JD Huyler

I recently got this 2004 Scion XB. I got a REALLY good deal on it, and I needed a new car so I hurried up, and grabbed this immediately. Ever since I got it it seemed to have a normal or what I thought was normal minor vibration. Now today from the last time I drove it it has seemed to have gotten a little more rougher. It's hard to explain. I didn't know if it was normal or not. It just seemed like this car wasn't exactly the smoothest car I have ever driven. The vibration usually occurs between 25 and 55 mph on acceleration. If I am say coasting at 40 mph for example it does not do it so much, but on acceleration it does. Until today I tried to pass it off, and accept it as just being a car that didn't ride very smoothly. Maybe because of it's small size, and weight.


Now the steering wheel has no vibration at all. None whatsoever. At least not YET. As far as alignment goes it seems to be aligned perfectly. As far as I can tell. No pulling to the side at least not right away. I can take my hand off the wheel at 60 mph, and it will stay perfectly straight for at least 5 seconds unless it's real windy which is to be expected given the weight of this car. It's only 2600 lbs or so with me in it! Even less I think! The vibration is seeming to be on the floor, and now it seems like it's slightly starting under the seat as well. In a little while I am gonna go out for a ride, and have my girlfriend drive the car while I sit in the passenger seat to see how it feels over on that side. I have also checked the cv joints for tears, and can't find any. My tires could need balancing, but I am going to be getting new ones anyway real soon anyway as the old ones are getting sort of dryrotted though they have next to brand new tread.


Call me pessimistic or superstitious or crazy, but I had a Mercury Topaz for my first car. This was 10 years ago when I first got it. Anyway it had real low mileage for how old it was, and my uncle gave it to me, because the dealership only wanted to give him a hundred bucks for it on a trade in. Well the first year I had it as a senior in high school it was great. Other than the alternator it stayed great, and then I made some bad decisions, and started hanging out with this girl who lived down a dirt road covered in potholes, and to cut the life story short I effed up everything in the front end one by one over the next 6 months after. Right out of high school I didn't make much money so my grandfather gave me a lot of money to fix this that he was generous enough to never ask for back to the day. In repairs I think I totalled that car 3 times over. Now that car I treated badly, but since then I have taken good car of every car I have had, and most of them have given me this front end problem. It's like i'm cursed now. If just one crappy pos XB was built out of all of them with my luck thats the one I would get. Even if it was virtually problem free until I got it.

Anyway car is an 04 XB automatic, 82k miles. Thanks in advance!

CaliforniaGuy007

Well in my limited knowledge this does sound like a tire issue. I bought some POS tires for my 1996 corolla and rotated them every 10K. At the second tire rotation at 20K miles, I had a lot of noise and vibration from the wheels. I didn't notice it at first, but when I moved my back wheels to the front, it was really pronounced. Tire shop said the steel belts in the tires were done. And, I'm pretty certain my suspension, which I've never replaced in the car's 160,000 mostly city miles, was causing the premature tire wear. At any rate, if you don't feel any vibration from the dash or steering wheel, it's probably not a motor mount, and most likely a tire (balance or replace) or suspension issue.

JD Huyler

Thanks for your help. Just went for a ride in it, and got a passengers seat perspective. The passenger side doesn't seem to have the slight vibration as the drivers side BUT, I do notice that you can feel EVERY little movement in the wheels with the car. I am hoping that is because the car is very small, and light, and there isn't much to it. My girlfriend says she thinks it's fine, but her car is more than a few years older, and when you drive an 04 it seems like the greatest car in the world. She says hers is worse in her car. Do you have an XB by the way? Is it just because the XB is so light, and not much to it, and thats why you can feel EVERY little movement of the wheels while you are driving? As far as the tires they are Yokohama. I believe they only have 10k miles at most. They probably don't even have that. In the last two years though the woman who had it had a stroke, and couldn't drive no more. She still used the cars for her friends, and family to take her to doctors appointments an hour away though. So the tires have a lot of tread, and don't seem to be abnormally wearing, but I haven't even put 3000 miles on this car yet! Though they are starting to dryrot a bit. Anyway I was looking up tires for it when I first got it, and the Yokohamas are the cheapest ones, but they said it had an 80k mile warranty. Not expecting to get a warranty on the ones I have now, but just thinking the tires couldn't be that cheap or crappy quality if they are guaranteed 80k miles!

MadMike550

spring for the new tires..and get some good ones...

buy them like your life depends on them..because it does
you buy cheap..you usually get cheap

JD Huyler

I planned to get them anyway before September. I also wanna add that it doesn't make noises though. This issue is pretty much a noise free issue. In fact I was thinking. Cars I have had in the past, and have driven that had some front end problems the floor would be really smooth. Like going over the road would be very smooth, and you didn't feel a thing. Though you would hear popping noises when turning, and or clicking, and sloppiness in the wheel. From cv joints, bad ball joints, and tie rod ends. Though with this car the XB I am not getting any noises, not much slop in the wheel, but you can literally feel every single rock, and bump in the road, and you can also feel the wheels moving through the floor every time you make a turn.

So I guess a good question that I am asking is are XB's usually not the smoothest riding car? I know I sound stupid, but I have never driven another nor even ridden in one. So thats it. Is the XB not known for being the smoothest car? This isn't the bumpiest car I have ever driven, but it isn't as smooth as most little cars. Though it's a small light weight car. I also wanna add it seems to feel smoother after I hit 60 than it does before I hit 60. Aren't tire issues usually worse at higher speeds? 60, 70 and up is feels even smoother than it does at 35. Again thanks a lot.

dgenem

I agree with the others, it sounds like one or more tires are a little off balance or maybe had something happen in their past (plugged, patched, ect). I've had new tires off balance that caused that before.

CaliforniaGuy007

I'll agree with MadMike on this...its worth every cent to get better tires. A lot of local places are advertising $35 tires, ect. Trust me, do some research and talk to people and don't buy cheap tires. I made that mistake on my Corolla. I can't remember what brand I bought (primewell?) but they were noisy, rough, slipped in the rain, and I blew through them in 20K miles. (185/65/14 60,000+/- rated)

JD Huyler

Well I am hoping thats it. I have a buddy who is a mechanic, and he approved of the car when I got, but we had a fallout recently, and I am hoping we can patch things up. I know we will, but I can't call him up, and make things good for him to come, and look at my car for me. It just wouldn't be right. Also after buying this car I am TAPPED. I really don't need a $1200 repair bill. Actually forget needing it. I CAN'T afford it. I really figured after buying a good car like this that I would be able to go more than two months without throwing money into this thing while I slowly rebuild a savings! Went out again, and today it seems to be worse than before.


It almost feels like I am riding on a rumble strip when I accelerate between 40-55 especially. You know the little strip before the shoulder on highways to alert you you're riding off the road. It just doesn't make any noises, and it isn't quite as bad as the rumble strip feels, but mildly.

MadMike550

these are small Boxes..you will not get a cadillac ride out of em...jack your car up..get the front wheels off the ground and look at everything very closely..your tie rods and your ball joints.bushings etc...when you done with all of that

get some tires

if after all that..you still have a problem
bring your box in for a free estimate at a good shop

Improbcat

If you are getting the vibration through the floor & seat and not through the steering wheel the cause is likely in the rear suspension/tires and not the front.

Try rotating the tires and see if the vibration changes. If it changes you ahve a tire problem, if it doesn't you have a suspension issue. xB rear wheel bearings sometimes fail early, so check those also.

JD Huyler

What brand of tires do you reccommend?

Improbcat

General Altimax HP. Really good all around tires at a good price.

ajcadoo

Stock suspension is bad, you feel everything in the car. You may wanna upgrade your struts/springs for a smoother ride. Also, the higher the PSI in the tires, the more you feel in the cabin. I just put some air in the tires yesterday and I feel so much road vibration. You get used to it...but I think the problem is not a problem at all. The Scion was not built for comfort, but for economy.

Zman

The xB chooses good handling over smooth ride.
Many people like this, it is more fun for turns.

I would get some 195/60/15 Falken 912s, slightly taller size is more rubber between you and the road, and the tires have been great for me over the past year. I'm not sure how much life they have left.

You can get a set of 4 for about $250-$260 on Discounttiredirect.com.

BiteXb

Are the wheels stock? Reason, if it is aftermarket wheels it could be the hubcentric rings or lack of.

RichBinAZ

tips on buying tires?
1. Look at the max pressure rating on the sidewall. Don't buy anything that is near the recommended pressure on the door plaque, go for higher pressure capability.
2. Check out discount tires information about tires. Easy to read
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoHome.do
I like to pick the highest temperature rating for the phoenix area
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoSidewall.dos

TerrorCrew

yeah don't buy cheap tires....i learned my lesson the hard-way....replacing each tire one by one as they get bubbles in the tread or sidewalls.

JD Huyler

If I had to describe more accurately what the floorboard feels like well I would say that it feels very much like what it feels like to ride a skateboard. Even a roller blade. If anyone skates or rollerblades or has ever than thats kinda what my floorboard feels like.


An update. Never bothered rotating the tires, because I am definitely getting new ones within the month, because while these ones have next to brand new tread, they are getting dryrotted. I talked to another guy who is a friend of a friend, and another friend who has ridden in one of these cars numerous times, and they both said that the XB is one of the stiffest riding cars. They both said they take bumps well, but the floor when going over the road is not smooth whatsoever. They both made it sound like it's just the way the cars are built. No problems, and nothing malfunctioning. Just the way the cars are because the wheels are small, and the car just doesn't have much to it at all. Though on the internet I see a lot of people reviewing their cars saying stuff like ''My 2004 XB has 133k miles on it, and it still rides as smooth as it did the day I took it off the lot brand new six years ago!''. Now I don't know what they mean by smooth.

MadMike550

smooth is a relative term when talking about our beloved little boxes

JD Huyler

So they are not supposed to be smooth? I just feel a lot of road under me while I am driving if you know what I mean. I really wish I can ride in another one, and see what it feels like, and compare it to mine. I just hope it's not the cv joints, because I don't have the money right now. I really just don't. I checked them out, and there are no tears. At least not the outer ones, but the inner ones are hard to get to.