DJApocalypse

First off, let me say it's good to be back! I originally purchased an '05 xB back in 2004, and due to financial reasons, I had to let it go. After wrestling with various other vehicles and their issues, I gave up on my last project ('00 Accord v6) and came into a little bit of extra money, which I promptly used to find myself another xB about 2 weeks ago. Unlike my original toaster, this one is a 2004, and automatic. Fortunately, mechanical issues aren't really there, I'm sitting at around 95k miles, and the first thing I did was take it to Toyota for a full inspection, and to go ahead and knock out the 100k maintenance (you never know WHAT the previous owner did to a car!). Nothing major, got everything taken care of, but there is one strange issue I am experiencing.

When the transmission is engaged in a gear, but idling (brakes applied, not moving, or just idling speed) I get a fairly good vibration. At first I thought it was the aftermarket exhaust causing it, but this turned out not to be the case, as the entire engine is vibrating. This is not a huge deal since it only happens when stopped and in gear, but it is annoying since it causes interference from my subwoofer.

I am NOT experiencing any fluctuation in RPMs when this happens. I did a little research on this subject before posting. It doesn't necessarily feel like a rough idle, although I will probably take the time to clean the MAF sensor anyway, since I seem to be getting around 23-24mpg in city driving, driving very gently (not gunning it at all). It still beats my old 12mpg from the Accord, but something is definitely off, and I think it MAY be related to whatever is causing the vibration.

Any ideas as to what I should check out? Possibly a vacuum leak?

jbod

welcome back! glad to see you in an xb again! i don't know for sure, but are you sure it's the motor? are you sure it isn't the air box assembly? mine has been doing this since i got it which was only a few months ago. end of march to be exact, but i've put over 10k miles on it since, and it's been the same. it hasn't gotten any worse. another guy i know who has an 04 also like yours, and mine has it happen to his xb as well. so our 04's do it. and same thing it vibrates when you're stopped, and the tach don't move at all. i don't think it's the motor, but i'm almost willing to bet you got that going on too. i think it's common with xb's, and i don't know if there is a fix for it. i've read others here have had the same problem.


does it do it even more when you're in reverse. or when you're ac is on, or if the fan goes on?

mine does it more in reverse, it does it in gear, it does it a little in park or neutral, but it don't vibrate as bad, and it's also not as bad in the morning right at start up, but when it warms up it gets worse. it doesn't bother me at all. at first it did, and my friend got under there, and zip tied it. he's a hack though, and i took it off. so yeah my 04 xb does it too! don't think it's a problem. more of a nuisance than anything.

DJApocalypse

It pretty much seems to not depend on A/C being on or off. I'm headed over to see my friend the mechanic in about an hour, we'll check the air box to see if it's the problem. I intend on replacing the stock intake with the Injen SRI anyway, so if that's the issue, I won't even fool with it, I'll just replace it.

Speaking of the Injen SRI, does anyone know where to get it (IS2100P to be specific) any cheaper than Nopi? ($154.80)

It's a decent price, but if I can be a cheap ___ about it, I will be

jbod

well it does it to me regardless of the ac on or off. it just does it harder wiith the ac on or right when the fan kicks on to cool down the car. pop the hood with the car in park and see if the air box is shaking. if you're on a flat surface leave it in drive or reverse with the e brake applied and see if it's shaking.

DJApocalypse

Yeah, it's definitely the intake box making the sound, but it's the whole motor shaking that causes it... even the shifter linkage is constantly shaking around!

What causes this, and how can I fix it?

jbod

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=138337
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...mbly+vibration

found these two topics on it. the consensus seems to split. some say it's a common problem, and it's really no problem, and others say it's a bigger deal than that. maybe someone else can chime in. i've read somewhere that some hose or clamp or something will fix it. i'm not worried myself, because it hasn't gotten any worse since i've had it, and my buddy has one, and his has been doing it the whole time he's had it. it only seems to be worse in warmer weather. not much worse, but a little. it also is a little more noticeable after the car has warmed up, and when it's in gear. i don't see any movement from the motor myself though when i look on my car.

jbod

any news? i overlooked what you said about gas mileage. mine does this, and i've once gotten 39 mpg over 7.5 gallons doing 85 percent highway! i usually average 35 with 75 to 80 percent highway. the spots that prevent me from more is that i'm traveling on the jersey turnpike or parkway which has jams, and gets backed up from time to time.

DJApocalypse

I haven't really looked into it any more, but it seems that 24mpg is the best I've managed to pull out of this one, pretty much all city mileage. I don't think this is right. I don't drive aggressively at all these days, seldom ever accelerating over 4k rpm. When I got the car a few weeks ago, I took it to Toyota for a full inspection and tune up, they replaced the drive belts, oil, air filter, and did a full fuel system cleaning. They said they found no other problems.

What's something that they would overlook that would cause a noticeable loss of mpg?

jbod

not quite sure which is why i hope someone else can help you out in here. i will say this. looking on different sites the xb fuel economy fluctuates. some have the 04/06 xb's with automatic transmissions rated at 35 highway, and 31 city.others have it rated at 31 highway, 27 city. there are also others that have it in between. i don't do mostly city. i have to do city driving everyday, but only a few miles. i have averaged 28/29 over 9.6 gallons. i went on vacation a couple weeks ago, and hit all kinds of traffic. 60 percent of it maybe 70 was highway driving. once i got down there though towards the end i hit almost standstill traffic. then drove a bunch in stop, and go traffic, had the ac on, a lot of standstill traffic. on the way back had to go 40 on the highway because of bad rain. so 24 in all city don't seem like the worst mileage.

i came across another thread someone was saying maybe the motor mounts cause this. though in the past, and again today i checked them out, and they don't make any movement more than they are supposed to when shifting from reverse to drive, and back. the motor doesn't move at all if i give it gas either. i've had bad motor mounts on vehicles, and this isn't bad.

DJApocalypse

I know for sure my mounts are fine, I had those checked out to eliminate a cause of the shaking. I think I'm just accepting that the shaking is normal in the auto toasters (my old one was a manual, hence why this freaked me out a bit).

That being said, most of my driving is in city, lots of stop and go, A/C always full blast because this is Florida and man is it HOT.

And I suppose 24mpg is still decent, just less than I hoped for. It seems to go fast with such a small tank, you know?

jbod

what kind of city driving exactly? we talking like lights every other block, crowded daytona tourist traffic, cruising at 30 or lower mph? i know it can get tied up around there! don't know if they fixed all that or added lanes. i haven't been there since 95 for bike, but my best friend just had been living in ormond beach for 2 years, and says it's no better, and hasn't changed!

05blackbox

I get the insane vibration too and i only get it when in gear and gets worse with the a/c on..never could understand whats wrong. I am thinking about changing out the motor mounts maybe. That might improve it a little. My car has about 100k on it and im thinking i need to do a tune up on it.

Persocon

check your engine mount, the rubber at that mileage could be pretty worn out even split and develop cracks in it.

there is one on the bottom between the engine and the radiator and is centered.

jbod

that's not the engine running like that if it's the same thing i have. i don't think the tune up has anything to do with it, but with 100k it doesn't hurt. i don't know if it's the mount. i've looked, and had someone shift it into drive, and reverse while looking at it. it moves a little, but it's supposed to. the bad motor mounts i've seen will just make the motor shake, and wobble around by revving it in park. mine doesn't move at all when revved in park. i don't know if maybe it's a bushing or a strap causing it to vibrate. some of the old threads on here though have people saying theirs were doing it with the cars only having 5k miles. some have said it from off the lot.

05blackbox

Ya ill probably just check the motor mounts and get a full tune up on it. Hopefully it helps it a little.. Ya i know my motor mounts are not too bad because the engine doesnt move back and forth or anything it just vibrates. i guess you cant really do much. Do these engines have a counter balance in the engine? I know my last car had one and it would spin in the opposite direction at twice the speed to counter the cranks motion and that engine didnt make a twitch lol.

archangel

I have the same issue, it vibrates a ton when stopped and in gear, I have come to just click it into neutral to get rid of the shake, I believe I have posted it on here before an no one could figure it out then....

05blackbox

lol just what i wanted to hear...an unsloved mystery

JohnnyBfromPeoria

I HAVE replaced my engine and transmission mounts in my A/T '05 xB. It made no difference. There are three mounts, and not one of them 'is centered between the engine and radiator.' There are one each at either side of the engine bay (the actual front and rear of the engine) and one centered in the front suspension cross-member that acts as a mount and roll-stopper and mounts to the engine low, behind the engine itself.

If you want to replace yours (again, this applies to an A/T - automatic transmission), the first two mounts are pretty straight forward; some combination of wrenches will get to them and allow you to replace them in short order. Remember that these hold the engine and transmission in place, so removing them means the engine WILL fall down somewhere, so by all means, support it!

The engine front mount, that is, the left hand side mount as you are standing looking at the opened hood, is the easiest. Support engine, undo bolts, replace, done.

The transmission mount, at the right side front, as you are viewing the underhood, is a bit trickier. As I recall, you have to get at at least one of the bolts through the wheelwell and from underneath. Still pretty easy.

The third mount is a pain in the a$$. At first glance, it's easy to get to and to undo its bolts, BUT the mount cannot be removed from the cross member because of the very long attached bolts that connect it to the 'member. The only solution is to drop the cross member. This involves disconnecting the struts and a bunch of other stuff, so it's a good time to replace those as well.

Like I said at the top, after all that, it still didn't help, so I just shift to neutral as a course of habit when I come to a stop. It's second nature. My xB has always had the vibration, and it hasn't gotten any worse or any better for that matter, and I now have over 145.000 miles on it.

I have found that this forum isn't nearly as technical as others I visit for my other vehicles, and maybe it's because many of the owners aren't as experienced with actual mechanical repairs, as opposed to how versed they are with modifications. It's probably also due to the fact that these cars are relatively new, reliable and owned by people without more extensive experience (read: age).

One solution suggested about this same question on here a couple of years back was to replace the ground wire from the battery to chassis/engine with a much thicker spider of wires to provide a better ground path. Ummm...no. But I did it anyway, only cost ten bucks.

John B.

JD Huyler

Pretty sure I was the other guy my buddy JBOD was referring to. I have the intake box shake. Got the car with just under 80k, and it's got 92k now. It's an 04 also. It's annoying sometimes, but no problem. Have experienced bad mounts before, and this really doesn't seem like bad mounts. Just like others have said it's worse in drive, and reverse. Park or neutral it's still shaking, but not as bad. I figured I was worried about it cause I worry about every stupid thing or noise, but this is common it seems so whatever. It's had it since I got it, and like someone else mentioned it hasn't gotten better or worse. so it's no big deal to me.

Traildog

My 2006 XB has 60000 miles on it. I noticed vibration sound while in drive with brake on at 50000 miles and still have it. I also get soung sporatically park with my auto trans in park. When I hold the airbox it stops. Read old threads seems to be very common problem.