GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Been a long time since I've posted in 'ol GenVibe, but work, school, and life has gotten in the way!

My 2009 Vibe GT just passed 170,000 miles, and it's still running strong! *knocks on wood*

Come January, it will be paid off, and I can only hope the old girl will hold on long enough for me to at least pay off my credit card bills!

I've been looking passively at vehicle offerings for when mine finally kicks it, and I don't see a lot of options that offer the utility, cargo space, and MPGs that the Vibe has. I've even considered finding a 2010 with low miles when I'm ready to get a new car, but I might opt for the 1.8L engine to improve mileage.

Any suggestions out there?

Awesome work ... I mean driving so far You can set the benchmark for us other 09 GT owners when it comes to longevity & maintenance issues. Think POSITIVE. You're going to get 400k miles out of this beauty Also I believe you are in California or somewhere on the west coast where you don't see winter driving? This means you won't be dealing with the corrosion problems of several of us in the northwest & Canada. If something really takes a turn for the worse, definitely get another LOWER mileaged Vibe and keep on driving it! Nice update so far

Hi,
Thanks - I need to keep positive! That's exactly what my wife said...ha ha. I actually live in West Virginia, so we do have winter weather, although it's not typically extreme weather.
Most of my driving is highway miles, as I commute an hour to work. This accounts for the high mileage on a 2009 car!

I do my best to take care of the car. I followed the maintenance schedule religiously, and now just continue to get an oil change, tire rotation and the standard maintenance services every 4-5,000 miles, in addition to adding a Lucas Oil fuel system cleaner every time I get the vehicle serviced. Other than tires and oil changes, a new set of wipers and some front brake pads, the only other issue I had with the car was a speed shift sensor going out on me, which was a $200 fix. Oh, and one new battery last year

The car's running great, and still sounds almost as quiet as the day I brought her home.

I'll do my best to post updates on it as I pass milestones (200k will most probably happen before the end of 2013!).

I'm just curious - any oil consumption yet? I have yet to see any with mine, but my brother has seen a bit with his starting around 70,000 miles. Nothing too extreme from what he's told me - but definitely needs to add about a quart between normal change intervals. I've read that this can be a potential issue with some 2.4's, but I haven't heard of it being too common from others on this board.

I think yours is the highest mileage 2.4 I've seen posted on here to date. I'm hoping to see about 300k miles (500k kms) out of mine overall - but it will take me much longer than you it seems! I'm only at about half of your mileage, or slightly less. I just bought a new cargo trailer for mine to pull around - so hopefully we'll get to go on some more camping adventures and such over the next few years! That should help bring up the numbers a bit. It's good to see yours doing so well with the use it's had. That's exactly what I was hoping for when making the purchase myself.

I try to be very fussy about the maintenance of my Vibe (although some people seem to have another name for it). Each spring I thoroughly try to clean out everything under the hood, and the wheel wells, and then oil spray everything again to help keep it protected. So far the "plan" seems to be working. Under the hood, everything still looks almost new when cleaned up, and the only sign of rust I've seen anywhere so far is a little on the control arms and suspension bits - although I oil that too to keep it under control. I'm aiming for 15 years of ownership - although if it's still good at that time hopefully I can keep it going even longer! We'll see - that's still a long way off. Having a paid for car that still runs and looks new sure is nice though! Fortunately I managed to pay mine off last year - and I hope to never get into payments again. This plan should give me plenty of time to save up some cash for the next purchase when needed. Hopefully you can do the same!

John

Congratulations on passing the 170,000 mile mark! As others said, you are definitely setting the benchmark for us 2009 owners as far as mileage, maintenance, any issues that come up, etc. I look forward to seeing your 200,000 mile post before the end of the year !

John,
No, no oil consumption that I can observe. Although with this last change, I noticed that they had to add more oil than normal (8 or so quarts). I'll be better about checking my oil levels weekly and let you know. Other than that, I am certainly not burning any that I see, nor is any leaking.

I'll keep taking care of her as well as I can - that's all I can do! I'm not much of a car guy...changing a tire is major work for me

I'll keep you updated when I hit the 200k mark.

300k miles? Man, I can only hope that for myself

Eight quarts?! That's twice the capacity of the sump! Did they change it twice?

Hmm. I think I'd better go reread the bill. I may be mistaken in that case. Hey, I did say I knew little about cars!

My motor is nowhere near as quiet as it was when new. I rode in my buddies Kia Optima (not sure what year but just before they got the really cool looks with the neat grill) and it is quiet as can be. Can't hear it or feel it running at idle. He has about 110k and mine only has 80k. 2.4 ltr.

Eight quarts is what some of the Pontiac G8 models take, but certainly not a Vibe though. Hopefully they didn't charge you extra for it! And anyway, a car should not take more oil than normal at an oil change. You may need to add oil between changes to keep the oil level in the correct range if it is burning or leaking oil. If you drain the oil pan and replace the filter, it will always take the same amount of new oil unless they over or under fill it. I certainly hope they did not overfill it!

trb wrote:Eight quarts is what some of the Pontiac G8 models take, but certainly not a Vibe though.

YEP 8.8 quarts to be exact. Our G8Gt has the 6.0 litre V8 and with the "active fuel management" it is critical that the oil level stays right on the mark!

Better check your dipstick! I'm not completely kidding the day I bought my Vibe (used) I noticed a rattling noise inside the engine compartment. Seems the oil fill cap was loose and just rattling around loose in the well that it fits in. I tightened it up and didn't think too much about it but later in the day I thought I'd better check the oil level. It was more than one quart over the full mark and brother/sisters that, is not a good thing. I drained it down to the full line and preceded to ream the dealerships backside. I could tell the oil was new and the tech was brain dead that changed it.

Later in the month we only had one key w/fob when we got it so the dealership ordered (and paid) for a new one. The tech mis-programmed it where it would open the doors lock them and turn in the lock but not start the car! I can't imagine if you are programming a fob/key that you would not check the function of it! It was a good thing I check it before I drove fifty miles.

The moral is, do whatever maintenance you feel comfortable doing and learn what ever you think you can about such matters because dealerships with shiny floors and fancy offices may hire the most ham-fisted idiots in the world and trusting them completely is bad medicine, Caveat Emptor.

When you find a Mechanic that is good and reasonable and competent, thank him/her and buy them birthday gifts and treat her/him like a friend because they are a difficult bird to catch!

Just wanted to update about the oil thing. I only had 4 quarts, not 8. I was reading the wrong thing
Anyway, I had been checking my dipstick and everything looks as it should.
Just going to keep babying this thing (will have it paid off by year's end!) and hope it goes well past 250k!