New Vibe owner, and member.

[Gandalf]

Greetings, all.I recently purchased a white '05 Vibe. It's the neutered version (automatic trans, my first auto ever; a concession to my bad left leg....sigh ). I got into the GM 'employee discount' sort of late, and I really wanted some specific accessories, so I wound up with a pretty loaded car: FWD only, auto trans, AC, power door locks, mirrors and windows, moon and tunes pkg, (NICE sound for a factory system, with CD of course), XM radio, matching trim around wheels, etc. (so the car is *all* white, even the mirrors), alloys, with the 55 series tires, stainless exhaust tip, the rubber guard on the top of the bumper. Mudflaps: required in Minnesota, unfortunately. There's likely some other things I've forgotten. Oh yeah: rustproofing: I live in Minnesota. (In addition to what was coated by the dealer rustproofing, I've sprayed 7 cans of undercoating on the car. For some reason they didn't rustproof the gas tank (DUH!) and a lot of other things. So I covered everything that looked like it would rust, myself. Ugly, messy job lying on my garage floor for hours.....).I sprung the $187 for the factory service manual, (two books the size of good sized telephone books) which I'm sure I'll be using in the future. So far, the only thing I've done is put anti-seize on those 100K rated spark plugs.There's a lot of things i like about the car, and quite few I don't like, as well. But I've only put about 950 miles on the car, so I'm still getting used to it.The brakes feel very soft to me, with a lot of travel and soft resistance (like 'take up') before I get to real braking. It feels like there's air in the system, but I test drove 4 of them, and they all felt the same.Edit: D'oh! ABS brakes were my big excuse to buy a new car! Also air bags, and door beams. My other cars are too old to have any of that safety equipment. And I got the side air bags as well. Wanting those bumped up the whole price of the car, with some things I wouldn't have bought, but hey, I got what I wanted: an all white Vibe with more bells and whistles than I've *ever* imagined on a car. My Celica is an ST: that's the bottom of the line, and all I could afford in 1988 (but I paid cash for it, just like the Vibe !)There's no feedback through the steering wheel; I really miss that. And there's too many turns lock to lock: about 3.3, by my count. I had a Mitsubishi Colt with manual steering, and only about 2.5 turns lock to lock. My '88 Toyota Celica is about 2.7 or 2.8 turns L to L, and I get feedback while I'm in a turn. It has better PS, IMHO.Well, as I said, I'm still new to the car, and I keep stomping my left foot on the floor. I'm looking forward to learning about the Vibe from the members of this forum.BTW: at over 1000 miles, I consider the car should be broken in, but I'm only getting 25 to 26 mpg in town, the EPA number is 29. I had a 88 Honda Civic which was replaced by the Vibe; the EPA mileage in the city was 33mpg, and that's exactly what I got for the 15 years I owned the car, in the summer. My Celica is EPA rated for 26mpg in town, and that's what I get, in the summer (the car is stored in the winter) and I drive the Celica a bit hard sometimes. Same thing with my Honda. Both cars have 5 speed manual trans, though.I keep trying to drive the Vibe as easy as possible, just to see if I can get up to the EPA mpg number, but no luck. I've heard that accelerating from a stop is where the auto trans loses mileage from a manual, but I've been driving like I have blue hair the last few tanks of gas, and it doesn't seem to matter.It's getting boring!You other folks who have an auto trans: what are you getting in city driving?My commute to work is very easy: it's a parkway with almost no stops, and the tach is only turning around 1500 to 1600 RPM. The speed limit is only 25; I usually drive at 31 or 32 MPH. I should be getting great mileage, but I'm not; so far.No over the road trips yet, so I can't report highway mileage, but when I've used the freeways in the city, I stick to 55 MPH.With gas approaching $3 a gallon, the 10% I'm missing from the EPA estimate is a bit of a disappointment.One other question: when my Vibe is fully warmed up, it idles at about 900 RPM. That seems a bit high to me. I'm really not used to driving an auto trans, but other cars with auto trans I've driven have idled around 750 RPM. The Vibe has a lot of 'creep' if I don't keep my foot on the brake. the idle seems high to me, and I admit I keep forgetting to dig through that two telephone book sized factory service manuals, to find the spec.On the plus side, for a new car, the seemingly high idle is the *only* thing that seems 'wrong' with the Vibe. I have found nothing else wrong with it . That's first for me with a new car!I'm glad I found this forum!

[AKLGT]

wow! you sure know how to post for your first one! lol. glad you found us. i didn't have an AT vibe, so i don't know on te idling. i'm sure someone else can help you out with that.welcome to genvibe!

[BlueCrush]

Welcome to GenVibe, fellow Minnesotan! Glad to hear your enjoying your new ride. I had mine rust proofed at the dealer as well but they did my gas tank. the only thing they didn't do is the exhaust, for obvious reasons.Where did you get the service manual?Brakes are kind of soft but you'll get use to it after a while and they do a great job of stopping the vehicle. Did you get ABS as well?The mileage will get a little better just give it a couple thousand miles.Mine idles around 800 rpm when warm. Your's may lower with time.Post a pic when you get a chance!

[VibeFever]

Welcome and good luck with your Vibe. Yeah my month old '05 Vibe with auto idles at 900 rpm or so also. It's normal. My Oldsmobile i had idled about the same. I just got about 1000 miles right now. Have not really checked my fuel mileage yet. Now that the drivetrain has loosened up I'll be checking my mileage.

[BOZACK]

My Vibe broke in just shy of 5000 miles. I had the same complaints as you. The milage is now at the suggested milage for the car. And I drive fast. The brakes are better and you'll get used to the feel in no time. It truely is a fun ride.

[Mavrik]

My MT base Vibe idles when warm at around 600-800 rpm.

[zionzr2]

Greetings "Gandalf the White" and welcome to our Vibedom. Over some more time your mileage should improve a bit. lower speeds may not help your intown mileage to much though. Check your tire pressurses and air claener. Yeah its new but always good to check.Your idle seems normal to me!I'm getting close to 28 in town now, was getting 22 but i do have an AWD. There was a cat issue with the autos on 03's and 04's. if you smell rotten eggs with your exhaust then you got the problem otherwise you should be fine in that area anyway.

[BOZACK]

At a thousand miles I was getting 26 mpg. At about 4700 miles I had Improved to 29-33 mpg.

[Gandalf]

Hmm.....My first post comes off a bit negative, and that's not what I intended. There are a LOT of things I like about my Vibe: I like the fact that you sit pretty high up; plus the seat height is adjustable. I loathe SUV's but I can see where having that high of a view of the road would be nice.With the Vibe, I have a better view of the road than any car I've ever owned.Despite the fact that a 5 sp MT is a lot of fun to drive, the few times I've had to drive in rush hour traffic *really* makes me appreciate the auto trans The Vibe is the first car I've ever owned with power doors, windows, locks, mirrors, and that handy little gadget: the remote door lock opener. Those little amenities sure are nice!The interior, as has been stated, is very well done with the tie downs, and the front seat which folds. I've already made use of the station wagon format to haul home a set of Cooper M+S rated Lifeliner tires which should be vastly better this winter than the Goodyear Eagle RS-A's which came on the car. I take winter driving pretty seriously; I've *never* been in a weather related accident, or even incident. Good tires can mean the difference between being able to avoid an accident, and being part of one.I really like that the Vibe has a warning light for low tire pressure. I check my tires frequently, but it's nice to know if you pick up a nail, and have a leak, you may get some warning before A) the tire is ruined from running flat and B) suffering a loss of control due to an underinflated tire. I have added a few things to my Vibe: a slightly curved, full sized mirror on the driver's side, just like the passenger side; I'm a real believer in being able to see blind spots on *both* sides of my car I added a voltmeter too; on my wish list is an oil pressure gauge. In very cold weather, (say -25F) it can take as long as 90 seconds for oil pressure to come up completely. That's a long time to wait, when a fuel injected car will let you start up and drive away immediately; but it's very hard on the engine to put a load on it with almost zero oil pressure. I want to keep this car a long time!I added an oil pan heater; the kind which sticks to the bottom of the oil pan. I had a H*LL of a time finding one small enough; the bottom of the pan is much smaller than any car I've ever owned. With a frost plug heater, and an oil pan heater, winter start-ups are a lot easier on the engine.I also covered the rocker panels with several coats of rust proofing spray; they take a real beating in a Minnesota winter!And at 1000 miles, I changed the oil, and the transmission fluid. I didn't see any metal flakes in the transmission fluid, like you do when you change the trans fluid in a car with a MT: I forgot that an auto trans has a filter in it. Oh well, the fluid cost less than $20. I guess I won't worry about it until the trans fluid until about 2/3rds of the way to the scheduled trans fluid change.I think manufacturers are 'stretching' the maintenance intervals on new cars too far, to make them appear not to need much scheduled service. In my book, cutting down the scheduled service intervals is cheap insurance. I change the oil and filter in my cars every 3000 miles; less in the winter if I do too much short trip driving. Oil is cheap; I only use Castrol, and I buy it by the case when it goes on sale. Same thing for filters: I only use Fram filters; now, both my Vibe, and my Toyota Celica use the same oil filter. Nobody but me has ever changed the oil on any car I've ever owned.

[VibeFever]

Those oil pan heaters I think do the best job of starting a cold engine in the winter. That thick cold oil is the biggest challenge on any engine to crank over in the freezing temps. I didn't rustproof the bottom of my car but just sprayed a black chassis epoxy paint on the undercarriage after i bought mine. I could swear my gas tank was made out of "plastic" like a lot of other cars are now. Just the shield was metal. As far as those extended maintenance schedules go, even though modern engines are so much better than long ago, part of it is marketing driven.

[jwalcik]

welcome to the site!my first few tanks seemed like they were leaking out on the ground faster than i could fill the tank, but after a few thousand miles, i'm getting around 30mpg (combined) in my GT, and i've done even better on all highway trips. like the others said, give it a bit longer to break in.

[Jaycie685]

"I really like that the Vibe has a warning light for low tire pressure. I check my tires frequently, but it's nice to know if you pick up a nail, and have a leak, you may get some warning before A) the tire is ruined from running flat and B) suffering a loss of control due to an underinflated tire." I wonder if my car has this warning light for low tire pressure. I have a 2004 base Vibe. Anyone know if I would have this? Or is only an '05 and up thing?

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by Mithrandir » I only use Castrol, and I buy it by the case when it goes on sale. Same thing for filters: I only use Fram filters; now, both my Vibe, and my Toyota Celica use the same oil filter. Nobody but me has ever changed the oil on any car I've ever owned. I have heard enough people say bad things about Fram oil filters that I don't use them. Quote, originally posted by Jaycie685 »I wonder if my car has this warning light for low tire pressure. I have a 2004 base Vibe. Anyone know if I would have this? Or is only an '05 and up thing?It's a new thing in 2005, so yours doesn't have it. Works like ABS, measures the speed of each wheel and set off a light when one of the wheels is going faster than the others.

[AKLGT]

ah... minnesota winters... lol. they are worse than here! except perhaps in Fairbanks!

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »ah... minnesota winters... lol. they are worse than here! except perhaps in Fairbanks! Ummm...yeah! It's suppose to be warmer this year though. It might only get to -20F!

[Gandalf]

I added something else to my Vibe I forgot to mention: a pair of Xenon higher wattage lamps. The low beams are rated at 90W, where OEM are only 55W. They certainly are *much* brighter and *much* whiter! My night vison isn't as good as it used to be, so I'll take any help I can get I hope the wiring can handle the higher wattage; I had a set in my old Honda for several years witout any problems.I was very surprised to lear that there's simply no horizontal adjustment for the headlights, only vertical adjustment. I'd like to adjust them a bit in the horizontal axis, although they aren't too bad.

[zionzr2]

Quote, originally posted by Gandalf »I added something else to my Vibe I forgot to mention: a pair of Xenon higher wattage lamps. The low beams are rated at 90W, where OEM are only 55W. They certainly are *much* brighter and *much* whiter! My night vison isn't as good as it used to be, so I'll take any help I can get I hope the wiring can handle the higher wattage; I had a set in my old Honda for several years witout any problems.The mod bug bit you pretty good eh?id like to add a volt meter too sometime. oil pressure guage may be nice.just keep an eye on the wiring with your new bulbs!! a few have had higher watt bulbs and fried their wires... just a friendly FYI. If your doing fine great!!

[Mavrik]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »ah... minnesota winters... lol. they are worse than here! except perhaps in Fairbanks! where is here? your location doesn't exist.She ment Alaska

[webgurl]

Welcome!!!!I waited until after 2000+ miles to check what type of mileage I was receiving, at this time about 28-29mpg. I drive roughly 32 miles one-way to work from clean open highways (where my lead foot kicks in) to lets hurry up and stop highway driving each day. Since my days are packed with me running kids from place to place after work (and usually a few minutes late - there is never enough time), I am really quite pleased with the mileage I am getting - I know I am not driving to get the best fuel performance I can, but it is Sooooooo much better on my gas budgets than my SportTrac 4.0L V6. Instead of stopping 2x over weekends for gas, then another time during the week at the cost of $40-50, I am now only filling up every 5-6 days - it is so nice to past those gas stations by!!!! Enjoy your Vibe!!