Hello folks, just picked up a Vibe GT in great shape!

[KingGeorgeXIII]

Hello everyone. On Friday I bought an '04 Vibe GT with 70k on the clock, and it's in better condition than it has any right to be. I got it from the original owner and apparently he garaged it and put seat covers, a steering wheel cover, and aftermarket floor mats in it the day he took it home and left them there until he sold it. It's unreal - immaculate in every way, down to new car smell and items in the glove box and under the cargo floor still being in their original plastic from the dealer. I think I've already done more damage to the cargo floor from loading/unloading a 50 lb guitar amp in the first 4 days than he did in 10 years - which is to say left a slight smudge where the Tolex dragged on the surface.

I'd been keeping an eye out for one of these for years, since a buddy of mine has had one that he bought new in '03 that I've always liked. I'm sad to see my '95 Prelude and it's insane final drive ratio hit craigslist, but it's time for something with some practicality that gets better than 17 mpg city on 10% ethanol premium gas that it wasn't designed for (haven't seen any ethanol-free outside of a marina in years now). I should also confess my ulterior motive of finding cheap, reliable transportation with just enough excitement that I won't doze off so that I can save up some cash and buy something on the side with a really scary reputation for reliability. I'm thinking 90's MR2 or late-80s 944, but early 70s 240z's are lurking around there somewhere.

There are two questions I wanted to ask: First, I've been researching how to kill these auto headlights and DRLs that have been driving me up the wall. Am I correct that no one has yet found a less invasive way than cutting legs on the control module? Second, is the shifter supposed to be this... noisy, vague, notchy, and weird? I suspect that I'll eventually adapt my driving style, but I also suspect something may be broken. I'm coming off the Prelude's shifter, which was very good, though. It may only seem broken in comparison.

[Salsa Guy]

Welcome to Genvibe!

I recently purchased an 03 Vibe GT with 130K and no stranger to the Vibe/Matrix.
#1 About the DRL and Auto Head Light: It can get less invasive than that. Cut a wire and tape both ends up. Make sure you leave enough length to both side for a (removed) splice if you want to return them to stock.
#2 About the transmission that is common thing with them, I have the same issue. There are some bushings that wear on the shifter linkage that may help. It's something I'm looking into. Also it may be time to change the MT Transmission Oil, make sure you use only GL-4 or Yellow Metal safe GL-5. AMSoil, Redline and Royal Purple are all good products and popular with many guys on this site. But you can't go wrong with Toyota/GM fluids either. I put AMSoil GL-4 in mine and took 30 minutes.

Have you hit LIFT yet? You may want to check it out because my actuator and housing was plugged badly. No one has hit LIFT in years and the oil turned to mud. That was about a 2 hour repair job...mostly clean the parts and where it bolts to the head.

Good Luck

Edit: Be prepared for a clutch replacement around a 100K miles or so. It seems to be common also.

[KingGeorgeXIII]

Are those bushings accessible by just removing the plastic around the shifter mechanism? Ordinarily I would just dive in, but this car is so much cleaner than any I've ever owned before that I hesitate to start hacking it up...

By "LIFT", you're referring to when the second cam profile kicks in at ~6000 RPM, right? It's quite a surge of power, so I think it's working right.

[Salsa Guy]

Yes then your LIFT is working correctly.
In regards to the shifter I'm not really sure because I haven't done it yet. I think there is a write up on here or Matrixowners.com.

I've done both the DRL, Fog Light and Sunroof Auto Stop mod to both of my cars with no ill effects. Quite simple easy and cheap.

[SomeYahoo]

Congrats and welcome! I'm a new(er) member myself. Careful - LIFT is addictive!

[KingGeorgeXIII]

I'm already jonesing for a deeper final drive ratio so the engagement point isn't so far away all the time. The Prelude had 2000 RPM less rev-range at the top, and 1000 less at the bottom, and all of the torque was in a lump right in the middle of that range (It didn't have the VTEC engine). I could womp on it all over town without doing much actual law-breaking. Wind out first and second gear in the GT and I think you'll be going "go-to-jail fast" on a lot of surface roads. If this wasn't supposed to be a daily, I'd be looking for bigger ring gears...

[SomeYahoo]

Yeah, but then what would you be spinning on the highway? I'm running 3k plus at highway speeds - bigger gears and it would be whining quite a bit on the 'way!

[KingGeorgeXIII]

Well, the 'lude turned 4500 @ 80 mph in top gear. I used to cruise around for hours on end with only 2k between me and valve float. There's a big margin I can fit into and still have improvement lol.

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! It certainly sounds like you found yourself a very well maintained 1st gen GT. Post some pictures of it when you get a chance !

[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe. Post pics soon and update your profile showing your location. It's always nice to hear of private buyers/sellers getting good deals on well maintained Vibes. Hang on to this Gem for many years to come!

[KingGeorgeXIII]

I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow. Over an extended weekend, I took it on a shakedown trip from Miami to Orlando and back - around 700 miles with the in-town driving. Tracked fuel consumption and made 26 mpg on the way up, 27 in town, and on the way back set speed control at 70 and pulled 31 with no A/C. Not bad at all, though I've never driven a car so dramatically affected by increases in speed - I wasn't going THAT fast on the way up.

To hold you over, it can be seen in the background of two of the pictures I took of my old car for its craigslist ad.