2009 Pontiac Vibe Transmission Drain

1.8-liter VVTL-i (2ZZ-GE) and VVT-i (1ZZ-FE) engine, transmission, exhaust, intake, and performance tuning discussions
Post Reply
andunn
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 12:20 pm
Location: Missouri

2009 Pontiac Vibe Transmission Drain

Post by andunn »

Hi,

I just crossed the 133k on my 2009 Pontiac Vibe 1.8L and have never changed the transmission fluid. I don’t have any major issues with the transmission, but there are some occasional rougher shifts (completely random) especially the colder it gets. The Toyota dealer wanted $299 for transmission service. They said they don’t do a flush on any of their cars, but a drain. They said if the fluid is dirty when opening up they will drain, fill it back up, run it for a little bit, drain, and fill again. They also said they don’t open them up and do transmission filters. Just drains. They also mentioned they have various transmission fluids they use, but seemed to be heavily promoting ZAK fluid products.


I have read on this website to drain, fill, drive 1-2k miles, do another drain and fill, drive another 1-2k miles, then drain and drop the pan and do a filter change. So, a possible drain 3-4 times depending on how dirty/dark the fluid is and on the last time drop the pan and do the filter. The drain and fills I think I can do myself, but the pan drop and filter eventually I most likely would not be that comfortable doing.


First, would you recommend I do the drain/fill with the mileage on the car? If so, what type of Toyota transmission fluid to use? I don’t think I want to mix fluids, correct? The reason I ask is because I have seen the below when looking at fluids:


Toyota ATF WS – Old - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9_3xYkDShk

Toyota ATF WS – New - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9_3xYkDShk

Toyota ATF Type T-IV fluid
andrewclaus
Posts: 482
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:38 pm
Location: Golden, CO

Re: 2009 Pontiac Vibe Transmission Drain

Post by andrewclaus »

My owners manual says to use only T-IV fluid, so I did that.

By all means, do it. I bought mine with 150K miles on it, and suspect it had never been changed. I did three drain-and-fills over a summer and it looks clean and red now. Also never had a shift problem.

Dropping the pan and changing the filter on this car is amazingly easy, mainly because of the drain plug. Just work over an old piece of cardboard. There will be a few splashes. To be sure you get the right parts, count the bolts on the pan.
andunn
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 12:20 pm
Location: Missouri

Re: 2009 Pontiac Vibe Transmission Drain

Post by andunn »

I thought I remember reading somewhere that the manual was wrong. My manual (the original one) says T-IV fluid, but I just checked the dipstick and it saw WS on it. So I'm assuming I should use the WS fluid?
andrewclaus
Posts: 482
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:38 pm
Location: Golden, CO

Re: 2009 Pontiac Vibe Transmission Drain

Post by andrewclaus »

I just learned that WS came out in 2008. My Vibe is a 2007, so I haven't dealt with that. Your 2009 is probably WS then.

There's a similar mistake in the manual about engine coolant, something about GM coolant in a Toyota engine.
andunn
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 12:20 pm
Location: Missouri

Re: 2009 Pontiac Vibe Transmission Drain

Post by andunn »

Yes, I had someone put in orange coolant with Dexcool one time. Got that out and put Toyota pink in. After that I put a label on the coolant reservoir do not use anything but Toyota pink. No Dexcool!

I'll buy a case of ATF WS. Do you think it's wise to pick up some transmission crush washers for the plug since I'm going to be doing a few drains? If so, do you know what the correct part number is or a compatible one?
andrewclaus
Posts: 482
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:38 pm
Location: Golden, CO

Re: 2009 Pontiac Vibe Transmission Drain

Post by andrewclaus »

Yes, it would be wise to replace the crush washer. But I'm lazy and only do it if I get a drip at rated torque. A drip or two doesn't matter where I park. Part No is 35178-30010 for my 2007.

I use this Toyota parts site: https://www.japan-parts.eu/toyota Plug in your year and characteristics.
User avatar
joatmon
Posts: 10018
Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:19 am
Location: SMC MD

Re: 2009 Pontiac Vibe Transmission Drain

Post by joatmon »

The service section of the 09 Vibe owners manual says
Change automatic transmission
fluid every 60,000 miles
(96 000 km) if the vehicle is
mainly driven under one or more
of these conditions:
− In heavy city traffic where the
outside temperature regularly
reaches 90°F (32°C) or higher.
− In hilly or mountainous terrain.
− When doing frequent trailer
towing.
− Uses such as found in taxi,
police, or delivery service.

If you do not use your vehicle
under any of these conditions, the
fluid does not require changing
I'd be inclined to just drain and refill once, drive it for a while and check the color before committing to additional drains

The 2009 Vibe manual says to use T-IV fluid, but the 2010 manual says to use WS. I infer that the T-1V was a carry over from the 03-08's that didn't get caught in the 09 update, but they corrected it for the 2010, so I'd use WS
Image
jolt
Posts: 945
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 2:07 am
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota

Re: 2009 Pontiac Vibe Transmission Drain

Post by jolt »

If you pull the dip stick and read what is on the dip stick. If it is like mine, it will tell you to use WS fluid and that is the fluid you should use. I have a 2009 (2.4L) and the manual says to use T-IV fluid but the dip stick in the transmission said WS. It is just another misprint in the owners manual from GM, just like what coolant to use.
I used MAG WS rated transmission fluid from Amazon in my transmission. There are more companies out there now that are making the WS fluid so it should be easier to find.
andunn
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 12:20 pm
Location: Missouri

Re: 2009 Pontiac Vibe Transmission Drain

Post by andunn »

Thanks. I plan on taking care of this next week when I'm on vacation.
Post Reply