GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Seem to be a good deal at around $5 each. Cheaper than pretty much everything else, including Fram orange cans.

Anyone use or recommend them?

All I use are OEM filters.

I've had bad luck in the past with other filters leaking through the seal. Never an issue with Toyota filters

+1 on Toyota filters. Price is less than discount filters and you know the seals will line up.

I buy Toyota filters at the local dealer. Don't tell them you have a Pontiac.

beemerphile1 wrote:I buy Toyota filters at the local dealer. Don't tell them you have a Pontiac.

Never, EVER say the "P" word to them.

When I went to do the very first oil change on my Vibe back in 2009, I went and bought an oil filter from the local GM dealer. It was $13.xx for a Toyota filter in an AC Delco box . I called the nearest Toyota dealer and asked what their price was for the same filter. It was $4.xx. Needless to say I never bothered with GM again. I actually buy our oil filters in cases of 10 through TRD Sparks. I actually just ordered a new case today. It was $55.37 shipped ($39.90 + $15.47 shipping) to my door (so approximately $5.54 per filter), not bad at all if you ask me. I love that the bottoms of the filters come wrapped in plastic too. No need to worry about any contaminants getting into the filter before installation.

lannvouivre wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:I buy Toyota filters at the local dealer. Don't tell them you have a Pontiac.

Never, EVER say the "P" word to them.

The guys at the parts counter at the Toyota dealer I go to (Bill Walsh Toyota of Ottawa, IL) know I have a Vibe and they think it's funny that I buy stuff for it there. I told them that the one time and the parts manager was telling all the sales guys that I had a Pontiac and was getting stuff for it from them because it was cheaper ! I haven't been in there in quite a while, but yeah, they all know me there and they all know I have a Vibe !

I also use the Toyota oil filters, as they are about the same price as a Fram, Wix, or any other aftermarket brand. I also have found that the Toyota dealership is competitive on maintenance fluids etc. The T-IV ATF is about $6 a quart at the Toyota dealership, the GM brand of the same stuff was close to $12 a quart! I know there are universal types of ATF available, but I would rather use the correct stuff.

The GM equivalent is more expensive because they have to buy it from Toyota and then pay extra to package/label it as a GM part.

vibenvy wrote:When I went to do the very first oil change on my Vibe back in 2009, I went and bought an oil filter from the local GM dealer. It was $13.xx for a Toyota filter in an AC Delco box . I called the nearest Toyota dealer and asked what their price was for the same filter. It was $4.xx. Needless to say I never bothered with GM again. I actually buy our oil filters in cases of 10 through TRD Sparks. I actually just ordered a new case today. It was $55.37 shipped ($39.90 + $15.47 shipping) to my door (so approximately $5.54 per filter), not bad at all if you ask me. I love that the bottoms of the filters come wrapped in plastic too. No need to worry about any contaminants getting into the filter before installation.

lannvouivre wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:I buy Toyota filters at the local dealer. Don't tell them you have a Pontiac.

Never, EVER say the "P" word to them.

The guys at the parts counter at the Toyota dealer I go to (Bill Walsh Toyota of Ottawa, IL) know I have a Vibe and they think it's funny that I buy stuff for it there. I told them that the one time and the parts manager was telling all the sales guys that I had a Pontiac and was getting stuff for it from them because it was cheaper ! I haven't been in there in quite a while, but yeah, they all know me there and they all know I have a Vibe !

I ordered a new PCV valve for my VIbe online through the local Toyota dealer's website. I used 03 Matrix Base for the model, but then they also require you to provide the VIN# for verification in case they sell you the wrong part, so you can avoid the 15% restocking fee. It may also be used to verify compatibility prior to order fulfillment? I provided my Vibe's VIN# and they said nothing about it. They fulfilled the order just fine. I'm sure they get DIY'er Vibe owners in all the time for parts. It could be the Vibe VINs even show up as compatible in Toyota's internal system since Toyota had a hand in the building of the cars.

The 93 Geo Metro I had actually had a factory label on the underside of the hood with the Suzuki logo on it. Highly unlikely the hood was swapped from a Suzuki since the greenish color matched. Unless Suzuki used the same GM greenish paint color.

wow, I've never been asked for my VIN at Toyota. I have been buying paper filters (Corolla Vibe) since 2009. Each time I just tell them a 2009 Matrix with 1.8 and they go and happily take my money. And yes, do not buy the filters at GM unless you don't have a Toyota dealer within 500 miles. It would take that far to make up the price difference of the filters

Yeah, it required it online. I tried leaving it empty and hitting continue, but it demanded it.

I have a Mobil 1 (M1-103) filter installed right now, with 5w30 Mobil 1 High Mileage oil.

Next time I'll probably go OEM filter with the same M1 HM oil. They have them sitting out on the shelf at the little store by the parts dept desk. They had some kind of "buy two, get a lower price" sale hand written on a piece of paper taped to the shelf they were on, but I don't need to buy two filters and have them sit around forever.

I should talk to the service dept guys and see if they might bend the rules on their service coupons that say "Toyota only" since it uses the same parts as Corolla/Matrix. It's not like Toyota lost a sale to GM in the last decade in regards to it, being a 2003. Can't hurt to ask, especially if I am buying parts there instead of from GM.

yeah, you might as well buy the large volume of filters and just store them in a tied plastic bag to protect them. You'll use them some day. For me, I ended my oil changing career 6 months ago when I moved to the "wrong coast." I still had a Toyota filter left over and brought it to WalMart to get an oil change. They actually deducted $5 or so from my $20 oil change bill because I provided the filter. Go figure.

Regarding "Toyota Only" on their coupon advertisements; remember, everything in a consumer driven world is negotiable; everything. I took my Vibe in and had the Toyota dealer flush my tranny. I negotiated it down to $200 after tax for the World Standard fluid, which allegedly is more expensive than the first gen's T-IV. Now that I know Amsoil and others make a WS compatible tranny synthetic, I can now leave the dealership world behind and just have my mechanic do any flushing (should my Vibe last another 90,000+ miles.)

The old fashioned garage I use for oil changes only charges about $14 with tax if I bring my own oil and filter. That's hard to beat. It's a 10 minute or less walk back home so it's handy enough to it drop off, walk back home and go back an hour or so later. They stay so busy with all kinds of maintenance and repairs, you have to get an appointment days ahead just to get an oil change.

They were a little messy about it this last time, leaving a bit of oil on the plastic shroud on top, including a ring from where they set the oil cap, but maybe I'm being nitpicky. They filled it to right on the dot of the dipstick when I checked it the next day after it sat overnight, giving it a chance to fully drain back to the pan. They may have been in a bit of a hurry and didn't wipe off the oil from the plastic cover, but they filled it right.