GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

My 2005 base Vibe is about to hit 222k miles and I've been doing a fair bit of preventative maintenance on it the last few hundred miles. I'm getting things together to do a coolant system flush with distilled water next week and filled back up with fresh coolant, and put on new upper/lower radiator hoses. My question is two-fold.

1) Should I change the thermostat and radiator cap since I'm going to be digging this far into it?

2) Will the parts prescribed for the 2005 Matrix from the Toyota dealer fit? (He says he's 97% sure they will).

If the coolant still looks good I would just drain and refill with the same type (Toyota pink?), no need to flush.
I did this on my '06 Matrix at the 5 year mark.
IMHO yes, you should change the cap and thermostat (Toyota parts); I plan to change them at the 10 year mark.

Thanks for your advice. I thought about it a little more and have decided to definitely change the thermostat and cap. I'll do the heater hoses while I'm at it too on recommendation of Chilton's. I'd rather do it now preventatively than have to do it later and spend more on the coolant again. I'm also going to do the reverse flush with compressed air on the heater core while I'm in there. The car is my wife's primary vehicle and the peace of mind it will add far exceeds the cost of the parts.

KevinV wrote:Thanks for your advice. I thought about it a little more and have decided to definitely change the thermostat and cap. I'll do the heater hoses while I'm at it too on recommendation of Chilton's. I'd rather do it now preventatively than have to do it later and spend more on the coolant again. I'm also going to do the reverse flush with compressed air on the heater core while I'm in there. The car is my wife's primary vehicle and the peace of mind it will add far exceeds the cost of the parts.

Can you expand on that please?

But, I sometimes believe it is best to not kick a sleeping bear.

Water boy wrote:
Can you expand on that please?

But, I sometimes believe it is best to not kick a sleeping bear.

Mine isn't clogged, so I don't plan to run any chemicals through it. I just want to clear the coolant out of it before I start flushing with distilled water. I figure with the radiator and block drained, and the heater blown clear, I should have very little old coolant left in the system.

Here's a video of the process.

Every two or three years, I open the radiator drain. When it quits draining, I fill the radiator with new antifreeze and check it a couple of times after driving to make sure there were no air pockets. Been doing this with EVERY vehicle I have ever owned for OVER 50 years. New and used. Have never had a problem.
I also do much the same with the trannys. If they don't have a drain, I use a suction device thru the dipstick hole. Just measure what you take out, and replace a like amount.
Remember, KISS (keep it simple, stupid). Like a previous poster said, "No need to kick a sleeping bear".

KevinV wrote: I'd rather do it now preventatively than have to do it later and spend more on the coolant again. I'm also going to do the reverse flush with compressed air on the heater core while I'm in there. The car is my wife's primary vehicle and the peace of mind it will add far exceeds the cost of the parts.

This is definitely the right move if you drive a lot like me. Keep toyota coolant in it, change the hoses, and make sure to use toyota OEM thermostat and cap. Do not use a auto part store house brand. Go to toyota and buy a real thermostat. I learned this after 2 premature failures, and sitting on the roadside taught me do just as what was suggested by others above. The aftermarket thermostats for the 1z and 2z flow like garbage.