Toyota Matrix

Toyota Matrix 2003 Air Conditioning Stop Cooling

Toyota Matrix, 2003 model had the air conditioner suddenly stop cooling. After checking the refrigerant and seeing that it was ok I checked further and found that the compressor clutch was not engaging.

The wires all tested ok and the connections were in good shape so now that all of the easy stuff was checked it was time to get into the meat of the air conditioning system. After checking the circuitry for the air conditioner clutch and relays in the circuit we found that the M/G relay was not operation correctly. The M/G relay is located in the long black fuse box under the hood by the battery. Our M/G relay was small and white in color and plugged in so soldering was not necessary.


The M/G relay was a dealer item costing around $80.00

The parts counter person at Toyota said that they have several complaints about that relay and he is surprised that it hasn't been recalled.

With the M/G relay replaced we had no further trouble with the air conditioner.

2003 Toyota Matrix Door Handle Covers Chrome

Our 2003 Toyota Matrix has painted door handles and they are always getting black surface marks on them from daily use. The marks look unsightly and they need to be removed with wax every time it happens.
To fix this annoying problem with my 2003 Matrix I found some chrome door handle covers and put them on the doors and no more problems. The chrome is durable and it doesn't show any blemishes after use and accents the look of the doors at the same time.
If you keep getting the door handle blemishes, or worse chipped paint on the door handle you really need to consider the protection of chrome door handle covers.

2003 Toyota Matrix Cabin Air Filter

Is your air conditioner or heater air in your Toyota Matrix slowing down and getting a bit smelly?  If it is the problem may not be a fan motor or anything expensive like that, it may only be that your cabin air cleaner in clogged.

The cabin air filter in the Toyota Matrix if cheap, only $18.00 and is easy to replace.  To replace the filter open the glove box and disengage the stops on either side of the door that stops it from dumping its contents on the floor. Once you have the glove compartment door open, beyond what it would open with the clips engaged, allow it to hang free. You do not have to remove the glove compartment door completely.


With the door open and out of the way, using a flashlight or a drop light, look at the area that was right behind the glove box and you will see a wide and thin access door that holds the cabin air filter. Remove the filter access door by squeezing the clips on either side and take the access door off. With the door off you will see the old filter inside its housing, simply slide the old filter out and slide the new one in making sure it is seated correctly. It should fit square and snug in the housing.

Once the new filter is installed and the access cover replaced push the glove compartment door closed and it will re-engage the holding clips that you had to release when you opened the glove box door fully. That is all there is to it. It is a good idea to replace the cabin air filter twice a year for best results.

1995 Toyota Corolla Power Window Stops Working

It starts off slow, first the window starts to close slower and then, after a few months the window will be noticeably slower in both directions. No, spraying WD-40 inside the door won’t help. The only thing that will fix it is to replace the unit that raises and lowers the window, called a regulator. The window regulator is essentially a slide mechanism with a cable coming out of each end and an electric motor in the middle to drive the slide either up or down.


Once the slide wears out it creates drag on the cables and motor slowing down the window.
Replacing the window regulator is a fairly straight forward job.

1) First thing to do is remove the inside panel off of the door and unplug both electrical connectors in the door armrest that go to the window switches and power locks.

2) Carefully remove the plastic vapor barrier, it is stuck on the door with a non-hardening rope caulk and it will peel away easily.

3) Once the plastic vapor barrier sheet has been removed you will see the window regulator and the window attached to it. You will have to position the window so you can get to the two bolts that hold the window to the slide. Once you can get at the bolts, all 10 MM bolts and nuts, and support the window while loosing the bolts and lift the window out of the door.

4) With the window removed from the door you will be able to remove the window regulator easily. Looking at the regulator you will see four nuts holding it to the door. Remove all of them from the bottom up and take the regulator out through the largest opening in the door panel.

5) Once the old regulator is out install the new one in reverse order.

6) After attaching the wiring harness to the new regulator run the regulator window mount down to where you can access the bolts to install the window. When you attach the window be sure to square it up on the regulator mount. Now run the window up slowly and see how the window lines up in its tracks. When the window closes it should contact all of its edges equally and you will have to loosen the window regulator and move it around slowly until the window becomes square in its track. Once square tighten the window regular and run the window up and down watching to see that it hits the closed position square.

7) Double check that all of the hardware has been put back on then re-attach the plastic vapor barrier, connect the wiring harnesses and attach the inside door panel.

When I replaced my window regulator in my 1995 Toyota Corolla a couple of years ago it cost me $375.00 at the dealer for just the regulator and motor, I still had to install it. Now Toyota Corolla power window regulators are offered on E-Bay for under fifty bucks!

Toyota Headlight Lens Care

When it was new our 1995 Toyota Corolla had a clear headlight lens covers, but through the years of road debris and weather the lens yellowed and become pitted. The yellowed look made the lenses almost look like they were permanently steamed over. I started looking for ways to clean cloudy headlights the right way.

There are several opinions and ideas on how to restore a headlight lens to its original clear look. Cleaning a headlight lens is best done with a headlight cleaner; something made specifically to clean headlights.

1) If the headlight is cracked and damaged and you just want to clean it until you get a new one using a polishing compound on the lens to remove the haze will work, the only problem with that is the compound actually removes some of the plastic film on the lens as it makes them clear. Once, the clear protective layer is removed by the compound, the lens will cloud up again very quickly so it is not the best remedy to use the polishing compound on a headlight that you want to keep.

2) The second, and best, way to clear up a cloudy lens is to use a product or system that is designed as a headlight cleaner. Headlight lens cleaners are designed with the correct chemical solutions so you will be able to clear up the lens and keep the original outer layer of plastic intact which will allow the lens to stay clear longer. This is the cheapest way to fix the problem of a cloudy headlight and let the light out so you can see better while you are driving.

3) If your headlight lens is cracked through to the inside of the headlight and heavily yellowed they will need to be replaced with a new set. The best deals that I have found on replacement headlights is on E-Bay, they are cheaper than the dealer and most auto parts stores, if you can even find them there. A new set of headlamp lenses or restoring your lenses back to clear again will make your car look great and it will almost look brand new from the front again.

Diagnose Car Trouble

I ran across a great suggestion in Popular Mechanics magazine pertaining to saving your cars computer memory when you change the battery.

When you disconnect the car battery all of the memory that saves the engine performance data is reset to zero or baseline. When that happens you have to drive your car for several miles before the computer re-learns the engine performance data which allows your engine to perform at its best.

Deleting the cars computer memory may cause your engine to run rough and possibly get bad gas mileage until the computer is re-taught. Plus, if you are scheduled for a smog test for your car right after the memory is reset your car may fail the smog test.

On way to prevent the memory from being lost when you change the battery is to hook a 9 volt battery to a cigarette lighter plug and insert it into the lighter. The 9 volt battery will be enough to keep your car computer memory active while you change the car battery so your car will run just like it did before you changed the battery.

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The Scangauge II is one of the best engine monitors on the market that allows you to track your gas mileage and engine performance while you drive.

2003 Toyota Matrix Front Brake Squeal

The brakes started squealing on my 2003 Toyota Matrix at right around 60,000 miles. Not one thousand miles before I had checked the brake pads and there was plenty of material on them so I eliminated the pads as being the problem. There was no pulling to one side or the other just a squeal that sounded like metal to metal.

I consulted with the mechanics at Toyota and they told be that the squeal could still be coming from the brake pads even though they had plenty of material on them. As a brake pad ages and is subject to heat for a long time it becomes brittle, or harder than it was originally which could cause a squeal.

After another two days of squealing brakes I decided to replace the brake pads. I replaced the old pads with OM (original manufacture) pads instead of going for the more expensive high performance brake pad. Since I had gotten 60,000 miles out of the originals it didn't seem necessary to pay for the more expensive pads.

With the new pads the squeal was gone so the Toyota were right about the stiff and brittle old brake pads.

Remember if you change your disc brake pads to make sure to get the lubricant to put between the caliper and brake pad, all auto parts stores have it. The lubricant prevents the disc brake pad from making a clicking sound that can make you think something is wrong with your brakes. So don't forget the lube!
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2003 Toyota Corolla A/C Doesn’t Cool-Compressor Won’t Start

On my wife's 2003 Toyota Corolla/Matrix XR the A/C suddenly stopped working for no reason. She just pressed the A/C button and no cold air.

After checking into the problem I found that after turning on the A/C the engine RPM would increase as if the compressor was turning on, and the cooling fan would start to run as well. I had found that there were a few reasons for the A/C compressor not to turn on and the first reason was a lack of refrigerant in the A/C system. I checked the refrigerant and it was up to the correct pressure.

I had to run a jumper wire to the compressor clutch directly from the battery to get the compressor to turn on to test the refrigerant pressure and it turned on like it should have so that eliminated the compressor clutch as being the problem. My problem was that there was no continuity from the A/C switch inside the car to the compressor clutch.

After going to the Toyota dealership and asking both parts and mechanics I found out that the 2003 Matrix and Corolla had a potentially defective relay in the A/C circuit, in fact Toyota issued a service bulletin about the problem, not a re-call just a bulletin.

The defective A/C relay is called the M/G CLT relay and it is located in the fuse box under the hood next to the battery. The relay is solid state so you can't take the cover off and check the contacts all you can do is replace it.

The large contacts on the relay are the ones that are connected to the contacts, and the smaller contacts are the power contacts for the relay itself.

A new relay is around $70.00 from the Toyota dealer, an after market relay isn't much cheaper so it would be a good idea to get the dealer relay for the better quality part.

2003 Toyota Matrix A/C Compressor Not Working

On my wife's 2003 Toyota Matrix XR the A/C suddenly stopped working for no reason. She just pressed the A/C button and no cold air.

After checking into the problem I found that after turning on the A/C the engine RPM would increase as if the compressor was turning on, and the cooling fan would start to run as well. I had found that there were a few reasons for the A/C compressor not to turn on and the first reason was a lack of refrigerant in the A/C system. I checked the refrigerant and it was up to the correct pressure.
I had to run a jumper wire to the compressor clutch directly from the battery to get the compressor to turn on to test the refrigerant pressure and it turned on like it should have so that eliminated the compressor clutch as being the problem. My problem was that there was no continuity from the A/C switch inside the car to the compressor clutch.

After going to the Toyota dealership and asking both parts and mechanics I found out that the 2003 Matrix and Corolla had a potentially defective relay in the A/C circuit, in fact Toyota issued a service bulletin about the problem, not a re-call just a bulletin.

The defective A/C relay is called the M/G CLT relay and it is located in the fuse box under the hood next to the battery. The relay is solid state so you can't take the cover off and check the contacts all you can do is replace it.

The large contacts on the relay are the ones that are connected to the contacts, and the smaller contacts are the power contacts for the relay itself.

A new relay is around $70.00 from the Toyota dealer, an after market relay isn't much cheaper so it would be a good idea to get the dealer relay for the better quality part.

Toyota Matrix-Replacing The Serpentine Belt

Like most front wheel drive cars the Toyota Matrix has a serpentine belt that drives the alternator, water pump, air conditioner , and power steering pump. Our 2003 Toyota matrix got to where it had 50,000 miles on it and the old belt started to give symptoms of being stretched because the automatic tensioner was no longer able to put adequate tension on the belt to keep it from slipping when the air conditioner was turned on.

The first "heads up" advice I need to mention is that the book in the auto parts store called for three different belts for the Matrix and the book wasn't clear as to why there were three possibilities so I bought all three with the understanding that I would bring back the belts I didn't need. It was a good thing that I bought all three because the one that I was going to get was too short and I would have had to return to the auto parts store any way, so if you can take the old belt in first you can save yourself a trip back to the auto parts store.

To replace the old belt the first thing that I did was draw a diagram of the pulleys showing how the belt either went over it or under it, and where it went next. I recommend doing that unless you have a shop manual, which I don't..yet. Once you have your diagram drawn you will need to remove the old belt by taking a wrench, that I think is a 15mm and put it on the bolt in the center of the spring loaded tensioner pulley and move the pulley in the opposite direction of the belt to relax the tension on the belt so you can remove it. You need to be somewhat of a contortionist to do this, but it isn't that difficult as long as you have a good grip on the pulley.

Once the old belt has been removed, using your diagram, install the new belt up to the tensioner so the tensioner is the last pulley the new belt needs to go over. Then using your wrench, relax the tension on the tensioner once again and slide the new belt into place and allow the tensioner to contact the new belt and remove your wrench from the pulley. Double check the belt and make sure that it is fully engaging all of the pulleys before you start the car. People sometimes make the mistake in thinking that a serpentine belt will locate itself on the pulleys once the engine starts and in rare instances that works that way, but a serpentine belt is not like a V-belt with the locating characteristics of a V-belt, but they usually stay in place if they are installed with full contact on all of the pulleys.