GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hey everyone, I'm new here and looking forward to taking advantage of everyone's years of knowledge! I've had loads of help from documentation and others on the miata, neon, and panther forums, and it seems like I'm in the right place for the vibe.

My fiance's new car is a 2004 vibe, appears to be a base model, and has about 143,000 miles on it. I don't have any history on it, but it runs and drives well, seems to shift smoothly, and doesn't appear to have any serious issues other than exhaust leak(s)

The oil looks good and there's a quick lube sticker stating it recently got changed, at this mileage though with uncertain history, I feel like I should check and replace the coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, and a few filters. Are there any trouble spots I should look for when I'm under the car or hood?

I appreciate any advice, and look forward to bugging you all in the future, as I hope we can hang onto this car for many years, especially since we don't drive very many annual miles.

Glad to be a new member,
PowerSet

PowerSet wrote: ↑Mon Oct 31, 2022 9:15 am Are there any trouble spots I should look for when I'm under the car or hood?

Welcome to GenVibe. Trouble spots ??? Possibly, but we'll need a bit more info on the vehicle. Where is it going to be driven and where was its past 18 years driven (if known) Update profile for us! Manual or auto tranny? Corrosion, in certain areas, can be of concern ONLY if we knew where it's been driven.

That's a good list. While you're there, check the plugs, clean the MAF sensor, and clean the throttle body.

The ATF is easy to change on this car since the pan has a drain plug. It's also pretty easy to drop the pan and change the filter. You're only going to get a fraction of the fluid out of the system (2+ qts out of 8 or so), so you'll probably want to do another drain and fill in a month or so, depending on how the fluid looks.

I just had to deal with an exhaust leak. I expected it would just be one of the spherical gaskets. It turns out the flange past the resonator was rusted away and I had to replace pipe and resonator past the CATs. It was more work than expected but parts cost less than $150.

Good luck keeping this car running. That's good low mileage, should be worth it.

tpollauf wrote: ↑Mon Oct 31, 2022 7:41 pm

PowerSet wrote: ↑Mon Oct 31, 2022 9:15 am Are there any trouble spots I should look for when I'm under the car or hood?

Welcome to GenVibe. Trouble spots ??? Possibly, but we'll need a bit more info on the vehicle. Where is it going to be driven and where was its past 18 years driven (if known) Update profile for us! Manual or auto tranny? Corrosion, in certain areas, can be of concern ONLY if we knew where it's been driven.

Unfortunately I have no history, so I couldn't tell you where it's been driven, but from spending some time underneath the car I would guess it was from some beautiful place where they don't salt the roads, because the only rust I see under the car is where the exhaust failed at the flange closest to the muffler

I'll update my profile, it is an automatic as well.

andrewclaus wrote: ↑Tue Nov 01, 2022 4:32 am That's a good list. While you're there, check the plugs, clean the MAF sensor, and clean the throttle body.

The ATF is easy to change on this car since the pan has a drain plug. It's also pretty easy to drop the pan and change the filter. You're only going to get a fraction of the fluid out of the system (2+ qts out of 8 or so), so you'll probably want to do another drain and fill in a month or so, depending on how the fluid looks.

I just had to deal with an exhaust leak. I expected it would just be one of the spherical gaskets. It turns out the flange past the resonator was rusted away and I had to replace pipe and resonator past the CATs. It was more work than expected but parts cost less than $150.

Good luck keeping this car running. That's good low mileage, should be worth it.

It's been so long since I got a new car I forgot about plugs and wires, or COPs if it has them, and that's good to know about the atf change. It was a royal pain on my grand marquis, so I got an aftermarket pan with a drain.

I think that may be the same trouble I had with my exhaust, the big spring clamp flange furthest rear toward the muffler rotted on the inside. I want to just get a piece of pipe welded in, but for now I cut the pipe and threw a replacement section on with exhaust clamps. Not the best solution but it was the best I could do on short notice without a place to jack up and work on it lol.