My '06 Xb is in the dealer for the VSC, trac, and 'check engine' light. These came on for a day last week and then again day before yesterday. I took it in yesterday and today he tells me that the gear that drives the adjustable valve timing is shot. This car has 44 thousand on it. It has been running great with over 30mpg. I bought it new and have changed the oil every 2,500 miles and used good synthetic. The first 30 thousand were ALL interstate miles (steady 80mph). I mean, I have over 42 thousand on my nitto 17's, that's how straight and smooth I drive it. I've hit the rev limiter a few times but c'mon,....This thing seems to be very high maintenance...The TRW clutch screwed up the tranny and I got a new tranny at about 25k. Anyone else with this problem or is the dealer taking advantage of my extended warranty?

 

theres been a bad batch of those for some time now...

 

At least ur lucky it did before it went out of warranty. I have 67000 miles on mine it just started kicking that code too so i have to go talk to a service manager and see if he can help get the part warranted and i pay the labor to put it on.

 

So has anyone tried just resetting the ECU and see if it comes back? Also do you notice anything different about how the cars runs? I guess what I saying is the gear really bad? Does anyone know what the cost is on just that piece. I would think that it would not be too hard to replace, drop the timing chain off the gear and unbolt the VVT piece and put the new one on. Maybe I am just dreaming.

 

The gear works fine it just some times doesnt lock or unlock like its supossed to so it trips the c.e.l light to come on code 012. U can reset the ecm but it wont fix the problem it will more than likely come back on. Mine usally comes back on like 2 weeks of driving usally on long trips going at low speed when mine comes on.

 

How strange that our cars seem to be the only ones affected by this. Other Toyota engines have been using VVTI for sometime now and have not had this problem. What type of oil are you guys using that are having this issue?

 

this thread confuses me...

okay, a lemon, by most definition, means that you bought a new car, and have had the same problem fixed 3 times under warranty, before toyota has buy the car back and say it was a lemon.

now, what is a trw clutch? did you mean trd? if you bought a trd clutch, and it messed up your transmission, i got news for you, it wasn't the clutch, it was the dealership. probably messed up the installation somewhere.

now, i have read threads about bad camshaft position sensors or car gear problems, particularly with the xb. maybe there was a bad batch of engines shipped to the factory one week or so.

as for your tires lasting so long, it shows you really drive steady and easy on the box, but changing the oil every 2,500 miles is excessive. especially since you apparently drive so easy on it. toyota says 5,000 miles with regular miles.

so is your xb a lemon, and high maitenance, that hardly seems the case since you're doing alot of it yourself.

as for the dealership taking advantage of your warranty...if you have less than 60k miles on the car, no they aren't. and for your extended warranty, uhm...that is why you bought it, so that problems beyond the factory warranty would be covered, they actually make less money on warranty repairs, than do they do on regular repairs.

 

This is the Tsb for the problem were having :
http://scionlife.org/Scion_Docs/Scion_TSBs/eg00907.pdf

Check ur VIN number if ur number is higher then what the TSB says then doesnt apply to ur xb.

Just took mine in today and they didnt perform the test on it cause they said the c.e.l wasnt on for the problem to be checked.

Its come on several times and i reset it and it comes back only after driving on long trips or after a 2 weeks of driving.

So if u have the same problem dont clear the codes leave the C.E.L light on so the dealership will see the codes. Thats why they didnt help me today cause the codes werent on. Just for future peeps to know about this.

If u have this code happen then toyota will more than likely help and warranty the Vtti controller (pulley) if ur past 60000 miles just offer to pay the labor to get it put on its like 150 the part is what u want warranty to cover its cost is like 300

 

Thx 4 info.
Dealer fixed under warranty. I hate to say it but I am real glad I bought the extended warranty because if this thing continues to be as problematic as it has, I'll need it!
I had though I was buying a Toyota but the service record indicates otherwise. All of my Nissans and Mazdas were well past the 150k mark before they ever experienced serious troubles such as I have experienced with this car (beginning at 5k miles). When I realize that I am part of a marketing experiment; That I am driving a Yaris or an Echo (or whatever incarnation it will take this year), and that it cost me well over $21 or 22k, I shudder. The tanabe 210's are not low enough but just the same, all the above melts away when I take a curve marked 35mph at 80 or 85mph and it stays in it's lane, rock solid and without even a sound from the tires! Now, das wha I'm talkin' 'bout ! ! !

 

Ok so I am confused. The above TSB is for a scion TC and not the XB and covers only that engine? So is there really a issue with the 1.5 Scion XB engine VVTI gear? And if there is, is there a TSB for that as well?