GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I'm going to try to change my transmission fluid in the next week or so, it needs it quite a bit. I've talked to about 5 different transmission shops so far. All of them have said the same thing: Don't get a trans flush. The reason seemed to be the same over and over. Basically, since you're adding brand new fluid, with brand new detergents, all that new soap would scrub off any varnish or gunk in the system and it would clog the filter pretty fast. I guess that's why it's not a bad idea to change the filter right before or right after, then. One also said the pressure of the flush could damage seals.

In any case, they all recommended just regular fluid changes to keep enough good fluid in the system, which sounds like good advice. I've been recommended to use synth blend, even though I wanted to use full synth. It looks like, from a quick google search, that Toyota T-IV is synthetic.

Drain and fill is all you need. If what's in there right now is old or dirty, do it 3 or 4x over a month to get most of the old stuff out.

Some vibes call for Dex3, other call for T-IV, check your manual.

I've always just used the Valvoline Maxlife as it's rated for both, no problems with any of my vehicles.

I would go with whatever the Toyota Matrix manual for an automatic Matrix with the same year as the Vibe calls for. 03-08 calls for T-IV, so you need something meeting T-IV requirements.

Valvoline Max Life Full Synthetic has treated me well after the last drain and fill. My temps are rarely below 32*, so no cold data.