Hey guys,
A good friend of my has had two of these over the years, and recently decided he was going to replace the current 04 Vibe with a Chevy HHR(I don't know why?), and has offered the Vibe to me for $500. I figured well it's a running driving Toyota, that is one color, so how could I go wrong for a first car for my 16 year old son(who doesn't even have his permit yet)? Maybe having a car will light a fire under his ass to get driving.
My friend say that other than the A/C compressor needing replacement, and a few small other things it is solid. He said the A/C compressor was $900 because it is some strange part that changed from 03 to 04, but Rock Auto shows them for about $230 or so. I don't know A/C, but I am not afraid of replacing parts, and having it recharged somewhere.
What should I know about this orphan Yoya? I'm unsure of the engine as Wikipedia says there are two different options, and I don't know which one is in this car. I'd like to know if it is a timing chain or belt.
Spectacular choice for a kid car! At $500 you can put another $2k into it and still be "under market price."
There were 2 different 1.8L engines. One was higher output but the h.o. engine only came with manual trans. So, if it's an automatic, it's the standard 1.8L. Same engine as Corolla. It's a Corolla wagon.
In the early years, abs was optional so check for that and educate Jr accordingly.
I just inquired with my friend regarding ABS. Hopefully it has it. It does have a factory sunroof, which is cool. In my research it looks like it is a timing chain engine.
I think the GT shared its powertrain with the Scion tC.
The GT models have the 2zz-GE, rear disc brakes and ABS. As well as the afore mentioned manual option.
The passenger side airbag is a Takata bag under recall. Make sure that it's been replaced.
The timing chain cover likes to leak oil. (it is a chain)
The lift and duration solenoids have a screen behind them that can occasionally get sluged up and disable their function. They rely on oil pressure to enable.
The early 2zz cars (03, 04) like to burn oil.
Rear backing plates for the GT are 200ish bucks a piece. The Pontiac labled parts are NLA so you have to get the Toyota ones.
The GT has a trick little flap under the air filter that opens when under heavy load to allow more air in. The nipple on the backside of the box has a tendency to break off. You can just plug the line to disable it or change it to a cone filter.
They require premium gas. You can get away with mid but the loss in mileage makes up for it pretty quick and the car pings when you enter the lift/duration change over.
They rust a bit in the rear wheel wells right next to the passenger door. Muck has a tendency to build up in there if you don't wash it regularly.
Additionally the side skirts extend below the pinch welds and jack points. They hide rust like it's their job.
Other than that they're stupid easy to work on and pretty inexpensive to maintain.
I don't know if it is a GT, but probably not.
Mazdax605 said:
I don't know if it is a GT, but probably not.
If it is an automatic, it is not a GT
ebonyandivory said:
I think the GT shared its powertrain with the Scion tC.
Sorta.
Vibe Gen1 was '03-'07 These were all 1.8L with the GT getting the h.o. 2zz-ge,
Vibe Gen2 was '08-'09. These were 1.8L (Corolla engine) base model with an optional 2.4L (Camry, Scion tC engine) which was standard on the GT
Good. Non-GT is easier and better for your needs.
There was an awd option too. It would be with the base engine only and only with automatic. Its one of those barely useful, sometimes awd systems but it was good marketing. If it is awd, they are known for having a loud rear diff. It is a well documented issue (internet help) and basic service to improve/replace.
I sold this '06 Vibe recently.
You might be interested, this was its original window sticker...
My friend sent me some pictures of the Vibe(named Harley because of the burnt orange color reminds hom of Harley orange), and it appears to have what looks like an ABS pump just behind the passengers side headlight, but my friend doesn't think it has ABS.
Here's a zoomed in pic from my old CL pics.
Yes, behind passenger head light.
We put over 200k on an 06 Vibe and it was the most reliable car you could imagine. I changed an air intake manifold gasket and the front brakes twice. That’s pretty much it. It was a former rental car base model w/o ABS which always seemed strange to me, but it was fine. My nephew now has it as his college car. It’s gotta have at least another 100k left in it easy.
John Welsh said:
Here's a zoomed in pic from my old CL pics.
Yes, behind passenger head light.
That's it!! I thought I was right in assuming that was the ABS pump,but just looking at pics makes me less certain.
You mentioned that it has a sunroof. The silver one had one too. It seemed to suffer from clogged sun roof drains. Pretty common. I think mine were gunked up at the very top. This caused the water to pool around the sunroof glass. At that point the water enters a tube and both tubes join and empty at the rear passenger side of the car. From the inside of the trunk area of the car, you can remove a side, plastic panel and see the tubing (passenger side.) This happens to be exactly where the silver car was dented. Some of what I read said that the tubing can get kinked in this area. That seemed like it would have been likely for my car, given the dent, but it seemed okay back there.
The solution is to open the roof and then while standing outside, use a pipe cleaner into the drain holes and just sort of ream-out the hole. Additionally, check the exit point in the rear cargo area. passenger side for a kinked tube.
The Vibe is 15 yrs old. You should probably just ream out these holes proactively. It seems to be that they act like a slow drain. Therefore, you might not even notice the issue until you have a real heavy/fast rain but an ounce of prevention is like a pound of cure!
Here it is in all its orange glory. I like it. Picking it up tomorrow.
Spectacular.
That's a pretty well equipped model. Probably similar to the silver one.
Sunroof, alloys, single color (not the standard gray plastic cladding) , roof rack, fogs, etc.
I like the color. My '77 Malibu Classic I had in 1984, in high school, was the same color.
For five bills, you're stealing that. I'll give you $550 right now, a 10% return overnight, or 3650% annualized return. You won't get that at the bank, at least not today.
Man you got a deal on that.
I almost feel like I should give him more money for it. He is a great friend too. I probably should give him more.
