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What did you do to your 2003-2008 Corolla, Matrix, or Vibe today?

338K views 3K replies 341 participants last post by  Luxily 
#1 ·
I always liked these threads.

Post what you did to yours today!
 
#9 ·
Two weeks ago, I replaced both of my fender liners (comparison below) because they had holes in them and were missing clips and were ragged out. This past weekend I ordered an OEM splash guard from Anthony in Newnan Georgia who gave me a discount, along with the clips. I also fixed the headlight problem I had and a rear speaker. I also cleaned my cup holders and middle console completely. Then, Tuesday I got the splash cover (my old one must have fallen off 100,000 miles ago?) and installed it and everything was perfect. Now I've got all my splash guards on so rain doesn't splash on my belt and cause my car to die. I also need another clip that fell out of the right splash guard. Not really much left to do on my car. I need a new bumper cover and a middle console and that'll be it.



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#10 ·
Two weeks ago, I replaced both of my fender liners (comparison below) because they had holes in them and were missing clips and were ragged out. This past weekend I ordered an OEM splash guard from Anthony in Newnan Georgia who gave me a discount, along with the clips. I also fixed the headlight problem I had and a rear speaker. I also cleaned my cup holders and middle console completely. Then, Tuesday I got the splash cover (my old one must have fallen off 100,000 miles ago?) and installed it and everything was perfect. Now I've got all my splash guards on so rain doesn't splash on my belt and cause my car to die. I also need another clip that fell out of the right splash guard. Not really much left to do on my car. I need a new bumper cover and a middle console and that'll be it.



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The OEM Corolla clips are crap. You need the Camry clips. They are much better quality and stronger.

Best price available here:

http://www.clipsandfasteners.com/Toyota_Radiator_Splash_Shield_Push_Type_Retainers_p/a21294.htm

I keep a box at all times. You never know who will need them and I am currently on my 3rd box with all the cars I service.
 
#12 ·
Today I....

Replaced the transmission fluid with some synthetic GL-4. Feels better already. I then swapped out my old and cracked serpentine belt. Both done thanks to the excellent walkthroughs here. Thanks again esp Exage and hardtopte72 for the excellent information! Now I just need to quit being lazy and get around to a stereo swap!
 
#15 · (Edited)
We just bought our (2006 base) Matrix last weekend, so I'm slowly going through the car ...):

* Replaced the O-ring on the timing chain tensioner ... had a very small seepage of fresh oil.
* got new front tires ... the old BF Goodrich were howling!
* replaced a bunch of underbody clips which were missing ... should quiet down some of the noise in the front end on the freeway.
* replaced the driver side power window switch trim ... old one was chipped on the corners
* replaced the cabin filter ... old one was filthy, probably never changed!

Still to come:

* PS fluid flush, clean out dirty residue from inside reservoir, fresh fill with Valvoline Dexron
* ATF fluid flush through cooling lines ... I expect about 8 quarts will do it.
* find a decent set of wheel covers ... the car has three different types on it now and they're all scuffed up
* install power side mirrors ... currently has manual
* install fog lights ... currently has none, and those black blanks look horrible.
* install Pioneer DEH-6600BT head unit, Polk DB speakers all around, and plenty of dynamat to turn this thing into a Bentley ;)

Things I'd like to do but probably won't for now:

* alloy wheels ... this is a college car for our son ... he'll have to earn the alloys ;)
* have body dings and scuffs fixed ... again a college car for now.
* add leather wheel with cruise control, and leather shifter

Things my wife would like to see done to the car:

* white side mirrors and door handles ... to match our white Sienna XLE

I have to say, after owning the Matrix for only a week, it's a really fun car to drive!
 
#18 ·
Why get rid of the spoiler?

Today I did the 120k miles maintenance and a few extra things.
-Oil Change
-Replaced Air Filter
-Replaced Cabin Air Filter
-Replaced Spark Plugs
-Rotated Tires
-Went to go get a tire patched after finding a nail in it
-Painted the calipers and brake drums black
 
#19 ·
That sounds like a fun day, Zlayer, aside from the stupid nail. Hate when that happens. My last few new sets of tires I ended up with a nail, and another time a huge piece of a glass bottle, in one of my tires within a month of getting them on the car. So annoying.

As for the spoiler removal, it's honestly not a very functional part as it is, just there mostly for accomplishing the sporty look for the S. dmsyr is probably either bored with it or he wants a clean look out back.
 
#23 · (Edited)
New head unit installed in the Matrix -- Pioneer DEH-6600BT.



Bought the head unit off of eBay ... mfg refurb ... $89 ... not bad for a full bluetooth/handsfree unit.

Bought the install kit off of eBay ... $16 incl shipping. The wiring harness took an hour or to make ... I soldered and heat-shrunk each connection, then wrapped the entire harness including plug ends in sticky tape. It was a straight color-for-color matchup of the install kit to the Pioneer wiring harness. Only the illumination wire was unused.

The install frame had many side pieces with different tab locations. I had to cut a lot of unneeded tabs off the kit so that it would fit the cavity in the dash.

The kit allows for DIN-style mounting, which is so much better than using that stupid sleeve. The radio is mounted tightly with two screws on each side of the chassis.

I mounted the microphone inside the pocket of the install kit, drilled a hole in the back to let the cord out, then wrapped the cord tightly and taped it in the rear of the unit. Makes for a nice compact unit installation. And the mic sounds pretty good from there because the entire radio assembly is so high in the car. So no mic cords running around the dash and windows :)

Removal and installation in the Matrix dash was really easy -- it took my about 10 minutes in all to replace the radio once I had the new one ready to go. Unfortunately right after I finished the job I remembered that I had put a CD in the stock unit ... so I had to pull it out again and plug in the stock unit to get the CD out ... don't you love doing everything twice?!
 
#26 · (Edited)
Just added fog lamps to my base model Matrix:

Bought:
* used headlight/turn signal stalk with fog switch ... $45 shipped
* used relay ... $5 shipped
* new aftermarket pair of fog lamps ... $68 shipped



To install:
* pulled off the front bumper (needed to get to a little fender bender anyway
* pulled out big black plugs from fender, popped in fog lamps
* freed up fog lamp wires from headlight wiring harness on either side ... they're just taped up in there, sitting out in the open once the bumper is off
* installed bumper and plugged in fog lamps
* inside the car, removed the steering column cover (3 screws, the top and bottom covers pop apart, then fineagle them off the column)
* unclipped wiring harness from existing headlight stalk, popped stalk assembly from steering column bracket, popped in new assembly and plugged in wiring harness.
* Under hood, opened up drivers side fuse box and placed relay in top right position.
* There should be a 10A fuse just to the left of the relay. In my car there was already one in place for some reason.

That's it ... the fog lights look so much better than those black plugs :)





Fyi you can do this without removing the bumper. You will need to remove the two bottom bumper screws on each side that hold the dust cover, then you can swing the dust cover down and out of the way to get to the lamps
 
#27 ·
Well, i dont know if this counts but i just got done installing the Injen CAI for my buddies rolla XRS and i gotta say, that lift kicks in loud now! He loves it hahaha too bad he has no knowledge of how to drive it like he stole it, he just knows to shift when it hits redline and then i was the driver and all hell broke loose. LOL. Its not everyday i get to drive a car with lift since mines a 1zz hahah.
 
#28 ·
Yeah spring has finally arrived!! Washed the undercarriage to get rid of that nasty winter salt. Cleaned the engine & re-adjusted the grill blocks to address the warmer weather. Surprised how well the headlights are holding up. Still look like new since treating them last summer.
 
#29 · (Edited)
I spent the day working on the '06 college car, prepping it for it's first SF-LA trip next week. At 93k miles, today I did the following preventative maintainace:

* new PCV valve ...
* new orange intake manifold gasket (and throttle body gasket)
* new water pump, thermostat, and radiator hoses
* replaced a bunch more fasteners for the under engine covers, which were brittle, broken or missing.

I also changed the oil today and adjusted the fog lamps that I installed last week.
 
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