First of all hi to everyone. What a great site!
I'm a Brit living in Jakarta, Indonesia, and on Monday my wife and I are hoping to join the ranks of Scion Xa owners. (Here it's called a Toyota Ist). It's quite a rare car here and attractive in comparison to most of the tin boxes on the road.

Anyway, we went for a spin in it today and there was one noticeable problem with the vehicle.
When braking in order to stop while in 'D' drive (BTW it has automatic transmission ) it felt as though the car was going to stall just before it came to a halt, so we had to slip it into neutral before coming to rest. I'm not sure if this is related to the transmission or not. The only other problem I know of is that the engine mounts need replacing but I don't know if that has any relation to this problem.

Does anybody have any suggestions as to what the problem might be? We really like the car but want to be sure this is not going to be expensive to fix.
Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome to the site, hope you enjoy the forums. While I don't have experience with your particular problem you can down load all the Toyota Shop repair manuals here Scion Document List

and if you join this site (free) you will have access to all the part #'s and microfiche for Toyota cars worldwide Toyota DIY pars reference

Good luck

 

These cars have been noted for quite strong engine vibration at idle. Does it actually stall, or just feel like it?

 

Thanks for the info sdsnybny.

Thanks too, buickid. Perhaps I didn't describe it very well. It felt like juddering just before the car came to rest but each time it happened we moved into neutral and the juddering stopped. The seller said he thought it was caused by worn engine mountings but if that were true I think we would experience a similar effect when moving off from a stationary position.

 

Check the exhaust to see if it is miss firing, could need the spark plugs checked or gas cleaner. Bad motor mounts will allow more movement and could produce more vibration because of improper dampening of the engine movement. A safer way to proceed would be to have them fix the motor mounts before you buy it to be sure that it is the problem.

 

Thanks for the input Jan but the seller has said he's selling it as seen because he needs cash. He doesn't want to spend any more money on it.

The juddering is quite noticeable when slowing down but not really detectable when idling or pulling away, so I don't think it can be engine mountings.

I have just been reading about torque converter shudder and it sounds like it could be the culprit. It also sounds like it could prove to be pretty expensive.

 

Sounds like you might want to have a mechanic check it out before purchase. $80 is the most I've ever spent to have a vehicle checked out prior to purchase and my mechanic checked over my scion for free before I bought it. I gave him a case of Coronas as a thank you, so it did cost me something, just not very much. Sounds like this problem could be fairly inexpensive to fix (good deal to you because seller is motivated) or a major expense. The mechanic might check the car for free if he knows he will be getting business if you make the purchase. If ot were me, I'd role the dice and get a definitive answer since these cars aren't known for having major/expensive problems.

 

Some have noted that changing the spark plugs has smoothed out the idle a bit. Worn engine mounts can exacerbate the vibrations at idle. Its worse at idle because in D(rive), the transmission is presenting a load to the engine, the RPMs are fairly low and each pulse of the engine is very evident. When pulling away, it doesn't vibrate because the RPMs are higher and everything is smoother. My car vibrates a pretty fair amount in drive at idle, nothing alarming, but more than most cars I've sat in.

 

bearsnob - Thanks. Our regular mechanic couldn't come so we took the car to a local garage and had it looked over. (worn wheel bearing, worn shock absorber support and a worn belt). One of the good things about living in Jakarta is that two mechanics took a look - total cost = $10. One of the bad things about living here is that the traffic congestion is so bad that it's almost impossible to get above 15-20mph when doing a road test. Good to know that the Ist/Scion is not usually too problematical.

Buickid - The plugs were changed last month as was the transmission fluid. If the problem is related to the engine mountings I'll be quite relieved because they are an easier fix than some of the other possibilities I've come across on the Web. Thanks again.

Anyway, we are now proud owners of an Ist/Scion Xa. Having looked at a few examples over the last few weeks we decided to take a bit of a gamble on the car in question. The Ist/Scion is rare here. At any one time there are only a dozen or so for sale throughout the country and in terms of condition/price this one was the pick of the bunch.
Thanks to everyone for the input. Much as I like this forum though, I hope I'm not destined to continually seek advice here.

 

No worries, we're here if you need us :D