GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Reading from my owner's manual, I've already done the following:- replace my cabin air filter- just bought new tires- will clean my AEM filter on my own time (approx 15k miles on it). Aside from an oil & filter change (AMSoil), what else needs to be done? According to the dealer (and Jiffy lube), lubricating the chassis comes with the oil change. All that's left is:- inspecting the fuel tank, cap, cap gasket and lines- drain, flush, and refill cooling system (this early? dealer says it's seperate from their "basic" major maintenance, which includes the above stuff @ $194.88! gah)- change manual transaxle fluid only if vehicle is used to tow a trailer (never towed anything)- chack automatic transaxle fluid (n/a)Anything else I should have them check, or is there anything above that shouldn't need to be done now i.e. coolant flush?Basically, I'm trying to justify just getting an oil change/chassis lube vs. paying them ~$200 for the other crap listed above ( )thanks guys.

Go for the oil change, F all that other stuff! Just a way to get $300.00 from you.

That's my OPINION as well, but I'll let some of these other guys who really KNOW what they are talking about decide that for sure. I never got one on my 02 Xtreme and never had nay problems, but didn't have it much longer than that either.

Quote, originally posted by PhillyVibeGT »Go for the oil change, F all that other stuff! Just a way to get $300.00 from you. That's what I'm thinking, but how often does the coolant need to be replaced? Keep in mind that my car resides in sunny, balmy So Cali..

Quote, originally posted by Psychobroker »That's what I'm thinking, but how often does the coolant need to be replaced? Keep in mind that my car resides in sunny, balmy So Cali..I wouldn't think it would have to be changed at 30,000, maybe, maybe at 60,000 but not 30,000. And it's Anti-freeze, it never gets cold in Cali.

Personally, the one thing I would get changed at this point is the coolant. A couple bucks spent now may be beneficial in the long run. The 30K flush intervals does sound excessive in contrast to the 100,000 miles that other GM products call for. But the big difference - they have Dexcool, the Vibe does not. 2005 MY excluded, as they now come from the factory filled with Dexcool - so the 2 year/30,000 mile coolant change is no more with those cars.You have a couple different options, besides leaving it alone. One being having them flush and fill with standard coolant, which will be good for another 2 years/30,000 miles. Another option, and this is what I had done prior to 30,000: Coolant flush and fill with The Toyota 50,000 mile extended life coolant. That stuff is rather expensive though, around $16/jug here. I didn't get a fancy or high tech flush with my car, only set me back $30 at the shop, since I supplied them with the coolant. So ~46 total. It was just a drain, fill with water, drain, then fill with the new coolant. Next time around, if I still have the Vibe, I'll probably go for the more expensive power flush. I'd get it done, but that's just me. I tend to overmaintain anyway. But after having what could have been damage related to coolant in the last car, I pay more attention to this kind of thing these days...

The tech where I got my oil changed last week, when I asked him about coolant service and trans fluid service, said the coolant shouldn't have to be changed until at least 60,000 miles.And that's here in IL, where it does get cold I also inquired about trans fluid, and he said unless I've been doing things that would cause it to be needed (trailer, etc.) it shouldn't be needed either.Sounds like we both got the same answers

I also have the 2003 GT. Looked mine over pretty well, and found NOTHING to lube. It may not freeze in SoCal, but the coolant provides boilover protection too. If you do the coolant, look for the thread on that subject; draining is a bit of a trick. I didn't flush mine, just drained what I could and refilled -- no worries about getting the right 50-50 mixture that way. Use good coolant, not the corrosion-prone stuff!