GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Interesting discussion over at "Edmunds" in the "Matrix" topic about the oil capacity of the engines. They are saying the Matrix owners manual says 1.4 qts base and 1.6 qts GT vs the 3.9/4.8 in the Vibe's. Some have put in that amount and the dipstick reads full, others have checked their receipts from oil changes and see that amount. Very strange.

1.4 qts of oil in high reving engine? That's something that I would like to see.

4 quarts in a gallon... you don't suppose they were meaning 1.4 gallons, do ya? KSNeptune

That must be a typo in the manual. There is no way that engine could use only 1.4 quarts. The Vibe has the same engine and oil pan.

I won't try to put 1.4 quarts in my Vibe.Regular engine take in average 1 gallon.

I watched the mechanic change my oil last week. He put in 4L (4.2 qts). Perfect!

quote:I watched the mechanic change my oil last week. He put in 4L (4.2 qts). Perfect!I was under the impression that we need 3.9qts in the base....or do you drive a GT.....still I thought the GT needed 5qts???????

I beat up my dealer a little while ago b/c they were putting 5qts in my little base engine....they credited the $$ to my account

As posted in the original post the base takes 3.9 qts and the GT takes 4.8 qts.

quote:As posted in the original post the base takes 3.9 qts and the GT takes 4.8 qts. my fault...shoulda looked....doh!!

I always put 5 quarts into my GT, going .2 over is nothing. The dipstick after it settles is always a very small bit over the full mark. I'd rather have a little more oil in the motor than a little less.

quote:I was under the impression that we need 3.9qts in the base....or do you drive a GT.....still I thought the GT needed 5qts???????I have the AWD. I didn't read the label to see what the container said ... I'm pretty sure that's a 4L jug, though.

quote:I always put 5 quarts into my GT, going .2 over is nothing. The dipstick after it settles is always a very small bit over the full mark. I'd rather have a little more oil in the motor than a little less. I was told that too much oil isn't good either. Something about the crank whipping up the oil into a foam, which doesn't lubricate well. It's really not that hard to maintain the oil to proper levels.

Thats what I have worried about as well. Every time I channge my oil, I put in 4.75 quarts. After checking the level, it is always over the max mark on the dipstick by a bit so I pull a bit back out. Anyone know how much over is too much and may cause the engine damage warned about in the manual? Jim

Not sure, but I noticed my car was idling a bit odd after a high-rev run the other day and when i checked my oil this morning it was quite a bit over the max mark. I had the dealership's quicky-lube place change the oil last week and looks like the overfilled it. Not sure if the idling thing is a coincidence or related to the oil, but what's the best way to get the overfill issue resolved? My first step will be to call the place that did it, but I'm not sure they'll do anything and may end up making it worse at that.

The only way I can imagine to fix an overfill is to drain some via the pan...But the thing with that is, once you start the flow, I don't think you can stop it again...So maybe it's just best to leave it as is...doesnt' sound like it's dangerously overfilled or anything...

I saw that today at walmart...was intrigued...was gonna post and ask people about it here...but the guy on that site you just pointed out to us says it takes a year and a day to drain, and doesn't drain fully...so maybe i'll save myself the $12 they wanted fo rit...

quote:So maybe it's just best to leave it as is...doesnt' sound like it's dangerously overfilled or anything...Don't know. I took it back to the place that did it and they checked the oil right as I pulled in (having driven 10 miles to get there) before it had a chance to drain back down into the pan and told me it was fine. I told her to wait a bit and check it again after it settled and she barked that I was just taking up their time, that it was fine and to pull out of the bay.I guess I'll check it again later today and if it's still high I'll call the actual dealership and not the oil change place. I'm sure it's not dangerously overfilled, looks like less than half a quart, but it still bothers me.

Actually...it's not that hard to stop the flow. You just have to be patient. When I have pulled some of the oil out of my pan, I just lie on my back under the front of the car and loosen the drain plug. I SLOWLY keep loosening the plug (NEVER taking my fingers off of it) until oil starts to dribble out. Once you get to this point, the plug is only about a turn away from comming out. You can kinda' angle the plug upward (while still holding it) so it leaks out faster. Once you have drained some of the oil out, simply tighten the plug back up.Jim

quote:I'm sure it's not dangerously overfilled, looks like less than half a quart, but it still bothers me. Completely understandable.

But then again, do you really want these rejects messing with your car again?

I'm currently trying to get ahold of the service manager to get this resolved. He wasn't in this morning so I'm going to try again this afternoon. It's one thing to overfill it, but to then so rudely tell me I'm wrong and just taking up their time, that's totally another. I'll keep you posted.

The problem is that this is the dealer. The dealership here in town has a detailing shop, accessory shop, and instant oil change place all on their grounds. That's how you get your oil changed at the dealership is this place.

You know, really I'm getting used to it by now. Everything's gone this way lately. I don't think it will have to go any further than the service manager. I think that'll take care of it. I'll let you know once I finally get ahold of him.

quote:The problem is that this is the dealer. The dealership here in town has a detailing shop, accessory shop, and instant oil change place all on their grounds. That's how you get your oil changed at the dealership is this place. I would certainly contact Pontiac regarding this...no dealer has the right to treat you that way...even if the service manager does resolve it, I still think the company should be aware of it...you can tell them the dealer resolved it to your satisfaction (if they do), but I'm one of those people who feels absolutely horrendous treatment (such as that) should be documented by the company, even if it's resolved, just in case you ever need to revisit it in the future...And I'm not a complainer...I usually won't say anything, but something such as that, I would totally go off the wall...But that just my opinion

*Update*Left two messages with the service manager. Still no call back. I'm not sure what to think. I'm thinking I will take your advice Ragingfish and call Pontiac. From what I've read here this isn't the first time someone's car has been overfilled by the dealer and maybe they need more training. I'm not usually one to complain either and probably wouldn't have if they had treated me better when I went back. Oh well, I guess another barrage of calls tomorrow. I'll update if I hear anything.

The problem with that is, I've already taken it back in once. That's what this whole thing is about.

He should go to Pontiac...they (hopefully) won't tolerate it, and will force the dealer to address it -- that kind of lack of customer service should neve rbe tolerated...And honestly, I think going back over and over will just aggrevate you, and accomplish nothing...Though have you considered calling the dealer president/owner? Maybe you should try that before going to Pontiac...give them one last chance to redeem themselves...

I agree with both points. I should like to get this resolved soon. My main concern with driving it is the posibility of damage from overfilling. I'm not sure how much it's overfilled since my receipt doesn't say how much they put in. It's about a quarter inch up the dipstick from the full mark. I'd say that's potentially dangerous. I'd rather just leave the car at home until I'm certain they plan on fixing it. Honestly at this point I'm closer to just going out and fixing it myself and calling it good. I'll call the dealership again tomorrow and maybe the owner of the dealership, then if nothing I'll call Pontiac and go drain the oil out myself. I just need to get my car back safely on the road!

I can understand your frustration, but the problem is, once you take the issue into your own hands, you erase any chance of getting help from Pontiac. See, if anything happens now, it's their fault, because they overfilled. But if you go out and drain it yourself, they can say "Sorry, you've touched the car since the initial incident, you can't prove it's us anymore." Know what I mean? When and if you do call Pontiac, be sure to tell them your concerned about driving it overfilled, you want satisfaction, you want it resolved, and you want it done NOW!!!That oughta scare the bejeezus outta them.

Agreed Ragingfish. Fortunately I don't need to worry about doing it myself now. The service manager returned my call this morning and he, the lead technician and the manager of the quick lube are all going to take a look at my car when I take it in and make sure everything's OK. They're also going to "have a talk" with the person who started this whole mess. Sounds like they're more than willing to fix this as I had hoped they would be. Still I'm thinking a call to Pontiac may be in order, but I'll wait until I see what they do today.

Ahh, all fixed. I had the service director, the shop foreman and the manager of the quicky-lube all working on my car, but it's fixed. Needless to say, neither of them were terribly impressed at the kind of service I had received to this point. I'm satisfied now that it won't happen again, and if it does I know who I need to call. Pontiac didn't want to get involved unless I couldn't get it resolved with the service manager. Either way, it's all done now. The car does indeed run better now. According to the foreman, it was about 1/2 Qt too full.

OK, strike two. I took my car back to the dealership about a month ago to have the oil changed. I've put over 1000 miles on the oil change (business trip up north) and decided to check my oil to make sure it was still up. Low and behold, it's about 1/2 quart too high again. What really upsets me is that I made certain to remind them of the oil capacity since the last time this happened. I don't abuse my car, but I do run it up into lift sometimes, it's there so why not. However, I'm really worried about potential damage this time. I'll be calling the service manager when I return from my trip this week (I got a company van this time) and I hope I'll get satisfaction. I'm not at all impressed.