I've pretty much decided to buy the automatic tranny xB because of the practicality and value. It will be a car that I use for work (sales with many samples) and family (daughter due nov 6th) and wife can't drive the manual. I am trying to calm a few of concerns i have:

1) on the test drive, the exhaust seemed to have a drone at lower rpm's that annoyed me a little bit but actually gave my wife a headache. as the box had 6 miles on it, will this go away somewhat as the muffler breaks in? i know performance mufflers get quieter after they break in from personal experience.
1A) will a cold air intake and exhaust/header change the exhaust from a drone to a performance sound? i don't mind hearing the engine/exhaust, but this was annoying

2) with the A/C on the car vibrated a lot. it settled a little with the a/c off. will this get better after break in or is it something i have to deal with with the small 4cyl
2A) will the intake and exhaust add enough hp to keep the car from working so hard w/ the a/c on and limit the vibration or is it just an internal mass problem w/ the 4cyl that will always be there?

3) I want to go w/ 18" rims and i will be carrying lots of semi-heavy granite and solid surface countertop samples. will i have a problem when i take a road trip from va to alabama 9 1/2 hrs (plus a hundred pee breaks for my pregnant wife) and i go through the mountains? will it make it up them okay?
3A) In the mountains, should i keep it out of OD the whole time?

thanks for any answers/advise you can give. I have fallen in love with the car and the wife is coming around especially when i go over the numbers between getting a minivan vs. getting the box. (and she actually wants me to put rims and a sunroof on it)

I've pretty much decided to buy the automatic tranny xB because of the practicality and value. It will be a car that I use for work (sales with many samples) and family (daughter due nov 6th) and wife can't drive the manual. I am trying to calm a few of concerns i have:

1) on the test drive, the exhaust seemed to have a drone at lower rpm's that annoyed me a little bit but actually gave my wife a headache. as the box had 6 miles on it, will this go away somewhat as the muffler breaks in? i know performance mufflers get quieter after they break in from personal experience.
1A) will a cold air intake and exhaust/header change the exhaust from a drone to a performance sound? i don't mind hearing the engine/exhaust, but this was annoying

2) with the A/C on the car vibrated a lot. it settled a little with the a/c off. will this get better after break in or is it something i have to deal with with the small 4cyl
2A) will the intake and exhaust add enough hp to keep the car from working so hard w/ the a/c on and limit the vibration or is it just an internal mass problem w/ the 4cyl that will always be there?

3) I want to go w/ 18" rims and i will be carrying lots of semi-heavy granite and solid surface countertop samples. will i have a problem when i take a road trip from va to alabama 9 1/2 hrs (plus a hundred pee breaks for my pregnant wife) and i go through the mountains? will it make it up them okay?
3A) In the mountains, should i keep it out of OD the whole time?

thanks for any answers/advise you can give. I have fallen in love with the car and the wife is coming around especially when i go over the numbers between getting a minivan vs. getting the box. (and she actually wants me to put rims and a sunroof on it)

Regarding the drone, I would guess part of the problem is with the auto trans. I have a 5-speed, and it doesn't drone at all. The auto is probably pulling different rpms, and may not be in the "sweet spot" when cruising. As for getting rid of the drone sound with an intake and header, don't count on it. You'd be better off starting at the other end, and putting on a different muffler. I got one of those FlowMaster chambered knockoffs on eBay, 2.25" offset inlet and centered outlet, and it's got a nice tone to it now. Not ricey at all, just a little throaty.

As for the a/c, my 5-speed doesn't vibrate or slow down noticeably when I turn on the a/c. I have to drop it a gear if I want to pass someone, or make it up any kind of incline, but I'd have to do that whether the a/c was on or not.

18" rims will be okay, provided you don't lower the car. You'll still have enough wheel travel to accomodate your loads of counter tops and what not. It's probably a good idea to keep it out of OD when you're going thru mountains. It'll keep the rpms up where they need to be. Is the auto trans a 4-speed + OD, or 3-speed + OD?

In all honesty, from what you've described in your post, you might be better off with a minivan. We also have a Kia Sedona, and we got a whole lot of van for the money. Plenty of room to suit your needs. There's no way I could haul the wife and kids and all their beach stuff in the xB, but it's no problem in the Sedona...

Good luck

I have the same 'shaking' while just sitting in my box parked and I get the same thing unless I turn the A/C off.. from what I hear a grounding kit will fix this.

Regarding the muffler noise I also have it on my 5-speed though it does not seem to be like noticable.. I almost think at times scion may have put a muffler in there with a tiny bit of 'performance' like noise to it.. sounds good sometimes but honestly I would rather it make no noise.

As far as wheels just do yourself a favor and either go stock or get a set of the stock alloys if you must.. The ride is honestly going to be miserable and I would not wish a long bumpy driving trip on anyone.. People will come here and say it 'rides better than stock' but honestly I have never been in a lowered ca that rode 'better' just a much tighter feel too it and a cool look.. also the rubber bands will make it that much worse.

I have 18's /w rubber bands and I love it.. lowered too but I only drive my xb on weekends or during certain times, I have a beater I drive around for my daily 120 roundtrip to work each day.

As far as a KIA he may be right but the one thing you have to remember is your 20k KIA van is going to be worth 10k in two years where Scions will probably hold resale value much better as they are made by toyota.,. a freind of mine has a Kia van and loves it but he realizes it will be worth nothing in a few years.. same with hyundai :) <calm down tib owners>

Putting 18s on your car will make you feel every bump in the road. Not reccomended, especially with kids.

I test drove the dealer model w/ a sunroof and 18" TRD wheels. I actually did think the ride was better than the stock rims for some weird reason....maybe just cause i want the 18's so bad. Also, the muffler noise was not as bad. it still was there, but more performance than annoying drone. sounds like the muffler does settle (demo has 10K miles) finally, the a/c vibration was still there, but i noticed it in my 2004 freestar w/ a 3.9V6 today. so i guess i was just being overly sensitive on the test drive. i am truly sold on the car after this second drive. sure it's not the largest car, but it is pretty roomy inside and will save us a couple of hundred dollars a month over a van. thanks again for the comments,

We own an xB automatic and I can honestly say I don't notice any appreciable drone. The engine is a bit noisey when you accelerate but I haven't noticed any annoying level of noise when traveling at highway speeds. If you're in the habit of driving with the radio on, any drive train sound should be masked by the music. I know that's the case with our xB. The A/C doesn't make any difference in the performance, noise levels or vibrations. If you want the best (softest) ride possible, DON'T get those 18" wheels!!! Stay witht the standard wheels that come with the car.

From the type of driving and use you're describing, I also agree that you might do yourself and wife justice in looking at a minivan!!! You'll have more cargo room, a quieter ride and more power!!

Don't get me wrong!!! Both my wife and I love the xB!!! It's a,,,,, FUN, car to drive and the room, ride quality, handeling and MPG you get for the money can't be beat in my opinion!!!!!!

I have the Auto and LOVE it. I don't really notice a drone from the exhaust, but that's what the Pioneer system is for, just turn it up a couple more notches. :wink: Stylis from precisionmuffler.com makes an axle-back exhaust designed for the Auto tranny. There were issues with droning at freeway speeds with the manual axle-back so he made one for us one-footed drivers. Hope to be adding that to my list of mods soon...:D

Most of the noise I hear is from the tires on the road. I'm running 17's with 215/40's and it's not a bad ride. It's no luxury car but it is on par or better with the other cars in its class, IMO. When I was wiring the trailer lights for the Grand Caravan, I saw that it has bags of insulation stuffed in the quarterpanels as well as the stuckon insulation. I'm thinking about doing something like that to the Box. Although the minivan is more useful, it is no fun to drive. Sickening understeer, plenty of power but at the expense of MPG. The on-board computer shows the MPG and like on this last trip to Tahoe with the bikes and trailer on top it dropped to about 12 mpg from the usual 16-18. :cry: But then I was probably doing 70-80 most of the way. :twisted: Of course, it cost $10K more than the xB.

As far as the O/D, i would only worry if you feel the car repeatedly shifting from 3rd to O/D and back, or if you want to be sure to get the extra little kick. I don't use the A/C much but I believe it is a clutchless setup so I don't really notice the extra pull when turned on compared to many small cars. Back in the day I had a Dodge Colt and we called the A/C button the turbo boost. You had to turn it off to pass...

Thanks again for the replies. We just put a deposit on a TCM Auto xB last night. I went against most of the advise and got some 18x7 wheels w/ 2154018 tires...rode the dealer demo arond town through potholes and bumps and it was still a good ride for me. Also couldn't pass up the 10K in savings over a van that i wouldn't enjoy looking out into the driveway and seeing. I know i'll have issues w/ space from time to time, but most of the time it's going to be a great vehicle for my job.Quick rundown of what i got
xB TCM
AUTO
Factory Spoiler
Front windows tinted to match sides (75)
Aftermarket alarm w/ hood/trunk pins and motion sensor (300)
18x7 Kazera KS-V Light grey painted rims (19.4lbs) w/ Kuhmo Ecsta ASX Ultra high performance all season tires w/ locks and lugs, mounted, balanced, installed, and warranty (1300)
Cruise control unit installed (300)

I already have a list of mods i want to do (and i thought the last three cars i had shown me modding is an expensive habit that i need to stop :roll: )
Blue Cathode lighting under seats, in hatch, and in engine bay
Sport pedals
Custom carpet floormats
Steering wheel cover blue/grey or blue/black
Vinyl graphics to advertise the company i sell for (blue/green scheme)
Aftermarket fogs (maybe jdm)
Blue caliper/drum brake paint
Blue/green engine bay accents
Intake TBD (to be determined not trd :lol: )
Exhaust TBD
Springs/shocks TBD
Lock on my wallet so i don't do all these mods. :roll:

Auto's seem to vibrate when you're at redlights and stuff. I've found if I put mine in neutral, most of the vibe goes away. As mentioned above, this seems to go away with a ground kit.

18's will ride like a pogostick, especially under a heavy load. Your wife will hate it and anyone in the back on a long trip will as well.

If you want something that looks better then stock but rides nice, get some 16's. I'm running 16X8's on mine, no rubbing and it rides better then the 3 with 18's I test drove or the 2 I test drove with stock tires (yes, I test drove a lot of xB's before I ordered mine, I also drove 3 or 4 xA's. :))

The Injen short ram intake actually quieted my Xb. As someone mentioned earlier, finding the 'sweet spot 'at highway speed is your best bet. Maybe the VVt continuously adjusts for a performance/smoothness balance? I

If you have to forego the xB for the time being, I suggest checking out the Toyota Sienna Van. My wife and I purchased ours using a car quote with Carsdirect.com and scored a great deal on our vehicle. We love it. It gets good mileage for a 3.3L V6. The third-row seats fold flat into the rear storage compartment and the front seats all tumble forward. We drove it to Colorado from CA and averaged around 25 or 26 mpg, even considering a large portion of the drive was up through the mountains on highway 70.

Either way, I recommend staying with Toyota for the quality, compared with Kia. We only paid slightly more for our LE with after-market leather, power right-hand sliding door and rear seat audio, etc. than for the Kia Sedona. Not bashing Kia, but I think the Toyota will hold it's value a little better.

Now I'm trying to get an xB but have to wait until I complete my family's relocation, finalize employment and housing - you know, important things to wives & children. :wink: