New xA owner questions

[incitatus]

Hi everyone,

I have recently got myself a relatively lightly used xA and I have a few questions that I hope people can answer:

The car has a Toyota alarm system and in the book it mentions that the microphone inside should pickup knocking on the window and sound a few "back-off" chirps. I tried knocking on the driver's side window with the key (as instructed in the manual), but had no success in triggering the alarm.

Does anybody have any insight on this one?

Regarding the alarm again: I got only one remote with the car and the checking with official Toyota dealrs (as instructed by Scion cust support) I got a number of over $200 in order to get another remote.

Are these really the prices?
With this kind of figure I might as well get a newer, more sophisticated alarm system.

When I put the fan on vent to bring in fresh air it seems warmer relatively to what the outside temp is on a cool night.

Is this how it is in this small car that the air passes closer to the engine and gets warmed up in either case?

Regarding the cabin air filters: the manual speaks of two filters but I could only find one in a drawer like enclosure, horizontally. The manual shows another one that is supposed to be vertically, but I could not see it; all I see are some covers over the entrance to the fan module(?), which looks quite odd.

Am I missing some pieces in the car? (it actually came without the horizontal cabin air filter)

Regarding the original Scion 10-spoke 15" alloy: if I were to get them, can I fit on them tires that are slightly wider than the ones that come with the vehicle?


Any help is appreciated.

Thank you.

[DriverXa]

Congrats on the ride. For the alarm there usually is a sensitivitly adjuster to make it more or less sensitive to tapping or hard hits. I guess your's is set to more on hard hits/breakins so that its not going off for every stupid little thing.

As for the fan/hvac, it draws in air on the passenger side cowlings. If you were to remove your windsheild wipers and cowl cover you can see right into the cabin/fan area. I do notice to that certain times when useing the fan the air is warmer than opening the windows, but when I get moving it cools off pretty well. If you notice the cowling protrudes a nice amount over the engine, and the bottom part of the cowling is a metal peice...so its pretty safe to say that the engine heat is probably warming up the air abit.

To get to the cabin filters you first have to open your glove box. Than squeeze the top back park on each side so you can slip the stops past the dash and the glove box will come right out. You'll than see the hvac fan where you can pull out the tray for the cabin filter. A little hint/mod to do is go to Walmart or Home Depot and buy a big home central air filter, measure the tray and make a bunch of your own filters for the price of one Toyota filter.

And yes you can put on tires that are alittle wider than stock. I recommend finding a tire size calculator online to help you find the right size without messing up your speedometer...but most places like discounttiredirect.com or tirerack.com will have the correct size chosen already when you are looking for tires.

[mb2008]

Not sure about the alarm, you can see the glass mic, it's built into the little rectangle box with the red LED (by your left knee when sitting in drivers seat). I've never tried it, but it might only go off if someone shatters the window, I mean come on, who's going to go around tapping on the window before they break in? And you should have gotten 2 remotes with it, now you know someone out there has the other one. When I got my car new, it came with 3 keys and 2 remotes. I've read in another post someone got a really good alarm with warranty for $400, so... you're choice, get screwed by the dealer or pay about double for something a lot better.

Oh, the air can be warmer because it's flowing over your warm hood before coming in the vent, like ^ said, the motor could be doing it. And since you just got the car and might not have noticed yet, yes the two outside vents by your windows always stay on (they act as defoggers for the drive and passenger window when you pointed at them) and always blow harder than the two inside ones.

[Tercel95]

My car got vandalized, kicked, keyed, tires slashed, the drivers side door was kicked in and the kids stomped all over the roof and the alarm did not go off. The security system sucks. I guess you have to break the window to get it to go off.

[cobb]

Yeah, the alarm sucks. It only alarms when a door is opened and or the mic hears a window break. I thought it was the type loud rap music or motorcycles would set off.

Yup, the outside air is hotter than having hte windows opened an inch all around.

Tercel95 wrote: My car got vandalized, kicked, keyed, tires slashed, the drivers side door was kicked in and the kids stomped all over the roof and the alarm did not go off. The security system sucks. I guess you have to break the window to get it to go off.

[mb2008]

My alarm has gone of from loud thunder once. I did notice also that if you leave your windows down and set the alarm, if you reach in and unlock the door manually it will go off.

[incitatus]

Sounds like it might be a good idea to replace the toyota stock alarm with one which is a bit more sophisticated. Any recommendations?

Another quick question about alloy wheels: looks aside, is there any benefit for them? I'm guessing that they don't make much of an impact on MPG, but do they make the ride smoother by being lighter?

Thanks for all the replies.

[cobb]

I too am open to alarm suggestions that do not require rewiring the car or hacking/splicing everything. At least it will lock the doors a minute late if you forget to and walk away after driving it.

I went with the oem wheels since I like the look and my xa has been discontinued. You can find lighter than steelie alloy wheels, however most are heavier and do less for handling and mpg. Heavier wheel is bad, lighter wheel good. Plus sizing larger wheel size lower profile tire gives a firmer ride, but is more weight for the car to deal with.

incitatus wrote: Another quick question about alloy wheels: looks aside, is there any benefit for them? I'm guessing that they don't make much of an impact on MPG, but do they make the ride smoother by being lighter?

[mb2008]

incitatus wrote: Sounds like it might be a good idea to replace the toyota stock alarm with one which is a bit more sophisticated. Any recommendations?

Another quick question about alloy wheels: looks aside, is there any benefit for them? I'm guessing that they don't make much of an impact on MPG, but do they make the ride smoother by being lighter?

Thanks for all the replies.

I have the optional alloy wheels, they do look so much better than hub caps that's for sure, but I don't know if they're lighter than the ones you would get with the hub caps. I think they're the same exact size and width, I don't know the numbers but I'm pretty sure they're 15in. Either way, if you want different wheels than the bone stock ones it would probably be cheaper to go with aftermarket ones, that way you could also get lighter ones. When it comes to having a wheel for a better ride, I always hear you should get wide ones with a lot of rubber... but then your gas mileage will suffer.

[incitatus]

I ended up tweaking the sensitivity on the alarm system, pushing it from 5 to 10, and now it triggers almost always on the first tap with the key on the window. I followed the instruction in the PDF available here.

With that taken care of, my next task might very well be to figure out how to clean the AC/ventilation tract as there is a pretty foul smell when the fan is initially turned on (especially when set to recirculation). Has anybody done this? Any tips?

[cobb]

I use to have ac smells as I use to park on a hill. I would spray the ac intake under the glove box with lysol.I used half a can til itdripped lysol outside on the ground.

[mb2008]

incitatus wrote: I ended up tweaking the sensitivity on the alarm system, pushing it from 5 to 10, and now it triggers almost always on the first tap with the key on the window. I followed the instruction in the PDF available here.

With that taken care of, my next task might very well be to figure out how to clean the AC/ventilation tract as there is a pretty foul smell when the fan is initially turned on (especially when set to recirculation). Has anybody done this? Any tips?

I think that's just because you need to change the air filter behind your glove box, mine will smell a little too and I've never replace the filter so I'm pretty sure that's why. I haven't removed my glove box yet but there's supposed to be a spot to squeeze near the top when it's open.

[incitatus]

mb2008 wrote: I think that's just because you need to change the air filter behind your glove box, mine will smell a little too and I've never replace the filter so I'm pretty sure that's why. I haven't removed my glove box yet but there's supposed to be a spot to squeeze near the top when it's open.

It's not the problem in my case: the car in fact came with no filter and I got the Toyota one. I don't know if it didn't have one from the get-go, remove by the original owner, or removed after it was repossesed. So, I don't know what colonies might be growing in the ducts :)

The filter I got is rather useless in trapping odors and seems to be good only for blocking stuff from entering fan unit; if an old truck is infront of me spewing black fumes, all that good stuff gets into the cabin.

Are there any better filters out there that would work in the xA, and will also actually filter the air?

Thanks

[mb2008]

incitatus wrote: mb2008 wrote: I think that's just because you need to change the air filter behind your glove box, mine will smell a little too and I've never replace the filter so I'm pretty sure that's why. I haven't removed my glove box yet but there's supposed to be a spot to squeeze near the top when it's open.

It's not the problem in my case: the car in fact came with no filter and I got the Toyota one. I don't know if it didn't have one from the get-go, remove by the original owner, or removed after it was repossesed. So, I don't know what colonies might be growing in the ducts :)

The filter I got is rather useless in trapping odors and seems to be good only for blocking stuff from entering fan unit; if an old truck is infront of me spewing black fumes, all that good stuff gets into the cabin.

Are there any better filters out there that would work in the xA, and will also actually filter the air?


Thanks

They don't use the same filter do they? I thought there was one for the inside (switch to the right) and one for outside air coming in (switch to the left).

It really doesn't matter when you say "better" filter for it. A lot of people on here say just get a regular big filter you would use for the air conditioner in a house and cut it to fit the holder in the car because it's a lot cheaper and you get about 4 from the one. Also, put some dryer sheets in with the filter if you want to get a nice smell when you turn on your AC.

[cobb]

I buy the filters from autozone that include arm and hammer in them to absorbe odors. From what I can see, it only filters on outside air, inside air is sucked in that black flap behind the glove box.

Living matter makes the smell and should be KILLED for you to get rid of the odor.

[incitatus]

I have a new issue now: seems like the car squeaks more and more from the rear.
If I push on the car laterally at the rear I would hear squaks, and even sometimes when going in reverse and braking not-so-gently.

Could it be that something needs some lubrication in the rear?

The car has around 17k miles, and I acquired it at 15k a few months ago. The first 15k were made by the first owner in around one year and a bit, prior to the vehicle being repossesed, hence I know nothing of the maintenance being performed on it.

Any hints will be appreciated.

[cobb]

The rear has 2 springs, 2 shocks and 2 swing arm bushings. I am wondering maybe if the rear brakes are dragging and causing the noises.

How did you get this car? I wonder if it might be a Katrina car?

[incitatus]

Should not be a Katrina vehicle, since as far as I can tell from the Carfax report, the first (and only) owner got it in March 2007.

I bought the vehicle from a dealer (not a Toyota one).

[pctD]

My rear bumper is pretty damn loud, especially after lowering my xA. Is that the noise you're talking about? It sounds like a vibration, but you really hear it when you go over a series of bumps. Still haven't thought of a way to fix it; just looks like bad design with plastic connectors that come undone. :/

[incitatus]

No, this is not about the bumper -- it is about rocking the vehicle and hearing noises from the rear suspension area, which I cannot hear when driving.