New Vibe GT Owner (Me Too!)

[gjswaff]

Hello Everybody, I just bought this 2009 Vibe GT a week ago today. I should've bought one years ago. I just recently found out that the Vibe is what Edmunds call a "Non-Identical" twin to the Toyota Matrix. I love this car! I test drove a base model Vibe, but did not care for the lack of power. Probably OK for the wife, but not for me. I guess all the GT's come with the Camry 2.4L engine and drive train, right? Giving up a couple of MPG's for the extra power was well worth it. It has leather seats, 18" alloys, and the stereo rocks! And only 36,000 miles! The interior is pristine! I drive 45 miles round trip to work, and was driving an '05 Ram Hemi that I bought new. I loved that truck. Best vehicle I've ever owned. It never gave any trouble. Not even one warranty claim. I hated trading it in, but no longer needed a truck for everyday use. It would cost me $65 in gas if I went no where else but work and back. I've driven my Vibe to work now for 3 days and spent $12! The savings alone in gas will almost make the payments! This Vibe is really fun to drive. really, fun to drive? That's something I have felt in a long time!

[creekhed1]

NiCe! I sold my Blazer ZR2 to get my GT.... and the gas thing is HUGE!
Congrats!

[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe. Hmmmmm ... that Vibe looks familiar What's up with the Florida Vibes & no sunroofs ??? Oh well, one less thing to worry about BUT I wouldn't have bought mine without the sunroof. Enjoy the ride and the fuel savings

[keko]

Guess you and me had the same idea! =)

[zythr]

Nice Vibe


I hope yours is not afflicted with the oil burning/excessive use issues that have/could plagued the 2.4

[Adam24303]

Almost identical to mine but I do have the sunroof. I thought all the GTs had them. Where abouts are you in Florida. I'm in Central.

[Adam24303]

Nice Vibe


I hope yours is not afflicted with the oil burning/excessive use issues that have/could plagued the 2.4

Oil burning? What?

[tpollauf]

Nice Vibe


I hope yours is not afflicted with the oil burning/excessive use issues that have/could plagued the 2.4

Oil burning? What?

Yeah, I'd like to know also. Juniors 09 Vibe GT DOES consume a small amount of oil. Is this somewhat a common issue with the 2.4L engines?

[trb]

Welcome! Nice Vibe and the right color too! Not all GT's had the sunroof, as mine does not either. I get about 24mpg in mine and it is still plenty of fun to drive. But I'm suffering from withdrawal now since my daughter has it for the summer.

Good luck with it!

[gjswaff]

Almost identical to mine but I do have the sunroof. I thought all the GTs had them. Where abouts are you in Florida. I'm in Central.

I'm in St Pete. Oil burning? I hope not. I did purchase a 3-year bumper-to-bumper warranty, so I'm good for a while. If it start burning oil I'll make them fix it. Hopefully. I did test drive an '05 with a sunroof. It was little too beat up though. I'm guessing I probably wouldn't have used that much anyway. In Florida, I get enough sun without being inside my car.

[gjswaff]

Welcome to GenVibe. Hmmmmm ... that Vibe looks familiar What's up with the Florida Vibes & no sunroofs ??? Oh well, one less thing to worry about BUT I wouldn't have bought mine without the sunroof. Enjoy the ride and the fuel savings

Does any of your Vibes have a hitch? Now that I don't have a truck, I was thinking of putting a class I hitch and getting one of those $200 40" x 49" Harbor Freight trailers for some light hauling. I have a lot of trees and bushes that constantly need trimming, especially in the summer. Also, we have property in north Florida. When I go there I like to use ethanol free gas in all my lawn equipment. And the closest place to get that is about 25 miles away. I usually bring it along, but don't want to haul gas cans, weed eaters and such inside the car.

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! That's a very sharp looking 2nd gen GT even though it's the wrong color ! Props on posting pictures right away !

[trb]

Welcome to GenVibe. Hmmmmm ... that Vibe looks familiar What's up with the Florida Vibes & no sunroofs ??? Oh well, one less thing to worry about BUT I wouldn't have bought mine without the sunroof. Enjoy the ride and the fuel savings

Does any of your Vibes have a hitch? Now that I don't have a truck, I was thinking of putting a class I hitch and getting one of those $200 40" x 49" Harbor Freight trailers for some light hauling. I have a lot of trees and bushes that constantly need trimming, especially in the summer. Also, we have property in north Florida. When I go there I like to use ethanol free gas in all my lawn equipment. And the closest place to get that is about 25 miles away. I usually bring it along, but don't want to haul gas cans, weed eaters and such inside the car.

I have an 03-08 hitch that I've used on my GT before. I towed a 5x8 Uhaul trailer totally filled about 400 miles last year moving a relative. I had to remove the black lower valence on the bumper to install it, as it interfered with the plastic, and I did not want to cut it up. But for the $75 I paid for it, it was worth the hassle. I'll probably just install it on my son's Vibe and get myself one designed for the GT models if I need it again. I only used my Vibe because Uhaul refused to rent me a trailer behind my Explorer. Oh, I got HORRIBLE mileage, like 14 mpg on the way there, and about 20 mpg unloaded!

[Kincaid]

Welcome gjswaff! Nice Vibe you got there! I know what you mean about the 2.4L engine - I love mine. Never had a car with so much grunt down low.

BTW, at 5k miles I am maybe down a bit over a half quart. No big deal. Not sure where it goes because it isn't on my driveway and I never see even a puff of blue. However, I have commented before on my sooty tail pipe - our two Hondas don't do that.

[JerBear]

Welcome to GenVibe. Hmmmmm ... that Vibe looks familiar What's up with the Florida Vibes & no sunroofs ??? Oh well, one less thing to worry about BUT I wouldn't have bought mine without the sunroof. Enjoy the ride and the fuel savings

Does any of your Vibes have a hitch? Now that I don't have a truck, I was thinking of putting a class I hitch and getting one of those $200 40" x 49" Harbor Freight trailers for some light hauling. I have a lot of trees and bushes that constantly need trimming, especially in the summer. Also, we have property in north Florida. When I go there I like to use ethanol free gas in all my lawn equipment. And the closest place to get that is about 25 miles away. I usually bring it along, but don't want to haul gas cans, weed eaters and such inside the car.

Kurt sells a trailer hitch that is an easy mount on type using the existing rails in the back. It was about 225 bucks and about 45 minutes to put on but works fine for light duty apps. I HIGHLY recommend tapping the holes out prior to installation because road debris and rust will be there and getting these bolts torqued to the proper measure is important. Installing the lights is kind of a bear but not too much just be careful to route the power wire correctly, just follow the directions and be careful when crawling under the car.

Here is what I ordered from "The hitch Store" and it works fine on my 09 GT
http://www.thehitchstore.com/index.php? ... pping_cart" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[trb]

http://www.discounthitches.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; has about 5 different ones for the 09-10 Vibe GT with different ball mounts. I priced out a hitch with a regular ball mount, pin, clip and the wiring harness and it was under $200 shipped.