Hi,

I'm a mostly boring guy who's probably having a midlife crisis. My 2005 Toyota Matrix I've owned for the last 12 years has nearly 270K miles and I'm ready to move on from it and am considering getting an M56S.

I'm posting here to ask for advice, things to look for, cautions, things that might be of concern to someone not really familiar with the car, things you think I should know, and maybe reasons why I shouldn't get one.

As a couple additional background details:
I'm considering the M56S because it's a sharp-looking car, quick for its roominess, and even be roomy for the kids I need to ferry around.
This would likely be my daily driver and only car.
I've driven (and autocrossed) rear-wheel drive vehicles years ago, and I'm fairly handy working on my cars.

Thank you for your time,
ogreman

Welcome!

The only major issues with the early M56's was the timing chain and it had a recall...I would check to see if that was done. Some owners also went in a few years after the recall and changed the high pressure fuel pump 'bucket' again as a preventative measure (cheap insurance - there is a write-up on this on the forum). Otherwise, although I do not know if it was an option on the V8, if the vehicle has 4WAS (four wheel active steer), make sure that is operational. We had other posters who didn't test the AC/Heat before buying and found out their radiator cores were messed up...

If it is from a private seller try to get the history.

Dealer should have most repairs that have been done of they come through the dealer.
I know this isn't anything new to you.
I had mine for just over 3 years before or was totalled.
Info is key
There is also a quote that should be removed for the alternator to charge constantly, if you make a lot of short trips your battery will be slowly taking a s***.

Good luck

So, I've had all three issues. Starting with my battery / alternator issue, my daily commute is less than 8 miles which means that the alternator didn't kick in. This slowly killed the battery. I found that you can remove the connection from the ECU to the alternator and it solved the issue. There's a thread in this forum somewhere with more details. I also had the radiator core go out last year which was replaced and all is well. Lastly, I had the timing chain recall work done in 2017 and have had zero issues with it since. I purchased the high pressure fuel pump "bucket" for replacement but haven't installed it yet.

The only other issue I would bring up is that the M56 has a reputation for "eating oil". It doesn't "burn" oil as there is no smoke from the tailpipe and there aren't any leaks. I think what happens is that the PCV system ends up pulling oil into the intake. I believe that the issue is the PCV valve. It doesn't seem to call for replacement in any of the maintenance guides and I think that folks simply forget about it. I recently replaced both PCV valves and am monitoring the oil consumption. The PCV valves were original to the car. (2011 M56S)

Other than that - the car has been flawless! I love the car and it has been completely trouble free. It's my daily driver and I also shuttle the kids around. I might even floor it from time to time just to get the attention of a mustang that I pull up next to...can't confirm this. One piece of advice I have would be related to the tires. With the Sport wheels, go one inch taller on the sidewall. It makes a big difference in the ride comfort and road noise without too much sacrifice in performance. I hope you get one and enjoy it as much as I have.