GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hi Everyone,

I just purchased a 09 Vibe 2.4 5 speed with 103k miles for $6500 last weekend. It has the Premium package and a sunroof. This is my second purchase of a GM-Toyota platform car; I'm replacing a 94 Geo Prizm that we've had since '97. I originally was looking at buying an Accord (we have an Odyssey), but it was real difficult finding a Manual EX model on the East Coast. I can't believe so many manufactures are phasing out sticks

I've had my eye on a Vibe/Matrix since they came out in 03. I couldn't believe the price on this car; when I saw it online, I acted ASAP. The dealer had been marking it down to move it off the lot. I have complete confidence that this car can make 300k miles with good maintenance. I'll be doing the oil changes myself, and I will be keeping an eye on the amount of oil I'm burning.

I'm looking forward to learning from everyone's experiences. I'm thinking about buying a set of 17' wheels/tires from tirerack in the near future for summer use. Is this the Pontiac equivalent of the Matrix S?

Welcome! Totally jealous of the deal you got, that's a great price!

Yes, the 2.4 base is the same as the Matrix S.

Hi. Welcome

Hopefully your '09 is not one of the excessive oil burners.

Welcome! Yes, keep an eye out to make sure its not an oil burner. Mine, unfortunately, is.

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Welcome and nice steal you got there! I would love a manual GT, but they are very hard to find down here. If I found one at that price, I'd seriously jump on it too.

Good luck with it!

Welcome to GenVibe! Definitely sounds like you got a great deal on your "new" Vibe! What color is it? Post some pictures of it when you get a chance !

Welcome Walt to GenVibe. We have the identical drive-train in our 2009 Vibe's BUT mine is a factory GT. Love the 5-speed manual and when I bought it new in the summer of 2009, it had to come a few hundred miles away from another dealership. Not many manuals with the 2.4 were built BUT you & I have one. Enjoy the ride! You'll have no regrets in acquiring this ride

Congrats on the purchase (sounds like a great price!) and welcome to Gen Vibe! Yours sounds like mine.

Curious about the color as well. Did it not come with 17" wheels? Someone must have snagged them as I think all base 2.4L Vibes had 17" wheels, either chrome clad or the alloy like I have in my avatar.

So, how much oil are you "oil burners" using? Mine will be down about a quart if I don't add some between changes. I've wondered if switching to 5W-30 might slow the rate of oil loss.

Kincaid wrote:Curious about the color as well. Did it not come with 17" wheels? Someone must have snagged them as I think all base 2.4L Vibes had 17" wheels, either chrome clad or the alloy like I have in my avatar.

So, how much oil are you "oil burners" using? Mine will be down about a quart if I don't add some between changes. I've wondered if switching to 5W-30 might slow the rate of oil loss.

2.4L Bases could have also come with the 16" steel wheels and wheel covers. There's a Liquid Platinum Metallic 2.4L Base I see around me every so often that has the 16" steel wheels and wheel covers.

As far as oil usage, I just checked both our Vibes yesterday. They will both be due for a 5000 mile oil change (50,000 miles) in around 600 miles and the levels of both were right where they should be, so no usage here so far *knocks on wood*.

Kincaid wrote:So, how much oil are you "oil burners" using? Mine will be down about a quart if I don't add some between changes.

At a 6,000 mile interval I put in a quart around 3,000 and it's due for another when I change it.

Rayven01 wrote:

Kincaid wrote:So, how much oil are you "oil burners" using? Mine will be down about a quart if I don't add some between changes.

At a 6,000 mile interval I put in a quart around 3,000 and it's due for another when I change it.

Yep .. Junior's Vibe GT is pretty much the same as yours as far as oil consumption goes. The sad part is that when we took delivery of it (used that is) it was right at 36k miles and this oil consumption was already there at such a low mileage. The previous owners must have really abused the engine to where it now consumes oil.

Kincaid wrote:
So, how much oil are you "oil burners" using? Mine will be down about a quart if I don't add some between changes. I've wondered if switching to 5W-30 might slow the rate of oil loss.

I'm having to add about 3/4 of a quart every 1000 miles.

tpollauf wrote:The sad part is that when we took delivery of it (used that is) it was right at 36k miles and this oil consumption was already there at such a low mileage. The previous owners must have really abused the engine to where it now consumes oil.

Tim I don't think abusing the engine is necessarily a cause for it to use oil. We purchased my car in July of 2009 with 20,000 something thousand miles on it. I've had the oil changed every 5000 miles and had zero oil burning issues until recently. It just happened.

What's the build date on your oil consumers? Mine is February '08. I think there may be something to the theory that it was a problem (probably with rings) that got fixed halfway through '08. You see that theory thrown around a lot on Camry forums. Mine was a fleet lease car for a local steam cleaning company and I know they didn't abuse it (dealer maintained until end of lease, then I bought it).

Rayven01 wrote:What's the build date on your oil consumers? Mine is February '08. I think there may be something to the theory that it was a problem (probably with rings) that got fixed halfway through '08. You see that theory thrown around a lot on Camry forums. Mine was a fleet lease car for a local steam cleaning company and I know they didn't abuse it (dealer maintained until end of lease, then I bought it).

I've got to agree with Rayven seeing as both our GTs were built toward the end of 2008 (10.29 & 11.17) and are not showing any signs of oil loss so far.

Rayven01 wrote:What's the build date on your oil consumers? Mine is February '08. I think there may be something to the theory that it was a problem (probably with rings) that got fixed halfway through '08. You see that theory thrown around a lot on Camry forums. Mine was a fleet lease car for a local steam cleaning company and I know they didn't abuse it (dealer maintained until end of lease, then I bought it).

Mine was an early build in '08.

Mine was a June 08 build. I have taken great care of my 2.4L automatic-115,000 miles. However, it now leaks a quart every 1100 miles. So, is there anything I can do to improve my oil consumption or am I just stuck with it?

surbach50 wrote:Mine was a June 08 build. I have taken great care of my 2.4L automatic-115,000 miles. However, it now leaks a quart every 1100 miles. So, is there anything I can do to improve my oil consumption or am I just stuck with it?

Does it actually LEAK (drip from the motor) or is the oil being burned during driving? Big difference. Leaks you should have the gasket or sealant replaced to stop the leak. As for burning oil, I've used some of the additives that are meant to stop oil burning in my Mustang once it reached over 200K miles. It cut down the oil consumption by a good bit. I was using a quart every 500 miles or so, and it dropped to about once every 1,200 miles or so with the additive.

09vGT wrote:Welcome! Yes, keep an eye out to make sure its not an oil burner. Mine, unfortunately, is.

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Was it determined which month / year were oil burners and which weren't ?

Dairgo wrote:Was it determined which month / year were oil burners and which weren't ?

If you go by what members have said in this thread, it would seem the 2009 Vibes built in early to mid 2008 are the ones having the issues so far. As I stated in a previous post in this same thread, both our 2009 Vibe GTs were built toward the end of 2008 (10.29 & 11.17) and so far have not experienced any oil loss. They are both slightly over 52,000 miles and we've owned them since the spring of 2009 when we purchased them brand new. They get Penzoil 5W-20 conventional oil and a Toyota oil filter every 5000 miles.

Arugh!

My '09 GT was built Apr 4th 2008. Previous owner used conventional oil and kept meticulous notes in the back of the owner's manual. I purchased it at 80k miles, switched to synthetic oil and have had no leaks, and no oil consumption, and it's 16k miles later. Hopefully there won't be either.

WaltPa wrote:I originally was looking at buying an Accord (we have an Odyssey), but it was real difficult finding a Manual EX model on the East Coast. I can't believe so many manufactures are phasing out sticks

Surprised I missed this part - one of our other cars is a 2001 Accord EX with a stick haha.

BTW, my 2009 (don't know the build date but purchased it in summer 2009) will be down about 1 quart at 5000 miles.