GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I have an '05 base auto. I do about 60% city/40%freeway driving. Broke it in correctly. Changed the oil/filter at 1000 miles. Proper tire inflation, etc.Best mileage I get, in the summer, is about 26mpg. Been that way since the car was new. In the winter I'm getting 21 to 24 mpg. Due to the crappy mileage, I drive it really easy; rarely go over 55 mph. Same in the summerIn the winter, I use both a frost plug heater, and an oil pan heater. When I start the car, the readout from the scan port is about 70F to 80F, (I have a gauge always plugged in) so it's like staring a car on a summer morning.The mileage on my Vibe has always sucked. Returned it to the dealership when it was new, twice, got absolutely nothing but utter BS. "There's no trouble codes, so there's nothing wrong". Lying effing idiot. Crap, if the computer doesn't tell a Pontiac mechanic what to do, he can't do cr@p.One idiot at the Pontiac dealership tried to convince me to put Dexron II in the auto transmission. (Because they are to effing STUPID to stock the correct T-4 fluid, of course). I wanted to hit him over the head with a tire iron; beat some sense into the atavistic miscreant. Utter morons, everyone I talked to at the Pontiac dealership service dept.I let those pointy headed idiots wash my car, and the effed up the TIRE PRESSURE, just to be sure they didn't let it go out the door with SOMETHING wrong that wasn't that way when it came in.No, the tires should have 32 PSI, you knuckle dragging half wit, NOT 42 PSI. Then the effing liars tried to deny changing the tire pressure. I have a compressor in my garage. I check the tires at LEAST once a month, with a known good dial gauge. The same one that read 42 PSI after I had drive about 3 blocks, and nearly lost a filling going over some rail road tracks.The car is 2 1/2 years old. They tried to SELL ME A BATTERY. This moron actually told me I needed a new battery, after I stopped in to get a free car wash.I damn near shot the guy, just to rid the human race of his defective genes. What an idiot. IT'S STILL ON WARRANTY! You should have seen the look on his face when I told him that. It was priceless. My buddy was holding me with both hands while I was yelling (LOUD) at the lying scumbag. Any service I can't do; (and there hasn't been anything yet) is going to be done at a Toyota dealership.I wouldn't trust a Pontiac mechanic to change my wiper blades, much less my oil.

Well sorry to hear you are having issues! That stinks... A few thoughts and please do not take this as I am trying to insult or debate with you. First, poor gas will give you poor mileage. My wife knows what stations to stay away from when she drives ours because her mileage drops considerably and poor gas ruined a set of spark plugs in my PT Cruiser causing an engine miss. I inspected the plugs and they were tinted red! Changed them out and all was well, also stopped going to that station. Make sure the air filter it clean too...It is true the dealer cannot help the mileage and unless the car is showing signs of trouble or throwing a code, they really cannot do anything to the car. They have no idea how you drive your car and of course every owner says they do nothing wrong and drive the car normally. Not saying you beat on your car, but again they have no idea how heavy your foot is or is not...If the mileage has always sucked then I guess you got one with some build defect, effecting the mileage. MPG window stickers are a joke and exaggerated!Also, if your car is still under warranty like you say, you need to go back to a GM dealer for future repairs so the paper work can be processed by GM.Lastly, there are good dealers and bad dealers out there, try another dealer...Trust me I am with you, I have had bad dealership experiences too and I also work on all my cars taking the one now in warranty to the dealer only when I have to. I also get a headache when a vehicle of mine is doing something wrong, I know it is not right, but I also know when I take it to the dealer I will hear "we cannot find anything wrong with it". I get so mad! So now, I have learned to wait until it gets so obvious ANYONE can tell there is an issue! I care for my leased cars like I own them as well but I refuse to waste my time taking it in only to hear Trouble Not Found...

Hummmmm. Our '05 gets 22-24 mpg in 99% in town stop-n-go traffic and I didn't think that was so bad. Winter gas formulations yield less mpg than summer gas and the engine runs richer longer in cold weather. Still the best car we've owned because it's never been back to the dealer. I just laugh when I pull up to the gas pump and see that the poor slob ahead of me pumped $90 plus. I also laugh at idiots that haven't changed their driving habits one bit at $3.00/gal. What's up with that?

FWIW... Here is an article I just saw on Yahoo. While it states cheap gas likely will not harm your vehicle, it also states not all of the fuels out there are the same at each pump. http://biz.yahoo.com/brn/08010...rance

Thats about the mileage I get from my AWD. This time around since it has been warmer out the fuel went up I am averaging between 21-24 in the winter. In the summer I get 26-29 and when doing long trips I can average over 30 when cruising and I've managed a max of like 363 miles on one tank, that's 33mpg. Not bad for an AWD.

Gandalf,Sorry for your problems... I too decided after a visit or 2 to my local dealership not to go back to them again. Locally, I go to Danville Toyota and have always been treated like I bought my car there.But I also agree that it all depends on the dealership and even sometimes just a service tech having a bad day. Had a brake issue in 2004. The brakes clicked with light pressure on the pedal. Had my local dealer look at it, they charged me simply because they didn't find anything wrong yet I had my next door neighbor look at it and he tells me I need to bleed the brakes... He helps me and all was well. Yet in 2005 I had a wheel issue... Tires Plus didn't install hubcentric rings as they should have but I had to go to Myrtle Beach for a gig and couldn't wait for them to order. The steering wheel wobbled horribly so I decided to order rings there in Myrtle Beach. I took the car to Hadwin-White, the Pontiac place there, Fully expecting to pay for the cost of the install.. no, they did it for free. Again, treating me like I was a regular customer. Good luck with your mpg issues and I hope you're able to find a quality service center.Dave

I noticed that cheap gas will give poor mileage too. Here we only have the cheap generic crap, shell, chevron and 76. My co-worker has a corolla, and says that 'our engines' (same engine) don't like the junk stuff. It seemed a little rough with the cheap stuff too. I think I get about 29 mpg (automatic)

All city driving in Houston, get 22mpg like clockwork. Grocery store gas... KrogerAs a test, I drove from Houston to College Station Tx, all hwy @150 miles roundtrip, and got 30 mpg.

Gandalf,You do realize that, that punny 1.8L motor is trying to haul a rather heavy car around, yes.... I'm not saying your dealership expierence wasn't one of pure mental torture, cause most times they are... But you really need to put ourself in their shoes.... they don't know you from Adam, your habits, what you haul in your car (you "could" be a DJ for all they know) Dealers MAKe money on the un-educated, not on the educated.... they constantly try and pull fast ones on people... it's the nature of the BEAST...It's a shame that you are so upset over this, cause it's common.... and your 2.5yr old battery DOES have the potential of being bad, it is a COMMON problem with Vibes, look around... I got this feeling that you are a stressed person, most of the time.... You really need to enhance your calm brother.... we are all in the same boat here, one way or another...

wow anger Issues....j/ksorry to hear you had such problems.your vibe is a toyota, pontiac can only go by what the toyota computer tells them. If there are no codes they don't know what to fix. I first got only around 25 highway 22 town when I first got my vibe in 02 but it got better. I average 30+ if I use name brand gas and 25 of I use a local name on the highway. if you go to a toyota dealer don't be surprised if they turn you away, they probably don't know a pontiac vibe is a toyota drivetrain. try a different dealer, ask to talk to the owner, just don't act like your post portrays. nothing gets resentment like anger.just my $.02 from experience.

MY 2006 Vibe automatic with 15K miles on her has only failed to get at least 28 mpg/tankful twice since I got it new from the dealer. In mixed driving, I get 30 or more mpg virtually every time I fill up. That's the way it should be!

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6088&#p65128 has an excerpt from the 03 service manual on what to check if gas mileage is lower than expected. The dealership should have this information

To Joats point... There are tools out there to test how much alocohol is in fuel. This dealer should invest in one and sample the fuel. Fuel issues are common and do not always cause CEL's.

and if your car isn't setting a cel... while scan tools can gather a lot of info, they are not crystal balls the tech rubs and finds out everything. A lot of people have that missconception.

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »while scan tools can gather a lot of info, they are not crystal balls the tech rubs and finds out everything. A lot of people have that missconception.they're not?!?! damn, what is the world coming to?? i need to do a couple things this weekend to try and improve my mileage.gandalf, sorry to hear about your problems with the dealer, i've had one too. it was very minor, but it was still frustrating to have someone act like i was full of BS. like someone mentioned before, try using a different pontiac dealer, that could help. well at least with the frustration part of your problem

Try shell 87 in the summer & Chevron now its winter. The difference for me is 360 miles a tank vs 300 a tank

And just be thankful you're not paying $3.56 a gallon. I put in $27 today, and that didn't even fill up the tank.

Quote, originally posted by HawaiiPontiacLover »I noticed that cheap gas will give poor mileage too. Here we only have the cheap generic crap, shell, chevron and 76maybe i'm readin it wrong, but are you sayin that shell, chevron, and 76 are crappy?? i like 76 Quote, originally posted by HawaiiPontiacLover »And just be thankful you're not paying $3.56 a gallon. I put in $27 today, and that didn't even fill up the tank. today i letmy fuel light turn on, i drove it for about 20 miles before i went to fill it up, and it cost me $40 even at $3.41(premium)

Damn,I hope I'm not that angry when I get older,**** it sounds like you missed your daily dose of your chill pills.Don't let such small stuff ruffle your feather so much.The battery is maybe an issue,since they do fail somewhat early.If your service place bugs you that much,bring it somewhere else.

I'm surprised that so many of you have such a difference in mileage due to different types of gas. I have tried many different times to see if a different brand of gas makes a difference in my car. 60 miles is a ton for one tank, but I will see a fluctuation of maybe 20 miles when I run a different brand. 20 miles/tank could mean I drove with a heavier foot than normal, or I drove more city miles. The biggest thing I have noticed, during the winter many of us let our cars warm up. That wastes gas. Over the past 6 weeks of doing this I notice that I lose about 60 miles/tank, but it is worth it to me to get into a warm car instead of freezing my nuggets off.

No, I'm not saying that the others are crappy. I'm just sayin' the cheap crap is crappy. Just when I have no choice but to put like $5 of the generic cheap crap to get to/from work, it seems to be a little rough and I don't get as much mileage as I do from Shell. I think my mom is using the cheap crap in Frosty, but she doesn't notice anything because it takes her like 7 minutes to get to work and doesn't have the horrendous drive that I do. Frosty never has to go through bumper-to-bumper traffic.

I only get about 25-26 MPG, and I drive about 70% highway. BUT, the reason is the way I have to drive: traffic around here usually flows at least 70-75, sometimes up to 85. Plus I'm usually opening it up to 80-100% throttle to get on the highway, either due to fast moving traffic or those ramps with the stupid metering system (read: red light) at the end.I have tried slower acceleration (I feared for my life!) and a top speed of 65 and i got about 28.5 MPG, so I know it's due to my driving.To the OP's measurement of oil temperature: It's not like starting on a summer morning. The air intake is sucking in ice cold air, and you're probably also driving on a winter blend of fuel, right?Quote »your vibe is a toyota, pontiac can only go by what the toyota computer tells them. If there are no codes they don't know what to fix. It doesn't matter that it's a Toyota, if there are no codes period, GM can't fix it. We have a Buick Rainier that idles very poorly and stalls, and is getting steadily worse mileage and they can't fix it because, *drumroll* there are no codes and other sensor measurements are OK.

Wow, 7 days, huge RANT and not another word from the OP... Why don't people come back and check thier threads after they post??

I'm still getting 32 m.p.g. with my base 5 speed.

you sound like an idiota vibe with auto will get about that with mostly city drivingnobody is lying to you, there is no conspiracy...

My '04 Vibe (R.I.P) got around 30mpg every time. I was crazy about checking my mileage after every fill up.My dealer rocks!! I had to go to a dealership in Asheville, NC to get something checked out (some wires melted and were smoking) The first dealership I went was right around teh corner from where I was it was Toyota and they wouldn't fix it! i was upset! I didnt get why they couldnt look at it! They were really nice about giving me directions to the Pontiac dealership. That dealership was super nice!! They even drove us back to the hotel so we didnt have to sit there for 4 hours. They got it all fixed for me.I almost always use Gas America gas when I'm around home, when I travel I like Speedway, BP sometimes.... I dont like Shell, plus it always costs like .05 - .20 more than everything else around.

If it makes anyone on this board feel better I have a 05 base vibe with a 5 speed manual. I average about 18 MPG mostly city driving with the AC running most of the time.

I believe even with the AC on, worst driving habits, traffic and road conditions 18 MPG is way below what you should be getting with a base MT. A bad catalytic converter is the usual culprit. Other problems could be a clogged MAF and/or PCV, bad plugs. Fuel injectors may need cleaning. I assume you replace the air filter regularly. I suppose with a MT a slipping clutch could also be an issue, but it ought to be noticable with poor accelaration. Perhaps others here would have some ideas.

Thanks for the feedback. Car only has 16,000 miles on it and no noticeable driveability problems.

There are quite a few things we can try to get better mileage, especially now that gas is up around 3 bucks a gallon. A clean air filter, a little extra air in the tires (not too much or they wear in the middle), easy on the accelerator, and drive as smoothly as you can. City driving is tough, rush hour is worse, but even then, taking it easy will give you the highest return on a gallon of fuel. I know a guy that uses his truck like a storage shed, and drives it like that all the time. His mileage sucks. Figures that a couple of extra hundred pounds or so won't make that much difference, since its a powerful truck. One example of things we might not think about. He's just wasting money on fuel to cart all that extra weight around.Do a Google search for fuel saving driving tips, and then try them out. See what works for you and what doesn't. No 2 drivers are going to get the same mileage, even with identical cars, driving on the same road. If you figure in elevation, terrain, road surfaces and weather, it really starts to make a difference. Someone driving home tonight in southern Florida where it's 65 degrees will probably be getting much better mileage than someone in the mountains of Colorado at 10 degrees, even if they are both driving Prius hybrids. Dealerships are only as good as their people. Like everyone said, try someone else. Everyone has stories about service reps that don't have a clue or that don't really want to investigate what's going on. The individual mechanic/technician may be the best there is, but the dealership owners make the rules that they have to work under and follow. Others are a little more flexible and might give you the time of day to find out if there is a real mechanical problem.It's frustrating as hell, but the main thing is to take it easy, and see if you can find a reputable place to take your Vibe. Good luck and let us know what happens!

Anyone get the feeling that the OP won't be back... I do...

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »Anyone get the feeling that the OP won't be back... I do... +1and this is the worst time of year to try and figure out poor fuel mileage. And everyone knows a car doesn't always get whats advertised.

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »+1and this is the worst time of year to try and figure out poor fuel mileage. And everyone knows a car doesn't always get whats advertised.Yeah NO KIDDING... my gas milage has gone to $^&!...

with it having been -12 most of last week. I was getting less then 200 miles to the tank.

at 1/4 tank left I only had 175 miles on the tank. I swear my cat is bad considering mine is an '03 but i tried to get that replaced and they said they couldnt find anything wrong to replaceit.

Quote, originally posted by mustang_52 »at 1/4 tank left I only had 175 miles on the tank.thats pretty much what i'm getting right now (20-23mpg) but majority of my driving is city (15ish stop lights 4.5miles) and i'm not always easy on the gas. last weekend though i did a highway trip and got about 30-33mpg so i know nothing is wrong

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »Anyone get the feeling that the OP won't be back... I do... well, if you read the books, you'd know that you shouldn't expect him to be around unless big things are going on, and that he's likely to show up unexpectedly at any time

The "books"?

some kinda LoTR reference I think.

yeah, cars don't always get what's advertised... ..in the summer I get better than advertised 39.3 US mpg is my record so far. Going for 40 this summer.Sitting around 32-33 now that it's stupid cold and snowy out.and yes, I calculate my mileage correctly... I have a feeling a lot of people aren't calculating it right, thus coming up with some pretty wacky numbers.

Quote, originally posted by Neouka » I have a feeling a lot of people aren't calculating it right, thus coming up with some pretty wacky numbers.Agreed, I'm always amazed at people who only do it occasionally with one fillup, or even better (and I can't believe the number of times I hear this) they just "wing it" i.e. tank costs this much, I think gas costs that much, and I only got XXX miles, thus 18MPG.Do the math, use a calculator, be sure

Just to reassure the rocket scientists on this board, I calculate my mileage based on starting with a full tank and log the number of gallons used to fill the tank and mileage between fills. To make this simple, if 10 gallons are needed to fill the tank according to the pump and miles driven are 130 then the mileage is 13. Now, have I accounted for the fuel in the neck, fillled up the tank at the same time day, heat expansion, any variables related between pumps, and different brands of gas, no. However, as my average (18mpg) is based on 16,000 miles I do not believe that it is likely the those variables (i.e. the amount of fuel in the neck) would amount to any material difference.

GM needs to contact these people who are getting 30+ mpg mixed city/hwy and see what they did wrong in manufacturing that engine to accomplish that. Then make those manufacturing errors the norm.

Jake,This might work but the car is actually a Toyota.

I keep track of my gas mileage... I think people who are with me get annoyed when i fill up because i have to write down my current mileage before I will go anywhere.I do it the same every time. Fill up until the pump shuts itself off, dont top off, etc. So far teh 05 awd is getting 27-29 mpg. The 04 base got 29-33. I hope the awd gets a bit better in the summer 29 is good, but I really liked the 33... on one tank its not a big deal, but over time, it adds up. Im planning on having this one MUCH longer than i had the last Vibe.

I think a lot of it comes down to how you drive. I've got an 04 GT and the best I've gotten is a little over 41 mpg for the tank. That was freeway driving between 55 and 65.Gotta baby these to get it to get good gas mileage. Lifetime, I'm averaging right at 29 mpg and I'm fine with that. Some people just have a heavy foot. My driving tactics changed when driving my fiancee's Prius because you get the real time mileage feedback that makes you want to maximize your mileage.