350k + Miles

[350kVibe]

Who else has made it over the 350,000 mile hump? What repairs have you had done? How do you maintain your Vibe as your odometer keeps ticking?

I have a 2009 Vibe GT with the 2.4 Auto trans. I'm currently burning through about 1 quart of oil between oil changes but she's still running like a champ. The only repair done was replacing the Valve cover gasket and a couple dozen plastic clips around the front wheel wells for the splash guards. The ATF was changed and took seafoam to the engine at 300k and found nothing remarkable which was a relief. I started using STP high mileage fuel treatments with every tankful and now that the weather has warmed up I'm getting about 20-25 mpg on mostly highway trips. It seems a bit low for such a small car so please let me know how yours compares.

I'm also curious .. Does anyone here recommend using Lucas Transmission Tuner? I'd love to see this tranny go another 150k.

[tpollauf]

That's some impressive mileage your car had accumulated so far! Fill us in on the background of the car. How long have you owned it? Where has it spent most of it's 10 year life at? (update profile for us) Post pics so we can check it out

[350kVibe]

Everything on it is stock. The majority of those miles were gained on the highway in North Dakota. I'm the second owner. As far as I know, the gentleman who had it before me did nothing to it beyond regular maintenance. I assume he got rid of it because it was burning oil. The Valve cover gasket was changed with hope that may have been the problem.. it wasn't, and I'm guessing it may require a more invasive operation if the issue gets worse but right now I don't consider it to be auto-life threatening. However, I recently noticed some intermittent hesitation between gears, despite the unremarkable ATF change, which is why I'm asking about Lucas.

Until last week it was near mint condition on the outside but I have careless neighbors that don't know how to parallel park and they left a large scuff on the rear bumper/fender area. Their insurance will be taking care of it promptly, thankfully, and I'll hopefully have some flattering pics to share soon... When I figure out how to share pics, I mean.

[Caretaker]

Interesting about your tranny comment. My last mechanic in CA put in Amsoil synthetic transmission fluid after repeatedly guaranteeing me that it was World Standard compliant. When I am gentle on the throttle, the transmission shifts almost like a CVT; amazingly smooth. When I gun it a bit, the transmission talks back a bit. All be told, I have had a lot of "stuttering" in between shifts since day one when I only used WS fluid. The Amsoil experience is not necessarily better or worse, just different. I certainly can't explain how an inanimate mechanical park can react so differently to a change in fluid, but there you are. Hope this helps with your lucas fluid experience; perhaps not. Back to listening to AP's new album.