Scion xA & xD Engine Questions

umbo

I've owned many 4 cylinder engines so know how vibration and rattles develop as the car ages. I've always been able to fix them or reduce them to an acceptable level. But none that embarrassed me at the stoplight. Shifting to neutral lowers it substantially of course, but this defeats the purpose of an automatic. Do you know what a loss of face this is to an engineer and the son of an auto mechanic! All my passengers comment on it. Even my Audi 5000 couldn't come close. Stevens Creek Toyota of San Jose said it is a standard problem with the car, and can't be fixed, and suggested a new car. Any suggestions? Toyota appears to have tried to isolate the air plenum from the engine vibration, but now that vibration frequencies and damping components have changed with age it no longer works. I fixed the A/C so it works as it should, but see no way to fix this easily

umbo

I found the cause of the rattle after confronting the dealer to have a mechanic open the air mass flow plenum. It was what I would call, the air resonance intake tube, that had fallen out of its retaining bracket (I think likely broken at the factory or by their service dept. as it immediately falls and will not latch in place.) At times rattled quite loudly as it hit the side of the air mass flow chamber. It has been going on for about two years, but I was always told it was normal. I really do get tired of fixing damage cause by dealers to my car. Stripped threads in large plastic molded parts such as dashes when they remove radios or install accessories. That is why I install accessories myself.

dipstick1989

Just purchased 06 xa, previous owner showed us blue warm up lite, what is the normal time when you start vehicle in the morning. It seems like a long time before this lite goes off. thanks

umbo

depends how cold the temperature is outside (I live in California so it takes only about half a mile) and how long the car has been setting, but within a mile the engine should be warm enough for the light to go out unless you have a stuck open thermostat. The other way to check is to open up the heater to full. If the thermostat is stuck open the heat will be minimal, until after you have gone several miles at highway speed and the entire coolant has reach operating temperature.

Thermostats are designed to fail in the open position so the engine can't overheat and ruin your engine.

Don

annrad

I'm looking at replacing my 2003 Vibe, which I love but is very high miles and is nickel and diming me to death. I found a low miles 2006 Scion XA and am really thinking it may be the car for me. I have a few questions, the small size concerns me, esp. in regards to safety. I see it gets good ratings, but want to hear from owners. I'm also concerned about parts availability since this was the last year for the model. My priorities in a vehicle are reliability, mpg, and flexible cargo space. Would love comments, esp from anyone who has driven both a Vibe/Matrix, and a Scion XA
Thanks

umbo

The xA will get much better milage, and is more fun to drive as it is set up for sporty driving -- more or less, a great city car, but in every other way is inferior, and of course it is less safe if it ifcollides with a larger car. I have 60K on my 2004. The A/C is poor, though a simple heater shutoff valve fixes that. There is a rattle/vibration in the engine compartment which started around 35K, affects all xA's when the auto transmission is engaged and can prove embarrassing when stopped as it draws attention, which I find surprising for a Toyota. All 4 cylinders engines vibrate unless they have counter rotating shaft such as the new xB or tC but you feel it; it is not usually audible. Toyota admits to the problems, but does not fix anything until a new model comes out. The car is very reliable. Parts will not be a problem for 6 more years, as they keep parts for at least 10 years and then until they run out of spares.

lazermule1

umbo, could you expand on the heater shut off valve? I am interested in this fix. My xA seems to blow cold then hot, then cold then hot over and over.......

Thanks,

dannyb1016

FYI, my 2008 Scion Xd (manual) kept getting really noisy and it turns out it was 3 qts. low on oil... had it in to dealer 2x previous and got it back with noise gone, but with no explanation. I'm glad I figured out what 2 service managers and 2 mechanics couldn't.

nato2

I also have a 2008 XD, and was a little past when I was supposed to change my oil (6000 miles between). I was only a half a quart low. There is a TSB on this issue, but I'm not taking mine in because it is pretty close to normal consumption. What the dealership will do for that though is reflash your ECU that will retard the spark. Hope this helps.

roxiesmom

My check engine light came on & I took it in to see if any one could tell me what or why? I got told it had something to do with the gas tank!!! Of all things?? I did notice that all of a sudden I was having trouble putting fuel in, it kept shutting off when I only had put in a couple of gallon's of fuel. This when I'd tried almost every position except for to stand on my head and put gas in!! No one has told me what sensor, except that it has something to do with a sensor on the fuel tank & a vapor??? Can some one please help me with this??? Im a widow, woman and I dont want to try just any sensor to replace it and have it go on still. Any help??? I havant had this Scion but just a few months. I really could use some help & advice. Thank You!! :mad: :confuse: