GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Been reading many of the posts here the last few months while I look to buy either a Matrix or Vibe. Just pulled the trigger on a 2009 Vibe 1.8l automatic. I plan on doing an oil change for the engine and automatic transmission. The car has 168,000 miles on it. No leaks or issues.interior is in like new condition. I have 2 questions. What type of engine oil should I use here in Florida. 5-20W is recommended. Would I be better with synthetic oil? I’ve never used in before. I got over 350,000 miles on my Nissan car and Frontier truck using the conventional oil. Also, what brand air filters do you like for this car. Thanks in advance. Love my Vibe.[/img][/img]

I'm of the camp that synthetic oil is a complete waste unless you are protecting a $300,000 Lamborghini. Stick with the conventional oil and should you be a victim of Toyota oil consumption, you'll be glad you did. I have not wavered from 5,000 mile changes with 5w20.

you won't notice any discernable difference whether you use conventional or synthetic if you change your oil every 3-5k miles. If you go extended times, then synthetic makes more sense.

I usually just buy the air filter at the local parts stores.

I use semi-synthetic oil and change it every 5,000 miles. Using Toyota oil filter that I purchase on Amazon. Have 235k on a 2010 2.4L engine that burns a quart of oil every 1,000 mile. Other than that, no issues at all.

Transylvania wrote: ↑Wed Sep 15, 2021 7:34 am I use semi-synthetic oil and change it every 5,000 miles. Using Toyota oil filter that I purchase on Amazon. Have 235k on a 2010 2.4L engine that burns a quart of oil every 1,000 mile. Other than that, no issues at all.

That's a HIGH burn rate that I would not want to deal with. My son's 2009 Vibe GT, 2.4L w/automatic, when we initially purchased it back in 2011, burned a quart every 1500 miles at just 35000 miles I immediately switched it over to FULL synthetic Mobil1 and the burn rate slowly decreased to the point now where it may burn a quart every 2000-2500 miles. Car is presently at 150k miles. I'm convinced that the full synthetic played a part in extending the life of his engine!