2009 Vibe base 1.8L - maint. update

[finebead]

I bought it new in May 2008, so 15 years old. Zero dents to date, 120K miles, driven 30 miles per weekday to work and back, lots of idling in Houston traffic. Wife just retired so I was going to get her a 2021 Prius, we drove and liked it. Wife reconsidered, since we don't NEED two cars every day any longer. She said why don't we keep the Vibe for just around town. My son worked at Firestone store for years, now teaches high school Auto Tech, they have a fully provisioned garage, lift, all tools in the world (except specialty). He works for free, does good work. He took it to school, they use cars like the Vibe as teaching aids, so the kids do most of the work under close supervision, but nothing internal to the engine. We asked them to do advisable maintenance to drive the car three more years.

The car made a funny "whosh" noise on cold starts, often. Son found a tech bulletin from way back, like 2010, some internal part was defective, a cam something or other. I found a post about it on this forum, but I can't find it again.

https://www.tsbsearch.com/Toyota/T-SB-0087-09

That part cost $305 at Toyota dealer, the after market parts had lots of machine marks, son did not want to put them in to save 100. He said it was tricky to time the engine after he put the part in, but with help from the internet he got it timed.

Below is what he did:

Rear wiper blade
Drivers seat belt
Transmission pan gasket(new trans fluid)
Cam phaser and supporting parts(tensioner and gasket, valve cover gasket, water pump gasket) (that was the $300 part)
Headlight polish like new
Headlight led's (white light, lot brighter)
Radiator and new radiator fluid (a student broke a plastic nipple off the radiator, got new radiator, $100 for me to teach a lesson to someone)
Upper radiator hoses and clamps
Both passenger tpms sensors
Serpentine belt
Alignment.
Oil and filter change

Parts total is $640 (add 340 to that for the one Cam gear I paid for directly so total parts were $980)

The car runs BEAUTIFULLY, better than new. The motor runs quieter, start up is instant and quiet, and the idle is more consistent, rock solid at 900 rpm.

I asked son what that would cost at Firestone, he said about $3,000. I will tip him 500, so job cost me 1,500. We don't carry collision ins. anymore, and vs. the cost of insuring a newer car, it should pay back in two years. It is more fun to drive, and will be reliable for at least 3 years, I think.

I'm a happy camper. That's my Vibe story.

[tpollauf]

Nice testimonial! I'm keeping all my Vibes for a couple more decades. Easy to work on, Look good, and you can pile so much S H I T in the hatchback!

[finebead]

son also told me he did a quick clean up on the throttle body.