Hi, as some of you know me, I am in the middle of deciding to whether to get the xB or not? From reading some of the rattling problems with the xB, I am giving it a second thought. How many of you have problem with interior noise with the xB? And is the xB a comfortable commuter car? I live in Jersey, and I will be using the car to go to and from work. Approximately 40 miles a day. I will also be using this car for road trips once a year. Thanks in advance for contributing

 

It's kinda noisy. Mostly road noise from tires, and some engine noise.

Nothing a little sound deadener won't fix.

 

I commute 30-miles a day in my xB. Very comfortable car for commuting. The only thing I wish it had from the factory is cruise control.

As far as vibrations go...I just fixed a vibrating passenger side speaker grill by padding it with some electrical tape. The glove box also vibrates when going over bumps, so I'll be bringing it back to teh dealership to have it adjusted/fixed/whatever.

Other than that it is a fantastic little car.

 

Sound Deadened with RAAMAT and it is quiet now. For the glove box I ran a piece of home weather strip (sticky on one side-foam on the other) and it worked great.
Very comfortable to ride in.

 

I deadened the doors, roof, and floor with multiple layers of various types of deadening material. A single layer of matting on the roof is all you need there though.

Doors: Inside exterior wall. Egg-crate or Sonex pad behind the speakers. Seal the doors interior skin with two layers of matting and a good closed cell foam.

Wheel Wells: three layers of matting, 1 coating of sludge (secondskin), and a layer of open cell foam.

Floors: 1 coating of sludge and a layer of open cell foam. In the back, make sure you put down at least one layer of matting.

Firewall: same as the floors, just an extra two layers of matting.

The doors close with the sound of a caddy and less road noise than a high end BMW. When it rains, I can only hear the rain hitting the window unless it's raining really hard.

 

Comfort: Personally, it's as comfortable as any car I've owned (and this is #11). But this is what test drives are for, and if in doubt, try to rent one for some extended driving. Everybody is different, but all stock xB driver seats are the same; therefore, one man's fit is another man's pain in the butt.

Noise: I've owned noisier cars than this. I've owned cars that were technically quieter, but the *character * of the noise was more annoying. There's tire noise on concrete pavement, there's wind noise, there's engine noise, there's suspension noise on rough pavement. In the xB, for me, the tire noise is the biggest issue, so when the time comes to replace the tires I'll be researching quieter ones.

In practical terms, my wife and I find that holding a conversation at normal levels is at least as easy at highway speeds in the xB as it is in our technically quieter MPV. ANd I find that I can clearly hear music at comfortable listening levels. So in practical terms, the xB's noise is not problematic for us.

Note: I believe the auto is a bit quieter at highway speeds than the manual, because it revs about 500rpm lower.

RichC

 

i think your all crazy!!!! i got my xb cause i drive to school four nights a week round trip is about 140 miles. i love it, its comfy and i have had no problems with any raddles.

 

We are talking about road and engine noise, not necessarily rattles.

 

Just turn the stereo up and you'll be fine. If you stick to the stock wheels and springs the ride is pretty good if you don't have a lot of weight in it.

 

I commute 100miles a day..over 40,000 miles on mine in 1.5 yrs very comfy..no rattles...yes you get some drive train noise...nothing that bad though

 

It's a SWEET commuter car! That's almost all I use mine for (about 20 miles a day), aside from the occasional trip to the store or for other short hops, and I'd rate it the best commuter car I've ever had. It very comfortable; moreso after I raised the front seat mounts by about a half an inch so it slopes back ever so slightly. The noise is a little more than some cars I've had, but quieter than most. It's mostly tire whine and I don't mind that too much and the radio drowns out most of it anyway. Rattling? Haven't had any. GO for it -- you won't be sorry . . . .

 

I have had mine now for 1 year and i think the xB is less noisy than other cars that i had ( accord, nissan pickup,mits pickup,etc.).
I put on 25,500 miles on last year and that is around 70 miles per day And i only have problems with the seats if the trip is more than 5 or 6 hours long.
Factory cruise would be a great idea.

 

Thanks for all the inputs. I really like the people from this forum compare to the others. My brother recently bought a Toyota Matrix XR stick shift. I drove it out to the movies today and I was extremely surprised at how well the clutch engages and how short the clutch was. The driving experience was actually better than driving my Lexus IS300. Has anyone driven the MATRIX and the xB stick shift before? If so please let me know how they compare. If its similar, I would definitely get the xB by August or Sept.

 

95 miles a day--the noise I have is from having an intake and special muffler. I like that I am sitting up fairly high. The seats are not bad--better than most imports. The seat could be a little wider--but as I said better than most imports. Was comfortable enough for the 3.5 hour trip to Vegas--and room for luggage also. You could do a lot worse.........

 

My xB is stock. No rattles, no banging sounds when I go over bumps. At higher speeds above 60 MPH there is some moderate wind noise..it isn't a Lexus. I've been buying vehicles for 30 years. The xB is the first one I felt was perfect for me.
Matt

 

It's very similar. The only major difference is the xB has a little longer grab time than the XR at the same RPMs. That's almost a given with the differences in horse power though. There isn't very much difference though between them. Go to a Scion dealership and take both for a test drive... you'll be surprised.

 

If you're tall, then the seat/ pedals/ steering wheel geometry may not be the best on longer drives.

There's more road and exhaust noise than I'd like with the TRD Sport exhaust at highway speeds. Road noise varies a lot depending on the road surface- I think a lot of it is in the stock Goodyear tires...

Currently contemplating some deadening and insulation, leaning towards the RAAMmat BXT and some of their closed cell foam...

I'd recommend the Progress rear sway bar to anybody, if only to improve emergency handling- hasn't affected the stiff ride noticeably...

This isn't a luxury car, or a great road car, at all, more of a miniature urban sports utility vehicle. If what you really want is a highway cruiser, look elsewhere.

And I can't speak to rattles, really, as my own box still has less than 1000 miles on it. Nothing so far...

 

Yes, we own both an '05 xB (w/manual transmission) and an '06 Matrix XR (w/auto). We traded my wife's '04 mini cooper for the Matrix but opted for auto (the Cooper was a manual).

We test drove a Matrix with manual transmission and although we liked it... we wanted to have an auto tranny in one of our cars.

The xB has the smoothest shifting manual that I've ever driven. But if I were buying a new car for myself today, it would be between the xB and the Matrix... and the Matrix would win out.

 

i guess the reason i said i dont have any raddels or road noise is cuase i was so used to driving my 1966 chevelle malibu that was completly gutted for racing. you can imagin how loud it was with the flowmasters, so to be in my xB its heaven on wheels to me. i guess if i ever really wanted to see if there was road noise i would have to turn the stereo down long enough to find out lol.