Will My Vibe Drive good up North .
-
TroyPrenatt
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:57 am
Will My Vibe Drive good up North .
Im from Houston TX and my 2004 vibe has 60,000 Miles on it. It is also front wheel drive. Its my first vehicle and i have been dying to go on my first road trip. Im thinking Colorado. I have been there once and even in a 2015 truck those icy roads are something else. Will i run into issues driving through those areas where it gets super cold ? Also is there any other things i should be keeping into consideration while/before making my journey?
Re: Will My Vibe Drive good up North .
Welcome to genvibe!
Depends a lot on the type and condition of the tires on the car. Folks here say a proper set of winter tires makes all the difference.
If you don't otherwise need winter tires, might be cheaper to drive the Vibe to the area and rent a small SUV for use while there. If you do, try not to rent at the Denver airport, that airport has high concession fees and cars are cheaper out in town
As for dealing with the cold, most important would be engine coolant, I think 60K is the maintenance schedule interval for a coolant change, but if it hasn't ever been done, after 15 years, its due.
Depends a lot on the type and condition of the tires on the car. Folks here say a proper set of winter tires makes all the difference.
If you don't otherwise need winter tires, might be cheaper to drive the Vibe to the area and rent a small SUV for use while there. If you do, try not to rent at the Denver airport, that airport has high concession fees and cars are cheaper out in town
As for dealing with the cold, most important would be engine coolant, I think 60K is the maintenance schedule interval for a coolant change, but if it hasn't ever been done, after 15 years, its due.
Re: Will My Vibe Drive good up North .
It depends what time of year you plan on going. I'm not sure I would want to venture into Denver and/or The Rockies in the coming months without proper winter setup. We were there in June 2017, and there were roads closed through Estes Park as they still had several feet of snow on them, and it was calling for snow that night again.
I will say, if you get the opportunity, go for a cruise through Rocky Mountain National Park. We met a friend down in Loveland, and then cruised up through the park, and went to his place south of Denver. It was like a 5 hour trip total, but it was absolutely stunning. It was hititng 85 degrees at the based of the mountain, and was 35 up at the peak.
Back on topic, the Vibe handles fine in the elevation, even with a trailer behind it. Biggest thing would be the snow if you're venturing up there this time of year. I'd worry about tires, and changing all fluids. We added a trans cooler, since I was towing. Also replaced all fluids, coolant, engine oil, power steering, trans fluid, brake fluid. etc. We did a nearly 10k mile trip from PA, to Mount Rushmore, to Rockies, to Grand Canyon, to White Sands, and back to PA. Car handled it absolutely flawlessly and I still wouldn't hesitate doing it again now that she's at 200k miles.
I will say, if you get the opportunity, go for a cruise through Rocky Mountain National Park. We met a friend down in Loveland, and then cruised up through the park, and went to his place south of Denver. It was like a 5 hour trip total, but it was absolutely stunning. It was hititng 85 degrees at the based of the mountain, and was 35 up at the peak.
Back on topic, the Vibe handles fine in the elevation, even with a trailer behind it. Biggest thing would be the snow if you're venturing up there this time of year. I'd worry about tires, and changing all fluids. We added a trans cooler, since I was towing. Also replaced all fluids, coolant, engine oil, power steering, trans fluid, brake fluid. etc. We did a nearly 10k mile trip from PA, to Mount Rushmore, to Rockies, to Grand Canyon, to White Sands, and back to PA. Car handled it absolutely flawlessly and I still wouldn't hesitate doing it again now that she's at 200k miles.
'74 Thing, '79 El Camino, '83 VW DoKa '91 Vanagon, '03 Base, 04 GT
'06 CRV, '06 AWD, '07 Base, '12 Highlander Limited, '17 Frontier CCLB
Byerscrew Garage, GenVibe Facebook, How-To Index
Everything You Need To Know About the Pontiac Vibe
'06 CRV, '06 AWD, '07 Base, '12 Highlander Limited, '17 Frontier CCLB
Byerscrew Garage, GenVibe Facebook, How-To Index
Everything You Need To Know About the Pontiac Vibe
Re: Will My Vibe Drive good up North .
I live in Houston, and while I haven't driven in Colorado during the winter, I _have_ driven to Michigan and back, including on freeways that were closed by the state police right after I drove through 
1) Unless you use straight windshield washer fluid, drain the sucker and refill it with real windshield washer fluid. Most of the oil change places in Houston just fill you up with water. That _will_ freeze. Lucky for me, it didn't blow any of my lines, and thawed once I got south of the Manson/Nixon line.
2) You don't have snow tires. They're not even that easy to find in Houston. If you're on major freeways or roads, you're probably safe as long as they've been regularly salted or cleaned. When you get back, make sure to get an undercarriage wash. If you're planning on taking roads that may have snow on them - on a slope - then you need either chains or snow tires. Related to this, if you don't know how to drive with snow and ice - don't use Colorado as your first learning experience
3) at least get a drain and fill on your coolant - don't use the green stuff, unless you do a full flush.
4) Check the weather reports - weather.gov is a good place to start. Southern drivers in snow are _almost_ as bad as Ottawa drivers at the first snow. I watched one idiot shooting around people at upwards of 60 mph last year when Houston was shut down due to snow and ice. I'm pretty sure he was one of the accidents later.
1) Unless you use straight windshield washer fluid, drain the sucker and refill it with real windshield washer fluid. Most of the oil change places in Houston just fill you up with water. That _will_ freeze. Lucky for me, it didn't blow any of my lines, and thawed once I got south of the Manson/Nixon line.
2) You don't have snow tires. They're not even that easy to find in Houston. If you're on major freeways or roads, you're probably safe as long as they've been regularly salted or cleaned. When you get back, make sure to get an undercarriage wash. If you're planning on taking roads that may have snow on them - on a slope - then you need either chains or snow tires. Related to this, if you don't know how to drive with snow and ice - don't use Colorado as your first learning experience
3) at least get a drain and fill on your coolant - don't use the green stuff, unless you do a full flush.
4) Check the weather reports - weather.gov is a good place to start. Southern drivers in snow are _almost_ as bad as Ottawa drivers at the first snow. I watched one idiot shooting around people at upwards of 60 mph last year when Houston was shut down due to snow and ice. I'm pretty sure he was one of the accidents later.