My wife has an 09 xB with about 88k miles. On road trips if I toggle it over to the "sport/sequential" mode and leave it in 4th gear it nets me a 29 mpg trip. It's great.

Question is, is there a way to add a 5th gear or tune the xB and get that 4th gear to get longer and not be so high in then RPMs on those road trips...

Not sure if my question made sense, Lol hope it did.

 

Yes, you can get the U250E 5-speed auto out of a 2009-up Matrix or 2005-2009 Camry and it will give you a lower 4th gear and add an even lower 5th gear. Probably need a new ECU for it though. Expect to spend at least $5-600 for a used transmission and then labor and whatever parts you need to make it work.

 

Very nice... I can do the labor, I need to research it more and get a parts list together and add this to my to do list.
Thanks for the reply.

 

It's gonna be a lot of work for nothing just look at Fueleconomy.gov to do the compare


Add a Vehicle 2.4 L, 4 cyl, Automatic (S4) 2.4 L, 4 cyl, Automatic (S5) MSRP: $16,970 - $20,420 MSRP: $19,275 - $22,415 2014 Scion xB 2013 Toyota Matrix EPA Fuel Economy
Regular Gasoline Regular Gasoline Combined MPG:24 MPG City MPG:22Highway MPG:28combined
city/highwaycityhighwayCombined MPG:24 MPG City MPG:21Highway MPG:29combined
city/highwaycityhighway 4,2 gal/100mi 4,2 gal/100mi 336 miles
Total Range

317 miles
Total Range

 

Compare the xB to the 2015 Scion tC. It has a presumably more efficient 2.5 L 4, six speed automatic transmission, and a more aerodynamic body style yielding only MPG 23 City / 31 highway which is 1 MPG better for city, 3 MPG for highway.

If the xB had been upgraded with the tC powertrain, I think the resulting change in MPG would have been negligible.

 

In theory the 6 speed auto would be nice. In reality I don't think I would want one. It pretty much demands dealer service. There is no tranny dip stick. Just to check the fluid level you have to login through the obd port and make sure the the tranny temp is between 113 and 119 F and then you can check the level through a fill plug. Dealers can do it at higher operating temps if they apply a vacuum to the transmission and use an adjustable gauge that they adjust for the current tranny temp.

I think I would prefer the poorer fuel economy and saving money by doing my own maintenance. It sure seems that auto manufacturers are heading for the day when opening the hood is a dealer job and doing so voids your warranty.