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It's been doing it since day-one, but I chose to wait for the first (5k) service appoint to bring it to the dealers atttn. (I.e., It's not a big deal, it's just annoying and it doesn't seem right -- so I'd like to get this addressed while the car is still under warranty.)
Note: this is a bit like the "idle surge" thread - but in reverse.
The dealer's first attempted fix was to replace the "160251 V Belt" -- but this did not fix the problem.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this?
Thanks in advance.
Below is part of an email that I've sent Toyota Canada....
I purchased a new '07 Corolla from Kingston Toyota Feburaury '07 . It ran fine until the 45,000km mark in December '08 . At this point my wife informed me that her car was reving oddly when the cold of fall arrived in '08. This was a new issue and didn't exist at all previously. The engine now hunts for idle after cold soaking of 6 hours or more in any temp below +3 deg C with 100% repeatability.
The vehicle starts and runs fine for approx 1.5 km but for the next 4 km or so depending on the temperature it will rev hunt when rolling the car with the engine unloaded to our next local stop sign.
The engine revs up to 2,300 rpm and cuts back to 1,200 rpm repeatedly every 1.5 seconds. It will do this as many as 30 X consectively. I have 5 videos (mpegs) of the condition showing the engine tach as the car rolls....... (I've been told by Kingston Toyota that they've sent these mpegs to Toyota Canada two months ago)
In even colder temperatures, like -20 deg C range the vehicle will do this idle hunting/surging without needing to have the car rolling with the engine unloaded. At these temperatures it will do it at a standstill , you can get out of the car and walk around the vehicle as it surge revs. The colder it gets the worse it is and the longer it lasts. Basically the problem goes away completely after a good warm up. Whatever warped component seems to comes back into spec with the heat. The dealer has worked reasonably hard on the problem... first replacing the water pump Jan 9. '09, then cleaning the throttle body, then replacing throttle body, then replacing various valves an sensors, finally replacing the ECU itself. The problem still exists, it isn't intermittent at all, it is an everyday occurance through the entire
Have they replaced the thermostat? If it's not closing completely it can slow the warm up process and throw things out of sync.
Toyota corporate did nothing about it. This is my first and last Toyota. Never saw this out of a Chevy.
I own a Chevrolet and the same thing happened to me.
I don't want to brag about it but the "head gasket" on my 2005 Equinox blew at 29,000 K. That's 39 K's less than your Matrix.
My warranty was over by 1 month (isn't that a coincidence) I called G.M. and they didn't do a thing about it, they almost told me to shut up and pay for my repairs.
My 1999 Venture... the same thing, 3 months after my warranty was over.... "blown head gasket" at 42,000 k
I'm like you, if I could bring my cars in the house I would. I drive my vehicles with love, I'm not a lead foot driver, follow the speed limits and always doing my maintenance regularly.
Yes the same thing happens in Chevrolets.
(By the way, seriously, I was thinking of trading for a 2010 Matrix next year).
...But that doesn't make sense; that thing shouldn't have any moving parts at all. And if you check very closely under the hood you can almost pinpoint it to the furthest left cylinder (the one on the passenger side - I forgot the cyl #) right under the head.
For what it's worth, the car is still running great at 155k. I put 89 octane into it regularly and, like you said, the ping is lessened.
...Now I have an airbag light coming on that's driving me crazy - but I really think that everybody on this board is just going to say "you need to get it serviced and have the airbags looked at." Well duh. But they're just mechanics - and so is half of my family. What are THEIR mechanics going to find wrong? I did a diagnostic myself by shorting two pins on the OBDII connector and getting the error code. I looked up that error code and it said something about my passenger side airbag isn't initializing properly - but it doesn't come on consistently! Perhaps a fuse that needs to be replaced? I dunno.
Thank you
I have a 2003 vibe stick with 208k and have just started having this same problem. when cold as engine warms up it starts to hunt just as you discribed. would like to know how to fix if possible.
It's a plug leading from the wiring harness which feeds the ignition coils. At the timing-chain-end of the engine, a smaller wiring harness extends from the #1 ignition coil...it's about 16'' long and end in a plug that I can find no receptacle for. Can someone please look under their hood and tell me where this plug is supposed to go???
Thank you so much....in advance
Hi there!
My 2006 Toyota Matrix just passed the 100k mark before Christmas. I'd like to keep it going as long as I can. Anyone have any ideas on what I should be looking at, concerned about, etc?
It does need a new Alternator, not immediately but soon. Other than that, ideas?