My dad bought a slightly used XB!

6396 Views 29 Replies 12 Participants Last post by willie1321, Jan 18, 2014

flightsuit

Discussion Starter · Dec 21, 2013

Hello,

I'm a car enthusiast, but not an XB owner. I live in Pacifica, California, and I work as a freelance journalist. My daily driver is a 2003 Ford Focus ZX5 with the 2.3 liter PZEV motor and an automatic transmission. I don't expect y'all would find such a car very exciting, but it is quicker than a lot of similar economy cars.

I registered here in the hope of getting some basic questions answered for my father, who just got himself a white, 2nd gen XB. It's a manual transmission model, and I suspect it may be the quickest car he's ever owned.

Because it was a used car, it came without an owner's manual. He has downloaded a few owner's manuals that he found online, but a few things still remain unclear:

1. On the stereo, how does he set the clock? The manual said to press the "display" button, but all that did was turn on the display.

2. How does he turn on Bluetooth and get it connected to his Android media player?

3. What's the secret for opening the rear hatch? I told him there'd probably be a button the dash board and his key fob that would do this, but he says there isn't.

Thank you in advance for whatever guidance you can offer!

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TartanJack

· #2 · Dec 21, 2013 (Edited)

What year and radio?

There are several options, with different settings. A year and basic description should be enough for us to figure our which level it is (basic, premium, etc).

Bluetooth eliminates the earlier years, but there are numerous options still. We can ID which one, then get the model # and find a PDF that contains the manual for that particular radio model.
(We also could be looking at either Pioneer or Alpine, depending on year for stock radios.)

flightsuit

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 22, 2013

Thanks for your reply, Tartan! I don't think he mentioned the exact year model. I will ask him and get back to you!

Slorocket

· #4 · Dec 22, 2013

As far as the rear hatch, there is nothing in the car to 'open' it of such. It locks and unlocks with the rest of the doors. The only way to open it physically is the button above the license plate In between the plate lights. Its a 'soft' button. Electric latch.

flightsuit

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 22, 2013

Thank you, Slorocket!

Tartan, he tells me his XB is a 2010 model. He thinks he might have an Alpine stereo, but he's not too sure on that. He says he's found various PDF manuals for his radio, but none of them look exactly like what he's got.

Here are his exact words in his latest e-mails to me:

For now, I think I've figured out most of it except for Bluetooth, which I don't actually need. I have seen six different owner manuals for the radio, but I'm still not sure which model I have. It came equipped with a Bluetooth mike, but I don't know if it's hooked up anywhere. Maybe it just feeds directly to the NSA.

and

I think my radio is an Alpine, but the manual doesn't even mention Bluetooth.
However, it appears I don't even need an MP3 player. Allegedly, if I plug a memory stick into the USB I can play it thru the radio. Haven't tried that yet.

Thanks again for your input! I hope his comments help you narrow it down.

flightsuit

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 23, 2013

And just so I feel like I'm contributing something, here, for your amusement, is a blog entry I once posted, containing pics I'd snapped of a very unusual, modded first gen XB:

Badge Engineering

Chris-Garage

· #7 · Dec 23, 2013

Just ask him for a picture of the headunit it will make it easier to answer your questions.

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

Slorocket

· #8 · Dec 23, 2013

Bluetooth isnt a factory thing til '12. Any otherwise will be a aftermarket add on. Then your guess on how to use is a good as mine.

As far as a just poppin in a memory stick, go right ahead. As long as its one of the formats it will play. Mp3. Acc. Wma. Pretty much the main ones. Its what I use.

flightsuit

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 28, 2013

My dad came to town tonight, and I just got back from seeing and driving his XB for the first time.

So, um, answer me this: Is a 2010 XB supposed to come with a big, shiny, silver tube as part of its air intake?

And, um, do 2010 XBs normally come with a header, as opposed to an exhaust manifold?

And do they normally come with an oil dipstick (and the tube the dipstick lives in) that can not be pulled out because it's curved, as if somebody amateurishly bent it out of the way while removing an exhaust manifold and replacing it with a header?

Just checking.

Holy ****!

Will upload pics soon.

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flightsuit

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 28, 2013

OK, a friend of mine looked at the pics I snapped, and he thinks it's the stock exhaust manifold, but the previous owner removed the heat shield so it would look like a header.

As for the cold air intake, he thinks it may possibly be a TRD part. No idea whether it's smog legal, but presumably the dealership would have had to smog it.

Also, my dad lives in Lake County, where, unlike the rest of California, you apparently do not need to get your car smogged very often, if at all.

I'm-a upload pics, but first I'm going to reduce the file sizes so you all don't curse my name.

:biggrin:

flightsuit

Discussion Starter · #11 · Dec 28, 2013

3

OK, here are some pics showing the CAI, the exhaust manifold, and the curiously bent dipstick. Is any of this cause for alarm?

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flightsuit

Discussion Starter · #12 · Dec 28, 2013

Regarding the radio, here's a pic of that. There's a little microphone on the top of the dash board, that's apparently supposed to provide hands free cell phone use. As I said, he can't figure out how to get his Android devices to connect via Bluetooth. Hopefully maybe seeing the radio will help y'all know what he needs to do?

Thanks, as always, for your input! This is fun...

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Damaged

· #13 · Dec 28, 2013

I dont believe that your CAI is a TRD as TRD like to label most of there stuff fairly prominently and on the intake it should be across the top of the pipe which it doesnt seem to be in yours. There are tons of other people who make similar looking intakes for xB's that can be just generic ebay ones as well. Im not certain as to what yours is as I don't have one but someone else on here should be able to spot it.

as for the headers and heatshield, that is the stock manifold and many people have left their heatshield off with no problems, me included, so you shouldnt have any issues with that.

the dipstick is curved like that normally. It curves like that in order to fit the heatshield above it as it takes up a fair bit of space.

Slorocket

· #14 · Dec 28, 2013

Def a cai. Dunno brand.

Looks to be stock 'header'. Both as mentioned.

Factory upgraded alpine. No bluetooth on it. So the mic on dash is aftermarket. Youll need the code to link up with it. Might be a few 0's. Dont remeber if it 5 or 6. Seems to be most. I would think for it to work through the radio it will be a set frquency, like 88.1 or something on that end. Good luck

flightsuit

Discussion Starter · #15 · Dec 28, 2013

Thanks to both of you for your input! Regarding that dipstick, it's not bolted in place like it's supposed to be. Any idea what, exactly, it's supposed to be bolted to?

flightsuit

Discussion Starter · #16 · Dec 31, 2013

Say, regarding that Alpine, how do you turn down the brightness on the screen? When my dad was driving with it on at night, it was so bright, I found it really distracting.

Thanks.

Slorocket

· #17 · Dec 31, 2013

If I remember rivht there wasnt a separate brightness for just the radio. Only tied In with the rest of the light controls.

willie1321

· #18 · Dec 31, 2013

2

your dipstick has the little mounting piece on it. i snapped a few pics of mine to let you see where its mounted. my heat shield is on though so it may be kind of difficult to see.

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willie1321

· #19 · Dec 31, 2013

my xB is also a 2012 i don't know if the mounting locations are the same but i would assume so.

rodmiami

· #20 · Jan 3, 2014

In regardes to the brightness of the display . press the menu button . You can adjust the color to amber or blue with 2 different brightness settings and below that is contrast and brightness which will lower it even more . I am just learning my Xb also . I have the same radio in my 2011 . I wish mine had the temp. gauge like your fathers instead of a clock like my 2011 .

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