GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

So I'm an Amateur DIYer with a newly purchased 06' vibe Gt. 216k miles. There's a boatload of stuff I could talk about but my main issue is the water temp level. During the day its 50° here in CT and at night it's getting closer 30°f. I drive to work 30 miles a day and 20 of those are on the highway. The car takes a while to warm up based on the temp gauge, around town it'll get to optimal temp within 10 mins but once I get on the highway it starts to go back down towards cold. I drained about a quart of coolant and replaced it with distilled water hoping it would help bring the temp up, and I think it did somewhat but it still doesn't stay in the middle unless I'm at slower speed and giving it more revs. The coolant was gross, dark orange with a brown hue and some black specs sitting at the bottom. I check my owners manual for the proper coolant and see it's dex-kill. So I'm planning on doing a flush with Toyota coolant and hoping that fixes the problem. Any guesses/answers to my problem Vibers? I'm hoping I don't have to replace the thermostat since it's tucked behind the alternator, I mean the thermostats technically working right? Anyways, thanks for your time!

That sounds like a classic case of a thermostat stuck open. Coolant is always circulating in the radiator so when you get to highway speed you get too much cooling.

Be careful removing the serpentine belt. Use a six-point 19 mm socket on the tensioner so you don't strip it. Then pull the generator and you'll have access.

Since this is a Toyota engine, use the Asian red/pink coolant. There are threads on this site about that.

Ok I understand now. Bummer, thanks for the tip man!

vibinout06 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 10, 2022 7:39 am Ok I understand now. Bummer, thanks for the tip man!

You're welcome, and welcome to the forum. Let us know how it works out.

Ok so it was indeed the thermostat! The inner rubber seal on it was out of place, just letting the coolant flow right through.

I'd like to mention that I removed the fan shroud instead of the alternator to access the tstat, based on a YouTube tutorial from the channel @AllFroma_Phone. His video is very informative and it felt like the job was much quicker than going by the service manual instructions.

I have a pic I'll try to share of the old tstat that seems to be aftermarket, compared to the new Toyota thermostat I got between 30-40$ at my local dealer. Anyways, on to the next problem!

Welcome to GenVibe. Nice success story. Now that you found us here, post ALL repairs and experiences you have with your Vibe so we all can benefit from them. We need newer members like yourself to get more involved here so the site remains active. Thanks !

Thanks for the warm welcome! I'll be sure to post all my questions and updates here.