11/27/2023 0 Comments 2005 pontiac vibe redThe service advisor gave me a blank look and said I shouldn't be at that point yet where the car requires a change (close to 60,000 miles.) I had to explain that the Toyota fluid in these transmissions doesn't have anywhere near the life expectancy as Dexron III and yes, I am getting quite close to needing a change. Just last weekend I was at the dealer getting an oil change when I asked about the cost of a transmission fluid change. The fluid issues have been kicked around here quite a bit, but don't feel bad for bringing it back up.The fluid situation with these cars has been a mess from the start. If you covered this subject before, sorry, I am new to this forum. I sure found it frustrating that GM didn’t get the fluid requirements correct in the manual. I believe it is correct, but if you have better information, please let me know. The preceding information is the result of hours of research and phone calls, and from my background as an engineer and years of working on my own cars. The power steering was questioned due to the color of the fluid, clear not red. Also, the power steering takes power steering fluid (not DEXRON III). At the same time I verified that the Vibe automatic transmission takes Toyota T-IV fluid (not DEXRON III). Beware: since the typical dealer service for coolant is to drain and fill, not completely flush, some people will have a good chance of their coolants being mixed with DEX-COOL or green because of the dealer misunderstanding of what goes in the Vibe. I also read that Toyota uses phosphates, so it may not mix with DEX-COOL. The Toyota Red container lists organic and inorganic acids, so I doubt it should be mixed with green. This is my concern for other Vibe owners. That is what Toyota uses in the Matrix and that is what I will use. I took the samples to some dealers and it was determined that I have Toyota Long Life Red in the car. At this point it became clear that my coolant was red, not orange like the DEX-COOL. I put some of the original fluid in a glass jar, and also put some DEX-COOL in a glass jar. They recommended taking the car to a dealership for their assessment. They also said that I should only use what was originally installed and not to mix types: mixing the conventional silicate antifreeze with the new organic acid technology (OAT) antifreeze can cause problems. They asked for my VIN number and then told me that the factory fill should have been GM 12378560 (and that 2005 and later is DEX-COOL). Still uncertain, I decided to call the GM customer service line and asked them. I also asked a couple Toyota dealers about the Matrix and they said Toyota Long Life Red. Three of the four questioned said to use DEX-COOL, the fourth said conventional green. So I questioned several dealers as to what coolant to use. The coolant in my car did not look green it actually looked orange when I shined a flashlight into the top of the radiator. The owner’s manual specifies GM 12378560, which I found out is the conventional green antifreeze. It was time to change the engine coolant on my 2003 Vibe and I found that no one could tell me with certainty what coolant should be in this car.
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