GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I like my Vibe but I am not a car expert. I have never change the transmission fluid in it. Its a 2005 and has 140,000 miles on it. Would it be bad to change it now. I just got the P0741 code. Garage said nothign seem wrong with transmission except fluid seem old. Said flusing out tranmission fluid now my cause car not to work. Any thoughts?

A drain and fill is fine but they're right in not recommending a flush.
Transmission flush is where they force new fluid in and suck out the old stuff at the same time.
Drain and fill is more gentle and only drains the fluid that's in the pan.
Doing 3 drain and fills over a month will replace most of the fluid.

Changing fluid in a high-mileage transmission can do damage.....Running worn-out fluid in a high-mileage transmission Will do damage! I would change the fluid as I have always done on my high-mileage purchases. I've never had a problem doing this, once on an old GMC Safari van - I actually gained a gear! I didn't realize the van had been leaving from a stop in second gear until I had the fluid changed.

I replaced the transmission fluid on my 2003 with 96,000 miles on it and noticed a significant improvement in how the vehicle performs. The fluid that I took out looked way too thin and was black as engine oil. I noticed a significant improvement in my mileage after making the change.

Vibes require transmission fluid that is Toyota T4 rated (also sometimes called "Delco T4"). I skipped the $30 per quart Toyota/Lexus brand stuff and got Valvoline Maxlife instead ($8.49 a quart where I bought it) and it seems to have worked just fine.

There's a mechanic who posted an awesome video on Youtube about servicing your transmission. You don't have to drop the transmission oil pan like he does though, just pulling the drain plug and letting it set for half an hour should work fine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En9pE78Wifk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/Sea ... 1584321828

There is a recall on it.

If you do need any fluids. I 'm your guy!

Dump and fill.........
Dump and fill...........
Dump and fill.............

Do this frequently, every couple of thousand till it looks fairly clean (at least three or four times) and then stick with dump and fill every oil change. It takes three quarts, transmission will love it.

Charles

rloftus wrote:Vibes require transmission fluid that is Toyota T4 rated (also sometimes called "Delco T4"). I skipped the $30 per quart Toyota/Lexus brand stuff and got Valvoline Maxlife instead ($8.49 a quart where I bought it) and it seems to have worked just fine.

$30 a quart for Toyota T4? Wow, my Toyota dealer has it for about $6 a quart. I need to change my son's car as he has about 65,000 miles on it now.

Amsoils automatic fluid is between 6-9 a qt and the manual is a little over 11.

Chiadog wrote:I've never had a problem doing this, once on an old GMC Safari van - I actually gained a gear! I didn't realize the van had been leaving from a stop in second gear until I had the fluid changed.

I love you, Chiadog; that story was pretty epic. Almost as good as the Nissan Titan that was brought to my workplace because it wouldn't shift.

...It uh...it did not have a transmission in it for some reason.

Yeah, I can't top that story! XXX OOO
I paid $6.00 per quart for authentic Toyota T4 transmission fluid at CarQuest Auto Stores in Wisconsin.