibe Thomas. As a neighbor just an hour to the north of me also We have two 2009's in our fleet and love them both. One is a manual and the other an automatic. They have the bigger 2.4l engine unlike yours. Radios have knobs that are very delicate and break so that may become a problem. Most of the 09's have already had their gas pedals circumsized due to a Toyota recall. Also the master power window switch may catch fire (supposedly). That's it for recalls. I think there are several TSB's (technical service bulletins) which are one step before a recall, on various different issues. For us 2.4L owners one big one is the bad piston rings which cause engines to consume a bit more than normal oil. You may notice a noisy, shaky steering column. Especially when going over rough terrain. Just learn to live with this for now. One of ours has this condition real bad and the other does not have it at all. Other than that they are great affordable cars. Post pics soon. You already passed the first test .... your location

I have read the power window switch so I will look at replacing that. How would I know if the gas pedal has been updated?

I definitely have the steering shaft rattle! But it is not so bad. Sounds similar to a strut mount rattle just lighter and softer.....

Loving the car so far! The utility of the rear compartment has become very handy just in the first few days And I love filling up for only ~$25.....my truck needs 93 so it takes ~$70-80 to fill it up each time.

[rmacnamara]

Welcome from a fellow newbie!!!!!

MPG ---#1 Thing that I have done

USE ETHANOL FREE GAS - I have a place that sells it for like .10 more a gallon. Having worked in the auto industry for many years all this stuff does is ruin things, crappy MPG, hurts CATS, ect.

[53Bowtie]

Thanks for all the comments guys! Here is a quick pic.....

[MacGyver]

Welcome to GenVibe! I have a base 2009 as well. This thing is ridiculously reliable, but here are the biggest points of trouble with this car:

1. Radio knobs break and just spin. I replaced my radio with a touchscreen. You can buy 3d printed knobs online if you want to keep the radio.
2. Water pump failure. The original pump is crap, but your car is old enough with enough miles that it should have been replaced already.
3. HVAC controls use wire cables that sometimes break or get jammed.
4. Steering shaft issue. viewtopic.php?t=38057

There is a recall for the clockspring, recall #14139. And a recall #09199 "loss of power brake assist in extreme cold weather" which requires a "modification to the intake manifold and throttle body". Probably a good idea to check on that since you're in MI.

I had the dealer disable automatic relocking of the doors and enabled all doors unlocking on first fob button press. Those things drove me crazy on my previous car, a Matrix.

For fuel economy, I got an UltraGauge to help me drive better. Because you only have a four speed transmission, keep the RPMs below 3K and you should be able to hit an average of 30 MPG easy in the summer, slightly worse in the winter. Ships from TX.

Check if your car had OnStar upgraded to 4G, if it still works you can get a free trial of OnStar including the 4G LTE WiFi. WiFi in a Vibe, who would have thought!

[53Bowtie]

Welcome to GenVibe! I have a base 2009 as well. This thing is ridiculously reliable, but here are the biggest points of trouble with this car:

1. Radio knobs break and just spin. I replaced my radio with a touchscreen. You can buy 3d printed knobs online if you want to keep the radio.
2. Water pump failure. The original pump is crap, but your car is old enough with enough miles that it should have been replaced already.
3. HVAC controls use wire cables that sometimes break or get jammed.
4. Steering shaft issue. viewtopic.php?t=38057

There is a recall for the clockspring, recall #14139. And a recall #09199 "loss of power brake assist in extreme cold weather" which requires a "modification to the intake manifold and throttle body". Probably a good idea to check on that since you're in MI.

I had the dealer disable automatic relocking of the doors and enabled all doors unlocking on first fob button press. Those things drove me crazy on my previous car, a Matrix.

For fuel economy, I got an UltraGauge to help me drive better. Because you only have a four speed transmission, keep the RPMs below 3K and you should be able to hit an average of 30 MPG easy in the summer, slightly worse in the winter. Ships from TX.

Check if your car had OnStar upgraded to 4G, if it still works you can get a free trial of OnStar including the 4G LTE WiFi. WiFi in a Vibe, who would have thought!

Thanks for all the info! Is there any way to check if the water pump has been replaced with the upgraded version? I will check on the recalls, hopefully I can find the parts and take care of them myself without having to go to a dealer. Any resources for finding part numbers for upgraded parts for recalls?

I was pretty happy with getting 27.8mpg on the first tank. I am still getting the engine and transmission cleaned up so I didn't expect to get that high of mpg until then. I also need to replace spark plugs and clean throttle body which should help if they are worn.

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! Nice looking Carbon Grey Vibe ! Everyone else has pretty much covered any possible issues to keep an eye out for.

[MacGyver]

Thanks for all the info! Is there any way to check if the water pump has been replaced with the upgraded version? I will check on the recalls, hopefully I can find the parts and take care of them myself without having to go to a dealer. Any resources for finding part numbers for upgraded parts for recalls?

With 136,000 miles, I would be shocked if you were still running on the original water pump.

I have the service invoices for my car. Recall 09199 required part no. 19205281, and recall 14139 required part 19205599. Any GM dealer should be able to check in their system if your car had these recalls done, and they should be done free of charge, so no reason to not go to the dealer. Unless you REALLY hate dealerships.

[53Bowtie]

With 136,000 miles, I would be shocked if you were still running on the original water pump.

I have the service invoices for my car. Recall 09199 required part no. 19205281, and recall 14139 required part 19205599. Any GM dealer should be able to check in their system if your car had these recalls done, and they should be done free of charge, so no reason to not go to the dealer. Unless you REALLY hate dealerships.

I have no record of the water pump ever being changed, what problem did they all have? Leaking? I suppose I will wait for the current one to fail before doing any unneeded work.......

Thanks so much for the part numbers! Nothing against dealerships except for the inconvenience of having to drop the car off and arrange for another vehicle. Easier to just make the repairs on my own time. Besides, I generally don't trust anyone to work on my car with the same care that I would because, well, its not their car

Thanks again for the help!

[MacGyver]

I have no record of the water pump ever being changed, what problem did they all have? Leaking?

Bearing failure leading to leaking. On mine the pump got extremely noisy. I park in an underground garage and the noise was horrible. I had it replaced before anything started to leak.

[53Bowtie]

Bearing failure leading to leaking. On mine the pump got extremely noisy. I park in an underground garage and the noise was horrible. I had it replaced before anything started to leak.

Great, thanks for the info!

Also, do you have any pics of the touchscreen in dash? Curious to see what it looks like with the trim ring and all. Thanks!

[MacGyver]

Also, do you have any pics of the touchscreen in dash? Curious to see what it looks like with the trim ring and all. Thanks!

viewtopic.php?p=513922#p513922

The Garage forum is a great place to see what others have done to customize their Vibes.