Guillo_xA

suppp i purchased an 06xA on last saturday and since last night, i turned on the acc/ it started a strange vibration, i didn't pay much attention, then this morning right before going to work didn't do it...so, driving to work with the ac turned on, on idle it starting a little vibration again, i waited until i arrived to my parking and when i opened the hood the air filter was vibrating ando also the engine, i've checked and does it the most rare when the ac is on, if is off then does it but you don't feel it inside, also the exhaust is not smooth, is like having misfire, don't know what is the problem or wait and it will go away..., to solve it in my home or take it to the dealer...what should i do...? don't know if is a lifter problem, another question does this cars have a black box, so the dealer knows the max speed you've run it, if so does this affects my waranty? also i've bouth it new...

Guillo_xA

the car is stock no modifications made and has 500 miles

chadfo

Many cars have a vibration at idle with the AC on. It's the extra load from the compressor. If it's fine while driving and when the AC is off, it's probably normal.

vintage42

A vibration in the engine compartment caused by a rough idle with irregular exhaust note sounds like a problem for the dealer to fix.

You have 500 miles. Maybe if the engine was run too soon at max speed and max rpm it could have affected a valve and cause the rough idle that you have.

My ScanGuage can record the max rpm and mph for a trip,and gets its info from the engine's computer, so I imagine the dealer can get the same info out of the computer.

I doubt that the failure to observe proper break-in can be used to deny a warranty claim. However, if the computer date should suggest that the new car was immediately raced, and the engine showed internal damage, maybe there could be a problem.

Guillo_xA

if the computer shows an internal damage...why doesnt' the check engine turned on??

Guillo_xA

or how do i know it's problem, bye the codes of the computer or just, opening the engine? cause it's too early for me to start opening the engine and too soon to be without a car

ChromiumSteel

A cup of saw dust will help with dat vibrato problem. If not, trade it on a Honda! Just kidding bro!put about 9500 more miles on it and get back to us! Your vehicle is fine.

wagonbldr

My Box also has this problem. It only does it with the A/C on and at idle. It has since new. Something else to check is that the air cleaner cover is properly installed. What I mean by that is the top cover has 2 tabs that have to fit into 2 recivers on the firewall side. My box has the strut bar and clearence is very tight. Just about everytime I take it to the dealers for oil change, they don't get the top on right. this causes a lot of vibration noise. As soon as I hear the louder noise, I know what it is. Takes about 5 minutes to get the cover properly installed.

vintage42

The computer cannot show damage. It can probably tell the highest mph and rpm the engine has been in the period before the diagnosis, and can tell if the engine is not running properly, and how that affects the engines parameters, but it cannot look inside and see damage.
Damage could only be seen if the dealer thought it necessary to tear the engine down to investigate or repair the problem

vintage42

That would probably be his problem -- if he had not also said he ran the car very hard when under 500 miles and...
He suspects a valve.

Guillo_xA

thankz for the help guys i'll update you later, first i will check the air cleaner if its properly installed, i'll wait for the first oil change in the dealer if it still with the vibration then i'll tell them to check it...

Rickisan

Guillo_xA, I have an 06 xB with 5K miles. I think our engines are almost identical. I too have a nasty vibration at idle w/AC on. It's not so much the vibration itself, I kind of like the way it feels inside the car. But I very much don't like the large amount of movement the whole intake manifold has while the A/C compressor is engaged.

It has some harmonic resonance going on and it is moving like 1/2 inch in each direction. The movement is shaking the whole air intake assembly rapidly and harshly. It will definitely cause problems somewhere down the road and I'm going to fix it somehow. It's just way too much vibration to say it's ok and normal.

If you will reply on this I'll have your email and will contact you when I figure out a fix. It is not a good thing and I'm going to fix it.

Rickisan

Fujiz_xb

hmm i just had the ac compressor replaced. i would still check it out.

Guillo_xA

ok, guys i went to the dealer and made them turn on the engines of new xa, xb and used ones, and the ones with the auto tranny vibrate even more, so it's perfectly fine the engine, its a huge releaf to know my engine is just fine, the engine produces the same as new, it was just the vibration in the air box, so thanks for the opinions they helped alot...they told me that since is a little 1.5 L the engine doesn't have much space so when it is in movement the car will move a little bit, also my guitar player has a STI subaru, and he made an excellent 6,000 break inn engine and vibrates also inside the car...

Rickisan

It may be just fine to most people but in 40 years of working on engines I can't recall ever seeing one vibrate that violently. It will shake something loose eventually and should be eliminated if there is an elegant way to do it without too much time and expense. It will likely be fine for 3-4 years but I'd like to keep this car at least 10.

It's good to know they all do it. If people do begin to have problems then Toyota likely will come up with a fix of some kind. Hopefully.

vintage42

Today I laid a hand on my air cleaner and felt the vibration. It is not a shaking which thought Guillo_xA was describing, but a vibration almost invisible to the eye, so I had not noticed it in 8500 miles of doing things around the engine. It can hardly be felt by touching the engine, but is amplified by the way the air cleaner hangs off the engine. It is the normal vibration of a 4-cylinder engine with no counter-balance shaft, and is isolated from the body by the rubber engine mounts.

I had two BMW 2002s (1971 and 1974) whose 2.0L fours were also not counter-balanced but were mounted in very flexible rubber mounts. The engines literally rocked from side to side at idle.

Rickisan

I rechecked mine again and it's not as bad as the first time I looked at it. I guess I'll just keep an eye on it for now. Not sure there will be a good way to eliminate the shake or if it's even possible from what you are saying about the lack of counter-balancing. Thanks for the info.

ayS

i noticed mine today has somewhat of a rough idle. but maybe it could be cause the computer is still "learning" it only has 32 miles on it.

foxtrot685

i have a 2006 scion xa with 10019 miles on it... i have a rough idle with the a/c on. my dealer has looked at it 2 times and declared it perfectly normal and since it is consistant... i could care less about it... but then again my xa is a lemon

vintage42

Is it a shake, or a vibration? A shake could be from a rough idle or a miss. A vibration is normal and cannot be completely eliminated unless balance shafts are used.
Once 4-cylinder engines exceed 2.5 litres their inherent vibration becomes large enough that they are often designed with balance shafts, which add complexity and cost. Small engines like ours just use a harmonic vibration damper on the front of the crankshaft. In the Scion parts system our damper is called "Part No. 13407-21020, Damper Assembly, $217.00." Otherwise known as the pulley.