GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

The water pump on my 2009, 1.8 Vibe, 40,000 miles, started leaking and making a growl sound. (Very common problem with this model engine and year. In fact, Toyota has a TSP on this problem.) My owner’s manual states that Dexcool is the coolant used. Funny, since the factory coolant in my vehicle looks pink, not orange like Dexcool. All Vibes were made in Fremont CA, by NUMMI, on the same assembly line as the Corolla. I find it hard to believe that the NUMMI plant would have two coolants. Having said that, I concluded that my factory coolant is Toyota Pink, conflicting with my owner’s manual. I advised the dealer of my concern, at which time he explained that they only use Dexcool in Vibes. (Yes, I showed him the pink coolant in the overflow tank.) When I picked up my repaired Vibe, he handed me a black Toyota Pink antifreeze container with about a quart of fluid left. He explained that his mechanic brought the pink color to his attention at which time he authorized the purchase of Toyota Pink antifreeze, from Toyota, for the repair!I am very pleased with the service of this particular Buick / GMC dealership. They did the right thing! This simply doesn't happen these days!!! On a side note, when I got home I inspected their work. The accessory / water pump belt is one rib off and is riding on the outer edge of the crankshaft pulley. Ughhhhh, thank goodness I checked. This would have resulted in shredded belt in 15,000 miles.Bottom line: Before you have coolant work done, discuss with the dealership your concern in replacing the coolant with the same type from the factory. Mixing coolants can cause MANY problems. As well, double check that the accessory belt is riding correctly on all pulleys!Off to the dealership again.

Was your Vibe still under warranty - or did they do the right thing and repair it n/c anyway?

I know there are several errors in the 2009 manual. It looks to me like some flunky copied and pasted info from the 2008 manual rather than correctly write the 2009 information. I know the transmission fluid is also incorrect.

Never, ever use Dexcool in anything. Even engines that are built to use it eventually have problems. Engines that are not built to use it, will have serious problems. If you have Dexcool in an engine, drain it, disconnect the lower radiator hose, get it all out, fill it with water, run it, drain it again, do this SEVERAL times, till there is nothing but pure water in the system. Then refill it with either the Asian car antifreeze sold by companies such as Zerex (it is an ethylene Glycol base) or use the Toyota antifreeze, or depending on the automobile, regular gycol antifreeze or low tox polypropylene gycol type.Google Dexcool and you will get hundreds of hits on the problems of it.Charles

Yea for me.I've got a 2008.This part of my life is now less complicated.

So is it the general consenus that dexcool is not the coolant that was put in at the factory? I have never topped off or done anything with the coolant in my vibe. It appears the reservoir bottle is getting closer to the low mark. maybe some of it has evaporated over the years. Which one should I buy if I want to fill up the reservoir bottle a bit?

I thought the issues with Dexcool were history.

The drive train warranty for the 2009 and 2010 Vibe is 5 years / 100,000 miles. Believe it or not, the water pump falls under this warranty. As well, when a drive train warranty item is repaired, GM will pay for a rental car too. The repair cost me nothing.

Interesting, the manual is wrong for the tranny fluid too? In what way?

The color of your coolant will determine the type to use. Your level should not drop, unless you have a leak. Look closely at your hood, radiator and firewall for evidence of dried antifreeze. If you see any, the pump is leaking and is covered under warranty for 5 years / 100,000 miles. Common problem with 2009 and 2010. Based on your photo, you have a 2009 or 2010 model. I would put money that you have Toyota Pink antifreeze. Did you buy new?

The manuals specify Toyota Type IV transmission fluid, but 2009+ (and maybe older) all use Toyota WS. There are a few generic fluids out there that claim to meet WS spec, but I figured it was easiest to just buy it directly from Toyota. I expect to get the coolant there as well when it's due for a change.I'm a bit surprised that a so-called "super long life" coolant is only recommended for 5 years/100k miles, and then half that interval thereafter. I believe all newer Honda and Mazda products have coolant with 10 year change intervals. I have no issue with doing the maintenance - just saying...Then again, I know people who never change their conventional coolant on any regular basis, and yet don't seem to run into issues either. I'll never be able to get away with that. My stuff seems to "know" it requires maintenance, and if I forget even briefly I seem to pay for it somehow...JohnP.S. - on the Dexcool issue - from what I've seen, it doesn't seem to have issues with well sealed systems - but if air is allowed to get in there, it seems to make a real mess. Often it seems like a thick black gooey coating left on the insides of passages where this has happened. I believe the technical name for it is "Dexcrud"...

Thanks for the reply!I definately have pink collant fluid. For now I'll assume to get the toyota pink coolant should I want to top off the reservoir bottle a bit.I did buy the car new. It's about 4 or more years old by now. I'm pretty sure there isnt a leak in the coolant system. Seeing how the reservoir bottle doesn't appear to be perfectly air tight, I think it's reasonable to assume that a small amount of coolant may have evaporated over time. I like j42snyder's comment about changing the coolant every five years. I may do that.

I agree, like me, I would use Toyota Pink. The owner's manual is 100% wrong. DONT USE Toyota Red. Yes, there is a difference and they are NOT compatable. The Toyota dealer will know what your "Matrix" takes. The bad thing about the Toyota Pink is that it only comes in a 50/50 premix. (I prefer to mix my own, as it is a better value.)

j42.snyder,My Vibe is a stick. I assume that you are referring to autotransmission fluid?

Water pump under drivetrain warranty - these things are good to know though I will not hit 40,000 miles in 5 years. I decided against buying the extended warranty for that reason.

Sorry - yes I was referring to the automatic transmission fluid specified. I haven't heard anything about the manual transmission fluid specification being wrong. I seem to recall however that it does call for a fairly heavy oil for that - so I'd probably stick with a synthetic replacement to avoid hard shifting in the winter. I believe the factory fluid was synthetic for this.I should look into that further myself. I think my brother's car is due for another manual tranny fluid change - '09 with 2.4. I'll have to take a look for that fill plug location first - rather important detail before draining! He had it done previously at a Toyota dealer, and it hasn't shifted as well since. I suspect they used a conventional oil rather than synthetic. It's fine when warmed up, but a bit nasty when cold.John

Looking at different manuals, this is what I have found:
Pontiac Vibe manuals:

2010 hard copy that came with Vibe (manufactured 5/09):
Part No. 20784572 A First Printing 2008 GM
Oil suggested 5w or 0w-30 GM6094M (wrong)
auto transmission fluid WS (correct)

Gmownercenter.yahoo.com:
2010 pdf:
Part No. 20784572 A First Printing 2008 GM
Oil suggested 5w or 0w-30 GM6094M (wrong)
auto transmission fluid WS (correct)

Pontiac.com:
2010 pdf:
Part No. 25823089 B Second Printing 2008 GM
oil suggested 5w or 0w-20 GM6094M (correct)
auto transmission fluid T-IV (wrong)

2009 pdf:
Part No. 25823089 B Second Printing 2008 GM
oil suggested 5w or 0w-20 GM6094M (correct)
auto transmission fluid T-IV (wrong)

2008 pdf:
Part No. 15863403 A First Printing 2007 GM
oil suggested 5w or 0w-30 GM6094M (correct)
auto transmission fluid T-IV (correct)


2010 oil fill cap on 1.8L suggests 5w or 0w-20

2010 1.8L auto transmission dipstick indicates WS

T-IV and WS ATF are incompatible.

As for coolant,, Dex-Cool (wrong)! Depending on year, either Toyota long life concentrated red or the newer Toyota super long life pink, 50/50 premix. Zerex Asian Phosphated HOAT (P-HOAT or POAT) 50/50 premix might be an acceptable replacement. Other Asian OEM's P-HOAT coolants and Motorcraft deep green P-HOAT would probably be acceptable too.

Anybody signed up for a 2009 Vibe at the Gmownercenter.yahoo.com to see which manual they are pushing?

For more on my thoughts about antifreeze/coolant:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=36762&p=411734&hil ... ch#p411734" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I did the drop drain and pumpout on m yvibe. I used Toyota type 4I flushed the cooling system and used the toyota pinkpower steering pump out= Dextron 3=aka ATFtransfer case 80w90 gear oildifferential 80w90 gear oilget out there and change your fluids.........it will save you time and money in the long run..........

Dexcool is like Fram filters...........why take the chance.............one thing is for sure,,,,,,never put dexcool in a car that was not shipped from the factory with it in it......

Docdoug, can you describe the severity of leak your water pump was experiencing? Is the coolant stain was dry and the weep spot is small? Or the water pump was wet and coolant was splashed everywhere and there are wet spot detected everywhere at the belt/crank area?

It's simple.
If your car has Toyota Pink from the factory, then use that. (This is the way mine was/is.)
If your car has Dexcool from the factory, then use that.

Never mix them.

See if your water pump conditions is in picture 1 , 2 or 3
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=w ... ad=rja[url]

For those who have recommended the following:
"if your 2009/10 Vibe came with Dexcool........." be careful. Based on our VIN numbers, GM has us as receiving Dexcool, as it (wrongly) states in the owners manual. However, the fluid is Toyota Pink, not Dexcool. While I can understand how a written manual, which is about as helpful as the outer wrapper of toilet paper, can have errors, I don't understand how the coding for the VIN can be poorly quality controlled. As was the case with my auto tranny fluid flush with WS fluid, I will take my car back to Toyota to have the radiator fluid flushed out when the time comes to ensure I get Toyota Pink again. I just can't see my GM dealership going against the VIN coding.
OK, enough of that commercial. Now to my question.

Regarding the "issues" with 09/10 water pumps, can anyone find/post the Toyota Corolla TSB? The only link I found on this board was for Lexus vehicles. I am still in the midst of determining if my twice a month noise after successful startup is indeed the camshaft timing gear actuator or something else (such as the water pump or timing chain). I know that GM dealerships are often replacing both the actuator AND timing chains on Chevy Equinox models exhibiting the same symptom. I have a case number on file with GM regarding my actuator. When the time comes that I can get them to actually hear the noise in the morning and do the repair, I want to at least present the water pump TSB to them for diagnosis. I was not aware of the water pump issue until I read it on Edmunds this morning.

http://www.empirepao.com/tsb/T-SB-0362-09.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Many thanks my Canadian friend. GO LAKE BONAVISTA BREAKERS