Bought this 2003 Pontiac Vibe for my wife, as she can only drive automatic. It comes with 1zz-fe Toyota engine and 4-speed Automatic transmission.
My wife's co-worker got another car from her uncle, and she was about to give this poor car to the junkyard, and they offered $200 for it. She has put about 294000 kms - 183000 miles in 15 years.
We offered her same price (+ $100 for a set of winter tires/rims) and bought it as is. Fixed the door handle, and passed safety & e-test!
The good: It's driven mostly on the highway, motor and drivetrain are relatively in good condition. Despite the high mileage, there is no noticeable oil & coolant consumption. We have put about 1000 kms after we got it.
The bad: The interior was so dirty. There were many stubborn stains on the seat cushion. We even found some sand, mud, pencil, coins, flashlight, Tim Horton's coffee cups, hedge shears, Canadian Pesos issued in 1989 and many unidentified items underneath the back seat. It took almost three weekends to clean the interior. As you can see in the first picture, there are some big rust spots on the roof. The windshield must be changed to fix this. It costs around $700-800 including the windshield.
I have just changed motor oil (VWB) new air filter, and changed ATF (just drain and fill) twice. I changed it twice because I hesitate to flush all dirty fluid at once, decided to change it partially every 3-5k until the fluid looks clean. It takes 12 quarts of oil, but only 3 quarts drained out.
To do list (at 300.000 kms):
- Will drain and fill ATF again. There is no slipping, but no reason to keep the fluid dirty. However, I am too lazy to drop the pan and change transmission filter. I already changed it twice with Toyota ATF T-IV, but next time I will use Valvoline Maxlife ATF.
- I will change power steering fluid with Maxlife ATF.
- Changing spark plugs, PCV valve and clean MAF sensor.
- Drain and fill engine coolant few times. My question is, should I change the water pump, thermostat, radiator cap and hoses all together at once while draining the old coolant? Everything works fine so far, but the coolant looks dark and there is no service history.
Here are some pics,
Thanks for reading! I look forward to read your opinions about cooling system overhaul.
Dan.
My wife's co-worker got another car from her uncle, and she was about to give this poor car to the junkyard, and they offered $200 for it. She has put about 294000 kms - 183000 miles in 15 years.
We offered her same price (+ $100 for a set of winter tires/rims) and bought it as is. Fixed the door handle, and passed safety & e-test!
The good: It's driven mostly on the highway, motor and drivetrain are relatively in good condition. Despite the high mileage, there is no noticeable oil & coolant consumption. We have put about 1000 kms after we got it.
The bad: The interior was so dirty. There were many stubborn stains on the seat cushion. We even found some sand, mud, pencil, coins, flashlight, Tim Horton's coffee cups, hedge shears, Canadian Pesos issued in 1989 and many unidentified items underneath the back seat. It took almost three weekends to clean the interior. As you can see in the first picture, there are some big rust spots on the roof. The windshield must be changed to fix this. It costs around $700-800 including the windshield.
I have just changed motor oil (VWB) new air filter, and changed ATF (just drain and fill) twice. I changed it twice because I hesitate to flush all dirty fluid at once, decided to change it partially every 3-5k until the fluid looks clean. It takes 12 quarts of oil, but only 3 quarts drained out.
To do list (at 300.000 kms):
- Will drain and fill ATF again. There is no slipping, but no reason to keep the fluid dirty. However, I am too lazy to drop the pan and change transmission filter. I already changed it twice with Toyota ATF T-IV, but next time I will use Valvoline Maxlife ATF.
- I will change power steering fluid with Maxlife ATF.
- Changing spark plugs, PCV valve and clean MAF sensor.
- Drain and fill engine coolant few times. My question is, should I change the water pump, thermostat, radiator cap and hoses all together at once while draining the old coolant? Everything works fine so far, but the coolant looks dark and there is no service history.
Here are some pics,
Thanks for reading! I look forward to read your opinions about cooling system overhaul.
Dan.
