GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I change the oil and filter on my 05 base Vibe at 3,000miles. How about you?
05 Base W/ 140K miles, 5-30 Castrol GTX conventional oil, Purolator Pure One filter, 3,000 mile interval.
Chiadog

Every 5,000 miles with Mobil 1 5W-30 and Mobil 1 filter.

2005 AWD with 75,000 miles on the odo

On my 2009 I'm planning every 5k miles/6 months, Mobil 1 5w20, royal purple filter.

8000km (~5000mi) just like toyota intended

2006 Base with 120k miles.
Interval: 5000 miles or 8 months
Oil: Mobil 1 5w-30 if air temp expected to fall below 20° or Mobil 5000 5w-30 otherwise
Filter: Toyota

I purchased my car new, and have changed the oil every 5000-6000 miles. Recently I've been going to the Pontiac Dealer, they have a quick lube building in the parking lot. No idea what kind of oil they use, but pretty sure it's 5w30, and the GM filter.
140,000 miles in, and still going strong.

10,000 km or 6,200 miles synthetic since new 240,000 km ( 149,000 miles) '06 manual mostly highway driving

Both our 2009 Vibe GTs have gotten oil changes every 2500 miles since new. After 5000 miles the oil seemed too dirty to me, so I decided to do every 2500 miles that way I still keep with the owner's manual recommended 5000 mile interval. Both Vibes get Penzoil 5W-20 and Toyota oil filters.

vibenvy wrote:Both our 2009 Vibe GTs have gotten oil changes every 2500 miles since new. After 5000 miles the oil seemed too dirty to me, so I decided to do every 2500 miles that way I still keep with the owner's manual recommended 5000 mile interval. Both Vibes get Penzoil 5W-20 and Toyota oil filters.

Have you considered having the your oil analyzed? Just because the oil doesn't look new anymore doesn't mean it's not working.
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SeattleJeremy wrote:Have you considered having the your oil analyzed? Just because the oil doesn't look new anymore doesn't mean it's not working.
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And then post your results here: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=39099" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Vibe is a short tripper.. Last change was early August and it only has ~2600 mi on it since. Usually gets changed every 6 months or so... I really need to do a UOA on the thing to see how the oil holds up under these conditions. My Hyundai gets the brunt of the abuse, it sees more miles in a week than the Vibe does in a month. I change it every ~4-5k.

I have been running mostly house brand 5W30's over the last few years. I have transitioned my car over to Valvoline NextGen conventional, and will be doing that for the Vibe too at the next change. Previously used AC Delco or Supertech filters on the Vibe, but now I've switched to PureOnes.

Not often enough, over 7k miles this time... 2006 base FWD. Pennzoil 5W-30 platinum synthetic; K&N HP-1003 filter. Car has shown no signs of oil consumption at about 80k miles, which makes me happy.

biodieselrabbit wrote:

SeattleJeremy wrote:Have you considered having the your oil analyzed? Just because the oil doesn't look new anymore doesn't mean it's not working.
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And then post your results here: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=39099" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yes, I have checked out Blackstone and I think I may do this when the Vibes get their next oil changes in just under 1000 miles.

I will most definitely post the results.

biodieselrabbit wrote:

SeattleJeremy wrote:Have you considered having the your oil analyzed? Just because the oil doesn't look new anymore doesn't mean it's not working.
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And then post your results here: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=39099" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hey Biodeiselrabbit,
Any chance of a quick comparison VW Rabbit 5 door vs Vibe 5 door? Handling,mpg,driving dynamics,comfort, etc. This would be a good General discussion thread!
Thanks,
chiadog

PS, Anyone else have a Comparison of a similar 5 door or compact wagon?

Between 5 and 8 thousand miles. The manual recommends 5 thousand.

Studies done over millions of miles on taxi cabs have shown that most vehicles are fine at 8 thousand.

beemerphile1 wrote:Between 5 and 8 thousand miles. The manual recommends 5 thousand.

Studies done over millions of miles on taxi cabs have shown that most vehicles are fine at 8 thousand.

Hey Beemer,
Do you have a link to these studies, sounds intriguing!

Chiadog wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:...Studies done over millions of miles on taxi cabs have shown that most vehicles are fine at 8 thousand.

Hey Beemer,
Do you have a link to these studies, sounds intriguing!

A quick search doesn't turn it up. I know it was maybe 15-20 years ago and the study was done either by Consumer Reports or one of the big car enthusiast magazines. I remember reading about it at the time.

A Google search using the key words "oil change taxi study" turns up many references to the study but I don't see the study itself. Do a search and you will find many opinions, but the consensus seems to be that changing at less than 5,000 miles is a waste of money.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ is a good source on all oil topics. They highly recommend getting a sample of your oil analyzed.

beemerphile1 wrote:http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ is a good source on all oil topics.

Definitely a good source. The "Motor Oil 101" and subsequent articles there are particularly interesting.

I'll try every THREE YEARS or 5000 miles which ever comes first. Mobil I 0w20 fuel economy type. (green labeled bottles)
I'm nearly at the 5000 mile mark. will change it in April. Only have 9996 miles on the display. 2009 Vibe.

Chiadog wrote:Hey Biodeiselrabbit,
Any chance of a quick comparison VW Rabbit 5 door vs Vibe 5 door? Handling,mpg,driving dynamics,comfort, etc. This would be a good General discussion thread!
Thanks,
chiadog

Unfortunately that would be a comparison of a 2003 Pontiac Vibe with a 1982 diesel Volkswagen Rabbit. Lol. Sorry to dissapoint. I can say for sure that the driveability and noise differences are SIGNIFICANT

So far every 6 months, which adds up to 1500-3000 miles, any major brand 5w-30 dino oil and a Toyota filter.
When the extended warranty ends this summer I'm switching to once a year and a larger (for the 2zzge) Pure One filter.

I beleive the manual says 7K. Recently I have been changing it at 6K. Just a little before the recommended interval.

Every 7000 miles or 31 months Yes that is not a typo .... 31 months My last oil change was not quite 7000 miles ago back in July 2010. I'd probably hold off even longer (till summer) but I'm leaving for Florida Saturday morning and MUST change the oil before putting some 2500 miles or so on it Looking forward to this nice long road trip. No GenVibers took me up on my visitation offer ... yet I'm sure I'll be passing by several of you between Toledo & Orlando.

31 months? What the..., does your Vibe have a death wish?
Seriously, that wouldn't bother me, except that it is cold in Ohio. I'd be concerned about condensation contaminating the oil. Are you using synthetic? I've heard that has much better corrosion protection than dino oil.
chiadog

Yikes, nearly three years between oil changes? Oil breaks down over time and not just mileage, right? Just like three year old gas is not going to work very well to power the thing, three year old oil is likely significantly less effective lubricating it...

Granted a Vibe is not a Dodge nor a minivan, so it's likely not this bad, but my wife let her Grand Caravan go a year and a half between oil changes when I wasn't paying attention once (during which time she only drove it 3000 miles) and the oil ended up having to be flushed because it was so thick. And the thing doesn't burn a drop of oil (yet) when changed regularly.

Chiadog wrote: Are you using synthetic? I've heard that has much better corrosion protection than dino oil.
chiadog

Yes ... Mobil 1 .. Thanks for "slapping my hands" guys I'll likely not let the NEXT oil change go so long. With a quick 2500 miles to be put on it next week, I'll easily be about half way towards the next oil change Don't even ask me about my '92 F-150 (bought new in fall 19991) that is lucky if it sees 500 miles/year anymore. I think it's been seven years or so since it's last oil change I really have to change it sometime in 2013. Poor truck is 100% outdoors all the time (faded paint took its toll) has NO rust and is sitting around 49000 original miles. Been driving commercial service vans the past 17 years pretty much all the time so my personal vehicles see very little driving. I promise I'll be better in the future

tpollauf, I have a 92 Mazda B2600 (the last of the Mazda trucks.....they were Ford Rangers after that) with 55,000 on it. I change the oil once a year with a 5w30 synthetic.

tpollauf wrote:
Yes ... Mobil 1 .. Thanks for "slapping my hands" guys Don't even ask me about my '92 F-150 (bought new in fall 19991) that is lucky if it sees 500 miles/year anymore. I think it's been seven years or so since it's last oil change I really have to change it sometime in 2013. Poor truck is 100% outdoors all the time (faded paint took its toll) has NO rust and is sitting around 49000 original miles.

Hey tpollauf,
Please send in the 7 year old F150 oil for an oil analysis and post the results on Gen-Vibe.
thanks,
chiadog

Chiadog wrote: Please send in the 7 year old F150 oil for an oil analysis and post the results on Gen-Vibe.
thanks,
chiadog

It's a date Well, I mean, I'll gladly send a sample out for testing and share the results with all here on GenVibe. It may not happen till spring as the truck is parked out at my parents place (18 acres & lots of parking) and I'll bring it back to my place April/May. Now you all got me curious if any harm was done BTW ... just got back from my friends garage where we changed the oil in my Vibe. Totally spotless & clean is the condition of the inside of the engine. Condensation in the crankcase, if present, will leave deposits on any plastic parts including the filler cap. They told me it is common in some older cars and is very noticeable when changing the oil. Mine was spotless

'10 base. mixed driving, no payloads. 45,xxx on the odometer.

i change about every 6 months or 7,500 miles. i've used Valvoline SynPower since new, usually Wix filters.

vibenvy wrote:Yes, I have checked out Blackstone and I think I may do this when the Vibes get their next oil changes in just under 1000 miles.

I will most definitely post the results.

I received my 2 test kits from Blackstone earlier this week. I will be sending samples in for both Vibes with their next oil changes in ~500 miles.

I will be opting for the TBN for both as well so I can see about extending their oil change intervals.

This post oddly made me feel better. First oil change I did in my 2010 1.8 was a free 5w-20 Northland oil change at about 1450 mile on the odo. I think I did the next oil change at about 3k with full synthetic. After that I did either synthetic Toyota or Mobil 1 0w-20 at about 3k miles and about 8 month intervals...longer than the warranty time interval recommendations. last oil change I racked up somewhere around 5600 miles on Mobil 1 0w-20. The problem is that it took about 18 months and a 600 mile trip in the end to get that. I now have almost 17k on the odo since going into service 8-2009. To the best of my knowledge the Mobil 1 should not have any paraffin forming problems, and I would try to run my car up to proper temperatures for a while when I would start it at least once a week to try to burn off any condensation, but it still bothers me that I went that long. I know it is not a problem though. It was a strange year and a half, not driving much, and many short trips or several days and sometimes weeks without even driving the car. The duration problem is a major reason in using full synthetic oils. Running the engine enough every week, or when possible, and getting the oil temps up enough to evaporate condensation, along with the exhaust system getting up to temperature might be helpful.

My current oil change cycle is 6 months at no more than the owners manual stated limit of 7,500 miles between changes for vehicles with extended trips between starts. My M-F commute is approximately 44 miles via highway so I feel comfortable teaming the Mobil 1 5-W-30 synthetic with a Purolator Synthetic filter. That said, I see the same statements about 10K and 15K oil change intervals with extended mileage synthetics like everyone else and am wondering if that 7,500 limit can be relaxed for pure synthetic oil users. My Vibe has 136,700+ miles on the odometer with minimal drop in oil level and I'm planning to see 200,000+ miles.

Does anyone in Vibe Nation have opinions / experience on extending oil change intervals?

Mojo72 wrote:My current oil change cycle is 6 months at no more than the owners manual stated limit of 7,500 miles between changes for vehicles with extended trips between starts. My M-F commute is approximately 44 miles via highway so I feel comfortable teaming the Mobil 1 5-W-30 synthetic with a Purolator Synthetic filter. That said, I see the same statements about 10K and 15K oil change intervals with extended mileage synthetics like everyone else and am wondering if that 7,500 limit can be relaxed for pure synthetic oil users. My Vibe has 136,700+ miles on the odometer with minimal drop in oil level and I'm planning to see 200,000+ miles.

Does anyone in Vibe Nation have opinions / experience on extending oil change intervals?

I normally would stick to the Manufacturers Recommendation. I normally change somewhere between 5-10k miles. I average about 7500 miles between oil changes mostly depending on what type of driving I do. I really do not feel comfortable going beyond 10k miles on a oil change. My Chevy truck OLM meter seems pretty accurate and ask for an oil change between 6k and 10k. I drive pretty hard so average is in that 6500-7500 mile range using Amsoil XL or OE. I like the XL a bit better.

(BTW: You can also get your oil analyzed from my link below from Oil Analyzers, they are independent from Amsoil and they do include the TBN were as with Blackstone, it is and additional charge)

Hey tpollauf,
Did you get that 7 year old oil tested??????

tpollauf wrote:

Chiadog wrote: Please send in the 7 year old F150 oil for an oil analysis and post the results on Gen-Vibe.
thanks,
chiadog

It's a date Well, I mean, I'll gladly send a sample out for testing and share the results with all here on GenVibe. It may not happen till spring as the truck is parked out at my parents place (18 acres & lots of parking) and I'll bring it back to my place April/May. Now you all got me curious if any harm was done BTW ... just got back from my friends garage where we changed the oil in my Vibe. Totally spotless & clean is the condition of the inside of the engine. Condensation in the crankcase, if present, will leave deposits on any plastic parts including the filler cap. They told me it is common in some older cars and is very noticeable when changing the oil. Mine was spotless

Chiadog wrote:Hey tpollauf,
Did you get that 7 year old oil tested??????

NOPE. at least not yet. I'm trying to drive it enough to burn up last years gas in the front tank I've got 1/4 tank left and then I'll fill it up before winter. The rear tank is full. I need to do a bit of maintenance on it anyways before I park it for the winter. Check back with me in a month or two and we'll see if I got around to it or not.

Apparently I never posted an update after receiving our oil reports from Blackstone. They gave me the go ahead to go 5000-5500 miles between oil changes, so this last time the oil was changed on both Vibes after ~5500 miles. At this rate, we're looking at probably only two oil changes a year as both Vibes barely see 10,000 miles in a year.

vibenvy wrote:Apparently I never posted an update after receiving our oil reports from Blackstone. They gave me the go ahead to go 5000-5500 miles between oil changes, so this last time the oil was changed on both Vibes after ~5500 miles. At this rate, we're looking at probably only two oil changes a year as both Vibes barely see 10,000 miles in a year.

Will you re-test again or is two oil changes per year a good number for you? It works out good for me in the snow belt, Fall and Spring!

Chiadog wrote:Will you re-test again or is two oil changes per year a good number for you? It works out good for me in the snow belt, Fall and Spring!

I will probably test again at the next oil changes.

I was surprised when reading the owners manual (03 Vibe base) that if you don't do a lot of stop and go traffic, you can wait until 7,500 miles on conventional oil! Does anyone wait that long? That seems a bit too long for me. Have yet to change my oil since buying my car, so I figure I'll do it around 3,500-4,500 or so.

mbz321 wrote:I was surprised when reading the owners manual (03 Vibe base) that if you don't do a lot of stop and go traffic, you can wait until 7,500 miles on conventional oil! Does anyone wait that long? That seems a bit too long for me. Have yet to change my oil since buying my car, so I figure I'll do it around 3,500-4,500 or so.

I know people, not necessarily Vibe owners, that go 10-15k on oil changes. These guys mostly use quality synthetics like Mobil 1, Pennzoil Platinum/Ultra, etc; and do oil analysis to confirm that these intervals are good.

Most conventional oils don't really have the additive packs to hold up 7500 miles, so I don't recommend that. But putting some Pennzoil Platinum in there? Go ahead.

I go about 7500 miles. But I am using Amsoil XL synthetic 5w30. I have gone about 10k miles before with an oil analysis done. Depends how hard I drive it. My Chevy Trailblazer goes about 7500 as well Using the OLM as a guide. Pennzoil Ultra is a great off the shelf oil.

If anyone in interested Amsoil offers oil analysis by an independent lab "Oil Analyzers" you don't have to buy Amsoil oil. They are a bit cheaper than Blackstone which I have used as well but they do supply the TBN at no additional charge. Use the link below.

Chiadog wrote:Hey tpollauf,
Did you get that 7 year old oil tested??????
chiadog

Here's an update. Just FINALLY changed the oil in the inline 6, 300 CID Ford engine. Last oil change was November 2006 at which time the odometer read 52600. Yesterday, when the oil was changed it read 58800. So it was pretty much 6200 miles driven in just under seven years. I had my mechanic save a sample and it will be going off to the Blackstone folks for an oil analysis as soon as I receive the kit. All of a sudden I am curious as to the results. Stay tuned ....................

~7000 kms Pennzoil Hi-Mi 5w30

OK. Here's an update to my SEVEN year old oil. It is finally going off to the laboratory for testing Should have results in a few weeks.

Got my Oil Analysis report. Here it is ................. https://bay167.mail.live.com/default.as ... =544066874" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not real bad BUT not real good either

tpollauf wrote:Got my Oil Analysis report. Here it is ................. https://bay167.mail.live.com/default.as ... =544066874" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not real bad BUT not real good either

Linky needs log in.

Go ahead and post your login and password and I promise not to repost it anywhere.

OOOPPPSSS My bad. Uploaded it to our server so now you should be able to view it ! Try this: https://pollauf.com/downloads/92%20F150-102813.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Toyota maintenance schedule now lists 10k or 12 month for 2ZR-FE with 0w-20 oil, but still 5k and 6 month for 2AZ-FE engine.

Every 5-6000 miles, the oil seems to be clean at that time. I run +100 miles a day and it is all highway so it gets very few non warm up runs.

I am not picky about brands of oil for the daily drivers because the cars are always in use. My diesel truck is under a strict schedule because it is much harder on oil than the Vibe will ever be.