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Wagons Toyota Matrix Toyota Matrix vs. Pontiac Vibe - Compare Notes
282 messages, Last post on Jun 17, 2008 at 1:32 PM
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Replying to: remaxmarty1 (Sep 12, 2006 6:31 pm) I'm guessing this is not a joke... Uneven tire wear comes from worn suspension parts or poor alignment. Cars are often not well aligned when they roll off the assembly line. You need a mechanic, not a lawyer. FWIW, my '04 Vibe ran its lousy OEM tires down in 27k miles. And it did so very evenly. It had a couple other niggling things wrong with it that the dealer fixed. Life with cars is like that. A law suit over tire wear....??? Nuts. -Mathias
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The only thing I noticed about tire wear on my matrix was that pretty much all of the wear occurs in the front.
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Replying to: steine13 (Sep 13, 2006 3:33 am) Back to the issue - the "professional" mechanics at the dealership have had this car in their shop 6 times; each time they were asked to address the tire wear, each time they stated there is nothing wrong. You be the judge - the inner most tread band of all the tires is 1/4 lower and feathered with the rear tires wearing worse than the front. To boot - the tire noise while driving is so loud you can't hear the engine. Call the tire manufactures or read a newspaper ad - the tires are made to run a lot longer than 15 to 20K. We have met several people at gas pumps who have tried all brands of tires - no improvement to wear on their vehicles. Lastly you should know - aggressive tire wear increases suspension system wear and heat stress on the tire - just like low tire pressure - increasing the probability of other less common tire failure. Forget about the reduced life of the suspension system - you can just buy extra warranty and tires - that's what you expected when you bought the car right? It must take less gas to wear out tires prematurely anyway - correct? I just don't find it acceptable for dealership mechanics and customer service people to look me square in the eye and say abnormal tire wear is acceptable for 'this' car. -M |
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Replying to: capitano (Sep 13, 2006 4:40 am) sounds normal from alot of cornering (city driving?) - rotate your tires every oil change or every other oil change. Thanks for weighing in. -M |
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Where is the Vibe made, and which parts are Toyota or GM?
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Replying to: jay39 (Sep 15, 2006 12:27 pm)
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Replying to: herzogtum71 (Sep 15, 2006 3:37 pm) After three accidents, none of which were my fault and all paid for by insurance and repaired at the Pontiac dealer the car was looking a bit worn and making some noises that I did not like. So I decided to get another - Matrix or Vibe. I tried a used car dealer but the trade value for my 2003 Matrix XR was set at $9000. (Black book value is about $15000) The Pontiac dealer offered only $8000 in trade for a 2006 Vibe, with a $1000 off the price of the Vibe, so effectively they were giving me $9000 on the trade. Toyota offered $11000 on trade if I got a 2007 model. I really like the car so decided to get the new 2007 Matrix. I was pleased to see that the instrumentation has been improved and that the center console on the Matrix has not been cheapened as it has on the Vibe - what else has Pontiac cheapened? But I was disappointed that Matrix has not fixed the Map light switch on the mirror thing. These map light switches are push button type and are easily turned on when adjusting the mirror, and during the day one does not notice that the light is on so it stays on. Eventually the light burned out because it had been left on so often. I would also like to see the odometer and temperature displays made a bit larger as I need to put on reading glasses to see these - not always what one wants to do when driving! While at the Toyota dealer they offered me Diamondkote electronic rust proofing at $700. This involves the installation of a galvanic rustproofing box powered by the car battery. I was surprised that the guarantee of 10 years was the same as getting rustproofing applied to the car as a coating. I happened to be in Canadian Tire and saw that they were selling electronic rustproofing gadgets for $200 so I bought one and installed it even though I am highly suspicious of the efficacy of these devices. I decided to do a little experiment to see if they make a difference. I will keep this posted on a blog: http://automobile-rustproofing-black-box.blogspot.com/ I would be interested if anyone else has any experience with these devices.
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I just traded my 2003 Matrix for a 2007. I noticed two items that I want back from my 2003: 1 The glove box lid on the 2007 falls open whereas the 2003 had a little aircylinder to lower it gently. 2 the standard radio on the 2003 is better than the 2007. Back in 1997 my VW golf had an input port for the radio so that one could play other sources through the radio. This is an optional extra in the Toyota. Ability to play MP3 music on a car radio should NOT be an extra... Gripes: The map light switches on the Matrix. What a dumb place to put them! Easy to turn on accidentally when adjusting the mirror and unnoticeable in daylight so they stay on. The brake warning light is the same colour as all the other little lights and easily missed. Driving with the parking brake slightly on is NOT good. Wiper blade attachment point needs to be improved for Canadian ice storm driving. If you start frozen wipers you will strip the teeth on the cog where the blades attach to the car. An expensive and potentially dangerous - when you cannot use the wipers in freezing rain - design for wiper blades. (This is not a Toyota problem but applies to most cars I believe.) |
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Replying to: remaxmarty1 (Sep 12, 2006 6:31 pm) Rocky
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Replying to: rocky101 (Jan 28, 2007 9:28 pm) 
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