GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I just got a 2008 Vibe with 101k miles. It was from a dealer, so I know absolutely nothing about the original owner (I'm supposedly the second owner). Found out the battery in it was 6 1/2 years old and barely capable of turning the engine over. But don't know if that indicates a total lack of maintenance, or if someone just stuck a junk battery in a car they were selling?

I want to take it to the local Toyota dealer and have it checked over for belts, hoses, brake pads, etc. My question is what else should I have checked out?

The engine oil looks clean, but I'm thinking I should have it changed. I'd like to put in a good synthetic oil (I plan on keeping the Vibe for a long time). Any recommendations? (I'd rather have something easy to find in the future). Plan on having a sample of the old oil sent to a lab for analysis.

It has a 5 speed transmission. I've heard that it's important to use the correct oil in those. Is there a synthetic oil for that, or just replace it with factory oil? Send a sample of that old oil for analysis?

I want the dealer to check the whole car nose to tail. Put it up on a lift, check for any leaks underneath (I didn't see any obvious leaks), check the boots on the drive shafts, etc. What else should i have checked out? Anything specific to Vibes? The A/C is cold, but I know that's a GM rather than a Toyota system.

Coolant flush and fill? Check the alternator? What else?

Overall, the car seems exceptionally clean and drives fine. I'm not really expecting any problems. But I'd rather find any problems early and set up a proper maintenance schedule. I already had to put a new battery in it when it wouldn't start. Would rather catch the next problem early.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

First and foremost, welcome to the best forum on the internet. Feel free to post some pictures of this new ride. If your screenname is accurate, doggo pictures are also expected

That said, if you call your local Toyota dealer and advise of your wishes, they will usually cover most of what you are asking as part of a routine inspection service.

I always change all fluids when I purchase a new vehicle so I know they're done. So yes, I would do engine oil.

Manual transmissions use gear oil. The biggest key is that it needs to be yellow metal safe. Pennzoil Syncromesh is one of the best to use.

As you know, the car is basically a Toyota. Outside of typical maintenance issues, the biggest flaws of the Vibe are because GM touched it...Luckily those are also generally simple...Radio, AC Clutch/Coil, and Blower Recirculation Gear/Actuator.

Ditto the welcome and congratulations on the purchase.

At just over 100K miles, you can probably assume no major maintenance has been done. I'd add spark plugs, flush the brake fluid, new serpentine belt, but a mechanic will probably recommend those. Probably shocks/struts too.

Welcome to GenVibe Let us know your rough whereabouts (update profile) this will help us in furthering any potential issues you could have. Will this car see nasty winter driving (snow/ice/salt/brine) or will it remain down south somewhere. If it's to be up north then make sure you look for corrosion underneath when up on a lift. Lots of Vibes have/will experience bad corrosion underneath eventually so keep that in mind if you plan on owning it long term. Finally, because it's a 2008, that was a short production model run year (2009'(removed) assembly lines in April of 2008) so there are not as many out there BUT the good thing is that almost all of the bugs were worked out of this first generation Vibe so very little should go wrong compared to older models. Oh yea, we love pups here so definitely post pics of your furry cargo companions

Thanks, everyone! Some quick photos, as requested. I'm still on my first tank of gas, so I haven't even figured the mileage, yet.


I'm actually between dogs at the moment. Lady, my beloved Collie, passed away last Summer. She was the office mascot at my last job and came to work every day since she was a puppy. That's her underneath my desk. But I'm getting ready for the next dog. Needed to replace a slowly dying Chevy pickup with the Vibe, still need to make some home repairs before I can get a another dog (living in the old motorhome in the background, need to get the front A/C repaired before I can leave a dog inside in the Summer). Currently working at Wally World, and they won't let me take a dog to work with me

The year before she died, Lady adopted a kitten. "Midnite" latched onto Lady, and I swear she thought Lady was her mother. I'd walk Lady and Midnite would follow along after her. When Lady died, the cat wouldn't speak to me for two months! To this day Midnite just tolerates other cats, but she's friends with all the neighbor's dogs.