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General discussions about the Pontiac Vibe & Toyota Matrix. New members, introduce yourself here!
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pawkar
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:59 am

Hi everybody

Post by pawkar »

Hi my name is Pawkar and recently bought a 2003 Pontiac Vibe AWD, I am happy with this car except the fuel consumption. The car came with 38000 miles and without manual. Could you please let me know when should I change the oil, I am using 5W-40. Is there any recommended transmission liquid for -15 F. And a curiosity question, is there a Pontiac Vibe plant in Europe.Thank you so much for your help.Pawkar
damronjr
Posts: 5179
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2004 1:30 am

Re: Hi everybody (pawkar)

Post by damronjr »

Quote, originally posted by pawkar »Hi my name is Pawkar and recently bought a 2003 Pontiac Vibe AWD, I am happy with this car except the fuel consumption. The car came with 38000 miles and without manual. Could you please let me know when should I change the oil, I am using 5W-40. Is there any recommended transmission liquid for -15 F. And a curiosity question, is there a Pontiac Vibe plant in Europe.Thank you so much for your help.PawkarLT=Lithuania? Welcome to the site! Regular oil should be changed every 3000 miles.
Jason Damron, San Diego, CA, Supercharged 2004 Vibe base - Gone to the wind My Vibe pics on Cardomain2009 Chevrolet HHR SS!
northvibe
Posts: 7641
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:25 pm

Post by northvibe »

the mileage epa rating is so fake, they dont even test in real world situations but ur awd should get al teast like high 20's. make sure the tires are at the right pressure, air filter is clean and the spark plugs are clean too.welcome!
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joatmon
Posts: 10165
Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:19 am
Location: Room 101

Re: Hi everybody (pawkar)

Post by joatmon »

Hi, and welcome to genvibe!I change my oil about every 5ooo miles (8000 kms)You can download a copy of the owner's manual from one of the links in http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1010The owners manual says to use 5W30 oil. I do not know of any low temperature transmission fluid. There are people on here who are in cold areas, I do not remember anyone talking about a winter transmission fluid. There is no Pontiac Vibe plant in Europe. All Vibes are built in California, USA. However, most of the parts on your car are identical to parts used in Toyota Matrix, so if you are having trouble finding a Pontiac source for parts, you could try Toyota, if available. Most of the parts are the same, a few are different, and of course body styling, but if you are curious if a specific part is the same between Vibe and Matrix, just ask and someone here will find out and let you know.
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kostby
Posts: 2422
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 2:52 pm

Re: Hi everybody (pawkar)

Post by kostby »

Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Vibe! You are one of a select few Vibe owners in Europe, I'm sure!
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My 2003 Vibe Base Auto 2-tone Salsa "SalsaWagon" was built in May 2002. I acquired it in Feb 2004/Traded it in on a 2016 Honda HR-V in Feb 2018.
BlueCrush
Posts: 8272
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:47 am
Location: Twin Cities, MN

Re: Hi everybody (pawkar)

Post by BlueCrush »

Welcome to GenVibe! Your tranny fluid should be good from -30F to -40F so it shouldn't present a problem for you.Enjoy your stay!
My Fleet:
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'14 Lincoln MXZ AWD 2.0 Turbo
'14 Nissan Pathfinder AWD SL
'05 Pontiac Vibe AWD
ToolGuy
Posts: 3584
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2004 3:38 am

Re: Hi everybody (pawkar)

Post by ToolGuy »

Welcome!
Mach2
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:57 am

Re: Hi everybody (MiVibe-ToolGuy)

Post by Mach2 »

Welcome pawkar.
Merzbow
Posts: 4280
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2003 12:51 pm

Re: Hi everybody (pawkar)

Post by Merzbow »

My ex girl friend was from Lithuania. She was gorgeous btw I change mine between 3000-5000 miles. They say you don't have to do it that often but it will only benifit your car to do it more often, you know what I'm sayin?
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/541918-1999 Infiniti Q45t-2003 base Vibe (Rest in peace my love)-2002 Ducati Monster 620 Dark
jwalcik
Posts: 1008
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2005 2:43 am

Re: Hi everybody (pawkar)

Post by jwalcik »

welcome aboard!
2005 vibe gt
jgvibe
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2003 12:48 pm

Re: Hi everybody (pawkar)

Post by jgvibe »

Hey Pawkar! I've noticed the colder it is the more my car consumes gas. I usually average 26 mph with mine but in the winter it can go down to about 22 mph. The manual genrally recomends 5W-30 for oil, unless you in a place where it's real hot most of the time. I change my oil every 3000 miles even though I agree I could go 5000. Theres lot of great info on this site so search your heart out and enjoy!
2003 AWD Vibe, SatiliteMoon and tunespower packageMonotone package6 CD disk, Baselink Sub
kep427
Posts: 86
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 4:48 am

Re: Hi everybody (pawkar)

Post by kep427 »

More on the oil change frequency.As others have said here the manual says it should be changed at 3K miles. Interestingly, last time I purchased some filters at my local dealer, the service rep said that 5k was perfectly fine. But, I have also heard and read in consumer magazines that the warrantee can be considered void if you don't follow the owners manual recommendations....Whichever you do they all say to keep receipts or GM may give you a really hard time on engine warrantee issues. Too late for me on this one, but then again I don't expect to have any engine problems before the laughably short warrantee expires anyways.
Happy owner of a '04 base Vibe
pawkar
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:59 am

Re: Hi everybody (joatmon)

Post by pawkar »

I will follow your advice and see if the fuel consumption will improve.
pawkar
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:59 am

Re: Hi everybody (kostby)

Post by pawkar »

Thank you Joatmon, the manual gave me vital information on how to keep my Vibe in good conditions. I just have another question, is the first part on the label of the engine oil messures the viscosity of the oil, ie. 5W-30. Thanks for your warm welcome, it made me feel like at home.
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