GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Okay, the dealer told me, when I bought the Vibe a month ago, not to change the oil every 3K, but that an indicator light will flash before it needs to be done. He said the onboard computer records RPM and fill-up information and tell me the oil needs changing two fillups before it's really necessary.Is this true? I couldn't find any info in the manual on it.--jeremy

I'm calling BS. If that oil light comes on, you are in deep poop.*Edit* I would let the dealer and GM know about the salesman telling you that.

That's the BIGGEST load of crap I've ever heard!!!

It'll tell ya, alright! With a nice thunk-thunk and some random metal chunks laying on the ground! Ah man! that's just crap! unbelievable!

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »Does your Vibe have a oil life monitor system on it?That's what I was thinking. My Vue has an oil life monitoring system on it that supposedly tells you when you should change your oil, and it has to be "reset" when you change the oil. I'll bet that's what the dealer was thinking of, but I know my 03 Vibe didn't have this feature, only a low oil pressure light. I don't know if this feature was added to the Vibe in 04 or 05 though.If in fact it does have an oil life monitoring system, I'd still be a little leary of going much past the 3,000 mile routine of normal driving. (with regular oil)

What year is your Vibe? 2004 or 2005? I don't think either of them have an oil monitor. My dad's Sierra does, but my Vibe doesn't.

OLM's tend to be found in higher-end cars...at least they used to be...My 'rents GP has one...but I agree, I'd still keep to the 3-4k mile intervals...

the 05 matrix has this well, a maintance light, might come on at 5k or might start flashing then, can't remember. just know toyota has some customers' that DON'T read the owners manual, then come to us to turn it off....

I've got the '04 Impala owner's manual downloaded (the folks just bought an '04 SS the other day.) It has the GM Oil Life System, that your dealer was talking about. Here's the scoop on how it works:Quote »When to Change Engine Oil (GM Oil Life System)Your vehicle has a computer system that lets you know when to change the engine oil and filter. This is based on engine revolutions and engine temperature, and not on mileage. Based on driving conditions, the mileage at which an oil change will be indicated can vary considerably. For the oil life system to work properly, you must reset the system every time the oil is changed. When the system has calculated that oil life has been diminished, it will indicate that an oil change is necessary. A CHANGE ENGINE OIL message will come on. Change your oil as soon as possible within the next two times you stop for fuel. It is possible that, if you are driving under the best conditions, the oil life system may not indicate that an oil change is necessary for over a year. However, your engine oil and filter must be changed at least once a year and at this time the system must be reset. Your dealer has GM-trained service people who will perform this work using genuine GM parts and reset the system. It is also important to check your oil regularly and keep it at the proper level.If the system is ever reset accidentally, you must change your oil at 3,000 miles (5 000 km) since your last oil change. Remember to reset the oil life system whenever the oil is changed.None of the above applies to the Vibe, as it just doesn't have the capability. This oil life monitor has been around for a few years, it's on many midsize and above GM cars. I do believe the GM minivans and most of the trucks also have this feature. Perhaps the dealer just assumed that since it was a GM car, it would have this. AFAIK, the cheapest Pontiac that has this is the Grand Am.But, the few I know that have a GM vehicle with the oil life monitor haven't ever had it come on at 3,000. Usually takes significantly longer to trigger the change oil indicator.

Thanks for the feedback. The dealership is a GMC/Pontiac one, so they might have been confused. I'm sending an email to GM right now to make sure this gets straightened out.I've only gone 900mi in a month, mainly city, though, so I'll most likely just change the oil at 3K. Thanks again.

The Grand Am has it...but it's just based on mileage, like the Honda Maintenance things...Some of the newer GM/Pontiacs have true oil life monitors, but I don't believe any of the Vibes do..

Quote, originally posted by Jahntassa »The Grand Am has it...but it's just based on mileage, like the Honda Maintenance things...Some of the newer GM/Pontiacs have true oil life monitors, but I don't believe any of the Vibes do..Yeah my 03 Alero has it too.

Yep, I just take mine in every 3,000. I use one of the two trip odometers to keep track of oil changes, I reset each time it is done.

yeah, im sure it will tell you that. right after it serves you a drink and gives you a nice massage!

Just trhow in some AMsoil every 6,000 and you'll be good to go. No need to communicate with the Vibe! Don't let it boss you around!

I went to ask GM, so I registered on their owner's site. It's actually pretty cool and gives you a maintenence schedule, and allows you to record what you did when. In fact, it says on the site that oil changes should be done every 3K or 3 months, whichever comes first.silverawd26, I'm not seeing any light yet. It was the sales person who told me the Vibe would indicate the change when needed. This was after I bought the car, so he wasn't saying this to make the sale.I like the idea of using the Trip B odo to track oil changes, but my wife would probably use it for other trips, and, unfortunately, she's the primary driver. I use a Silver K2 Zed 3.0 to get around.

For what it's worth, an oil monitoring system has to be manually reset after an oil change, so that info would also be in the owner's or service manual. My wife's Buick has such a system, and even with mostly short-hop city driving, the light comes on at 10,000 to 12,000 km (~6,000 -7,500 mi) intervals, so 3,000 is an ultra-conservative figure.BTW, I am awaiting analysis of my Vibe's oil from a change after I inadvertently covered (blush) 31,000 km of highway driving on the same crankcase full of Castrol Syntec. (consumed less than 1/2 a litre !)

Okay, GM emailed me back and it is definitive NO - THE VIBE DOES NOT HAVE AN OIL LIFE MONITOR.So, I'll call the dealership to make sure they clear this up with any other customers. It could be a messy situation if they told some other sap, and he believed them until 10,000 miles later and -BOOM!Thanks all.

i have a new 04 and it does not have this system, i ask the dealer about it and they said it was not availible on the vibe

My Intrigue has a "Change Oil" reminder light, but I'm sure it just measures miles driven, and is NOT an oil life monitor.My Vibe has the Nav system with programmable service reminders, but they just measure miles, too.

Quote, originally posted by esjones »My Intrigue has a "Change Oil" reminder light, but I'm sure it just measures miles driven, and is NOT an oil life monitor.The only GM vehicles I know of that have oil life monitoring are the newer Saturns. Mabey it was someone who transfered from a saturn dealer?

Actually, GM sells vehicles of every brand with oil life monitors, probably over a million a year in total. They first appeared around 1996 (our '97 Buick Park Avenue has one) and have been spreading downwards from the up-scale models ever since. To the best of my knowledge, they all calculate change intervals based on mileage times a multiplier based on time spent driving with oil temperature outside the optimum range.

Madbill is right. ttp://www.gm.com/automotive/vehicle_shopping/ ... m.htmlSite says:The GMOLS will automatically adjust the oil change interval based on engine characteristics, driving habits and the climate in which the vehicle is operated. But the vibe doesn't have this system of course.

Vibes do NOT have an oil life monitoring system. 3month/5000km (canadian vehicles) The vehicles with it must be reset at every oil change.

Actually, my Aztek has the GM Oil Life System. Every 5k miles or so the "Change engine oil" display comes on each time you start the car and stays on for about 5 minutes, until you disable it (I won't go into the details of that since this isn't a feature on the Vibe anyway)...just thought I'd let ya know that GM is using this on Pontiacs, just not the Vibe.