TW MATRIX XRS THREAD..1st gen(E130:2003-08)2nd gen(E140:2009-14)

As we know TOYOTA had 12 successful years of XRS production with its LEGENDRY 2ZZ-GE I4 1.794L engine that had 180HP (2003 Models), 173HP (2004 Models), 170HP (2005 Models)& 164HP (2006 Models)
For the 2nd gen 2008-2014 Models 1.797L 2ZR-FE I4 (132HP) & 2.363L 2AZ-FE I4 (158HP) engines powered the Sportwagons. Toyota had stopped producing them. Owners who had them, who still have them, must have had lots of fun & excitement. VVTLi's that let lifters to work @ 6000 RPMs are fun aren't they.? Lets see those XRS here...

 

The wife bought a new 2009 Matrix XR AWD. The car has had Zero problems for the first 6 1/2 years. Last year, it started burning oil. I had it in for an oil consumption test a couple times, and each time Toyota said it was burning an acceptable amount of oil. I just keep a close eye on the oil level, that is fine.

After the 7 year mark, I had a rear wheel bearing go, no big deal. After I got that fixed, I could still hear a noise, like a bearing whine sound. I didn't think it was another wheel bearing, because the sound didn't change while cornering on either side of the car. It sounded like it was coming from the rear, and sometimes the front. After searching online, I found that they are prone to bearings going bad in the electromagnetic coupling (and viscous coupling on the 1st gen models).

I took it to my mechanic, and he found that the noise was definitely coming from the electromagnetic coupling. As far as he knew, I would have to buy a whole unit, a new one, or a used one. He had recently replaced one in a Rav4 and said they are not cheap.
So I did a little more research online, and found a guy on youtube that had a how to video on replacing the bearings in the viscous coupling on a 1st gen vibe. I showed my mechanic, and he said he would try taking apart the one he had on his bench that he recently replaced on a rav4 to see if it he could get the bearings off without any difficulty and without damaging the coupling. So he was able to get at the bearings no problem, and in his opinion, we should be able to replace the bearings in mine.

He couldn't find the bearing from the part number on the old one from the rav4. The SKF bearing rep didn't have the number from the part in his system. I found a guy on ebay selling the bearings, who said the bearings he had would fix my problem. In the meantime, other than the noise, I had no other symptoms that anything was wrong with the coupling. But eventually the AWD light came on.
So my mechanic was able to change the bearings no problem, and the noise went away, but the AWD light did not go out, and he didn't have the software to find out why it was still on.

I booked an appointment at a Toyota dealer, who just said that the coupling was bad, it wasn't putting out any resistance. A new one would be over $2300 and over $2700 installed. So I told my mechanic what the dealer said, and he said he wanted to take it apart again and check the wires on the unit. Sure enough he found the wires were broke, but they were broke right on the connector going into the coupling. There was not enough wire to re-attach to. So he decided to try to grind away some of the connector to get more wire exposed. There only appeared to be plastic and ceramic on the connector, so he didn't think he could damage it any worse. He was able to get enough wire exposed to re-solder it.

So he got the wires re-attached solid, and covered the connection with epoxy, and put it all back together on the car, and the AWD light went out, and all 4 wheels spinning again, and no bearing whine!

So anyone with a similar problem with their Matrix or Rav4, you may not need a whole new viscous or electromagnetic coupling. There are ways to fix the problem with most of them I bet, just like mine. all together it probably cost me about $400, which is a far cry from even a used one I priced at $1200 plus shipping and tax.