Just purchased 06 matrix base

[prettyhatem]

Hello all!

So I just purchased a 2006 Matrix base model, with 47k miles on it. The car is pretty clean, but one thing I noticed is that it has a rough idle. I haven't really noticed yet if the rough idle goes away when running the car for a while.

My real question is what should I be looking out for? It was owned but a one other person and carfax doesn't really show a lot of information about maintenance. So I was wondering if I should have some things checked out, and what should I look out for in the next couple thousand miles? Does this thing have a timing belt that needs to be replaced after a certain amount of miles? Any recalls I should look out for?

I just want to keep this thing in tip top shape and do any preventative maintenance I can do.

Thanks a ton!

[mikered30]

Rough idle usually means clean the throttle body and disconnect the battery for an hour. It can also be caused by a leaky intake manifold gasket. Does it only happen when cold?

[zythr]

Originally Posted by prettyhatem

Hello all!

So I just purchased a 2006 Matrix base model, with 47k miles on it. The car is pretty clean, but one thing I noticed is that it has a rough idle. I haven't really noticed yet if the rough idle goes away when running the car for a while.

My real question is what should I be looking out for? It was owned but a one other person and carfax doesn't really show a lot of information about maintenance. So I was wondering if I should have some things checked out, and what should I look out for in the next couple thousand miles? Does this thing have a timing belt that needs to be replaced after a certain amount of miles? Any recalls I should look out for?

I just want to keep this thing in tip top shape and do any preventative maintenance I can do.

Thanks a ton!

Hi

No timing belt, timing chain, As for recalls, there was one for defective computer control modules in some models (Check VIN to see if your model was affected) which could cause stalling. Other than that, Matrix has not had many issues at all.

[prettyhatem]

Originally Posted by mikered30

Rough idle usually means clean the throttle body and disconnect the battery for an hour. It can also be caused by a leaky intake manifold gasket. Does it only happen when cold?

It seems like I only notice it after its been running for a while and warmed up. It usually happens when I come to a stop sign and it kinda chugs and shakes the car a bit. I cant really say it happens when its cold because the idle is too high at that point. It just sorta seems like it is about to stall.

[circuitsmith]

"disconnect the battery for an hour"

30 seconds is long enough.

For the rough idle try a bottle of Chevron Techron fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank.
It really works. I use it once a year.