So the girlfriend has an 07 matrix xr, and I just would like to know more info about them (after doing wheel bearings, pads, rotors and calipers it seems quite easy) I know the hive has more info then the so/so forums have about this corolla wagon.
Learn me please GRM!
I can't tell you a lot, but I can tell you that they are way above average in terms of long-term reliability and cost to own. My mom has had one (well a Vibe, actually) for quite a while now and it's definitely been one of the most reliable cars she has ever owned (out of a fleet of corollas, camrys and subarus).
She has a base model with an auto and uses it for long commutes and lots of driving for work (she works for the local county as a speech pathologist and makes lots of in-home visits for low-income families all across the county). The car is driven pretty hard year 'round in salt, snow and gravel in very hilly terrain. I can say that she has one of the most punishing regular driving routines that I've encountered.
I think in the 6 years or so that she's owned the car, she's put nearly 100k miles on it and as far as I recall, she's only ever had to replace brake pads, rotors and tires. She recently had one of the fender liners tear off while driving through super deep snow, but otherwise, I don't think she's had to do anything other than change the fluids on the regular maintenance schedule.
I've been very impressed. Usually her cars, by nature of her work commute, eat all kinds of brake and hub parts, suspension bushings, sway bar links rust out, etc, etc.
It's really earned its keep.
The XR is the standard version with the XRS body kit on it. 1zzfe motor. Reliable. Appliance. The XRS got the 2zzge motor with the 6 speed.
Run synthetic oil and keep it topped off, 6000 mile internal should be good. Change the trans fluid when the book says,60k? Drain and fill the radiator every year or two. Flush the power steering fluid with M1 atf and never have to mess with it again. Flush the brakes every couple years. Other than that I don't think there's anything to service.
I have the XRS, different motor and trans....but at 120k i relaced axels, berings endlinks. 135 new cat (most expensive thing to date) everything else just normal fluids at normal times.
My parents have the 1zz auto, I tried to convince them to get a toyota tech to adjust the valves at 100k miles, they are somewhere around 150k. The reason I have been trying to farm out the job is the engine has a timing chain and bucket/shim combo's. Theirs has had synthetic since new, and the valvetrain makes a little noise. I will probably be doing this job for them in the next few years...
Has had synthetic trans fluid changes since new, no issues.
There is some type of oil gasket on the back of the head or block that seems to start leaking after a while, but it is cheap and easy to get to ( I changed one a year or 2 ago, my dad put spares in the glovebox, easy enough I don't remember the details.) I guess if it starts heavily marking its territory, look at the firewall side of the engine, I recall reaching in from the passenger side to change it. Literally 5 min job.
The brakes are easy, I think I did rear shoes once, I believe it is on its second set of rotors and third set of pads.
Other than that it is a corolla wagon that needs nothing. Quite a reliable vehicle.
Glad to hear Toyota got it fairly right and will save me heartache hopefully.
So after I sent her a link to the thread she is asking me about the exhaust noise (witch I first heard yesterday.)
She had a slightly shady exhaust shop sell her a secondary cat after a CEL (Idk what one, was before we were together) and she has had the noise there after, it sounds like the primary cat off of the exhaust manifold is fairly clogged causing a broken exhaust manifold gasket sound every so often.
With this system is it possible to get an aftermarket exhaust Manifold or make a test pipe w/o a cat and NOT set a CEL or just replace the manifold?
She is taking it back to the guy who did the work next week either way but I was curious.
I hooked up my OBDII scanner to your Matrix, but this is all I got:
Thinking of taking reflective tape to the body pannel seams in blue and red for the lolz
pinchvalve wrote: I hooked up my OBDII scanner to your Matrix, but this is all I got:
All I see is blonde, brunette, redhead...
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