2005 SCION TC Complaints

DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT ~65 MPH IN 2005 SCION TC WITH SUNROOF OPEN AND WITHOUT WARNING THE FRONT AIR DEFLECTOR SHIELD SHATTERED THROWING GLASS INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. NO OTHER TRAFFIC WAS AROUND THAT COULD HAVE CAUSED A THROWN STONE OR ANYTHING ELSE. *TR

OUR DAUGHTERS 2005 SCION TC WAS IN AN ACCIDENT THAT WAS A HEAD ON COLLISION SHE LOST CONTROL ON BLACK ICE AND HIT A POLE. HER CAR HAS BEEN DEEMED TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE AND BODY SHOP DUE TO THE SEVERE DAMAGE TO THE CAR. SHE HAS NUMEROUS INJURIES FROM THIS ACCIDENT AND THE AIR BAGS NOT DEPLOYING. IT IS VERY STRANGE WHEN I CALLED TOYOTA THEY CLAIM THERE ARE NO RECALLS FOR AIRBAGS WHICH I SEE IN FACT THERE IS BY THIS WEBSITE. THEY ALSO STATE THAT THE AIRBAGS WOULD NOT DEPLOY IN THIS TYPE OF ACCIDENT , WITH HER HITTING THE POLE DIRECT AND THE CAR BEING TOTALED BECAUSE OF THE DAMAGE HOW CAN THEY SAY THIS? THEY HAVE NOT EVEN SEEN THE CAR AND OVER THE PHONE THEY ARE STATING THE AIRBAGS WOULD NOT GO OFF IN THIS TYPE OF ACCIDENT. SOUNDS LIKE TOYOTA NEEDS TO GET THEIR FACTS STRAIGHT. THANK GOD MY DAUGHTER IS STILL HERE, SHE HAD AN ANGEL LOOKING AFTER HER THAT NIGHT BECAUSE IT CERTAINLY WAS NOT TOYOTA. *TR

THE TIRES ON THE SCION HAVE BEEN REPLACED EVERY 4 TO 8 MONTHS. TOYOTA SAID ITS NOT THEIR PROBLEM. I SPOKE TO MANY MECHANICS AND THEY DO NOT KNOW WHY THE TIRES ARE BREAKING, THEY BELIEVE ITS THE CAR DESIGN AND THE LOW PROFILE TIRES. I DO NOT SPEED AND AVOID POT HOLES. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD.

BOUGHT 4 YOKOHAMA TIRES HAD 3 BLOW OUTS. HAD 31950 WHEN TIRES WERE PUT ON. DROVE 1500 MILES HAD FIRST BLOWOUT. REPLACED TIRE PAY OUT POCKET. HAD 2ND BLOW OUT IN DEC 2010 CAR HAD 51000 HAS 3RD BLOW OUT JAN 24 2011 CALLED YOKOHAMA TOLD THEM THEY SAID MY TIRES WERE ON RECALL SO WOULDN'T REPLACED. *TR

DURING COLD WEATHER, THE LATCH ON THE TRUNK OF A 2005 SCION TC WON'T STAY CLOSED, KEEPING THE HATCH OPENED UNTIL IT WARMS UP, THEN IT WILL CLOSE, BUT IF IT'S COLD OUTSIDE IT WILL STAY OPENED. *TR

I WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH ON A HIGHWAY DURING A SOMEWHAT COLD, WET EVENING WHEN ALL OF THE SUDDEN MY SUNROOF SHATTERED. AT THE TIME I WAS NOT USING MY SUNROOF AND IT WAS COMPLETELY CLOSED. UNFORTUNATELY MY SUN SHADE WAS NOT CLOSED AND AS A RESULT I EXPERIENCED A SHOWER OF GLASS WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY SURROUNDED BY MODERATE TRAFFIC. THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A MAJOR ACCIDENT! THE NOISE THAT CAME FROM THE SUNROOF WAS SIMILAR TO A SMALL HANDGUN GOING OFF IN MY CAR AND FOR A MINUTE OR SO I THOUGHT SOMEONE HAD TAKEN A SHOT AT ME. AFTER SEARCHING THROUGHOUT MY CAR FOR EVIDENCE OF ANY TYPE OF ROAD DEBRIS THAT MIGHT HAVE CAUSED THIS I COULD FIND NONE. RIGHT NOW I AM DRIVING AROUND WITHOUT A SUNROOF AND WITHOUT THE MONEY TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR. THIS SUNROOF MECHANISM WAS DESIGNED POORLY AND I HAVE READ MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS AND CASE DESCRIPTIONS SIMILAR TO MINE. *TR

2005 SCION TC, SUN ROOF EXPLODED WHILE DRIVING AT I-85 FREEWAY. ALL WINDOWS AND SUNROOF WERE CLOSED WHEN IT HAPPENED. THE SHATTERED SUNROOF HAVE A HUGE HOLE IN MIDDLE FRONT SECTION OF THE SUNROOF AND SHATTERED ALL FOUR SIDES. ON DAILY DRIVING, I NOTICED THAT THE CAR STRUCTURE FLEX TOO MUCH, ENOUGH TO PRODUCE POPPING SOUND. TOYOTA DEALER INITIAL ASSESSMENT IS NOT PART OF WARRANTY OR RECALL AS OF THIS DATE 11/05/2010. *TR

AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY I ACCELERATED TO PASS AND IT SEEMED AS IF MY THROTTLE SHORTED OUT. MY CAR'S RPM'S DROPPED AND I STARTED TO DECREASE SPEED. I REMOVED MY FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR AND IT SEEMED TO CATCH AGAIN, BUT AS I PUSHED THE PEDAL AGAIN MY ACCELERATOR WENT OUT FOR A SECOND TIME. AT THIS POINT AND MY ENGINE SHUT DOWN. I SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND TRIED TO RESTART MY CAR MULTIPLE TIMES WHILE ROLLING WITH NO SUCCESS. I HAD TO TRY TO MANEUVER MY CAR THROUGH TRAFFIC WITH NO POWER, ROLLING AT A SPEED OF ABOUT 40 MILES PER HOUR AND DECREASING RAPIDLY WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY WITH A SPEED LIMIT OF 65. AFTER I MADE MY WAY OVER TWO LANES TO THE SHOULDER I TRIED TO RESTART MY CAR AND IT WOULD CATCH AND THEN TURN OFF. I WAITED A FEW MINUTES AND TRIED AGAIN, IT STARTED AS IF NOTHING HAD HAPPENED AND I CONTINUED ON. I COULD NOT TAKE MY CAR TO THE SHOP BUT PLANNED TO TAKE IT THE NEXT MONDAY. ON MY WAY HOME ON A SUNDAY EVENING I WAS DRIVING ON ONE OF THE BUSIEST STREETS IN ARLINGTON, TX AND THE CAR STARTED TO SHUT DOWN ON ME AGAIN. I PULLED OVER AND TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND WAITED A FEW MINUTES AS I HAVE DONE BEFORE AND HEADED HOME. AS I WAS DRIVING AGAIN THE CAR'S THROTTLE WENT OUT COMPLETELY AND I COULD DO NOTHING EXCEPT ROLL DOWN THE STREET. AS I PUSHED THE THROTTLE MY CAR WOULD NOT EXCEED 2,000 RPM'S AND THE MAX SPEED WAS 25 MPH. I MADE IT TO A SAFE SPOT AFTER ROLLING FOR ABOUT 2 MILES AT 12-20 MPH ON A 45 MPH ROAD. I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL MONDAY BEFORE I COULD HAVE SOMEONE TOW IT AWAY. THE SALESMAN AND I DID THE RESEARCH ON THE SCION TC AND ASSURED ME BEFORE PURCHASING THE CAR, THAT ACCELERATION WAS NOT A PROBLEM. I WAS CONCERNED DUE TO THE PROBLEMS TOYOTA WAS HAVING HOWEVER I DID NOT SEE ANY RECALLS OR MAJOR PROBLEMS EXCEPT AIRBAGS, WINDOWS, AND THE SUNROOF RECALLS. I WAS EXPECTING A GREAT CAR, WITH GREAT SAFETY FEATURES AND DURABILITY BUT ISSUES WITH A THROTTLE BODY GOING OUT WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY IS A MAJOR CONCERN THAT NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED. *TR

THE TRUNK HATCH HANDLE OF MY 2005 SCION TC BROKE OFF ONE DAY WHEN OPENING THE TRUNK HATCH. THE TRUNK HANDLE IS NEEDED IN OPENING THE TRUNK. IT HAS AN ELECTRONIC BUTTON RELEASE THAT MUST BE PRESSED AT THE SAME TIME THAT THE TRUNK IS LIFTED. THE HANDLE BROKE OFF THE CAR WITHOUT WARNING AND WITH ONLY NORMAL USE. UPON INSPECTION OF THE PART I AND SEVERAL MECHANICS (INCLUDING TOYOTA TECHNICIANS) DETERMINED THAT THE PART IS FLIMSY AND OF POOR DESIGN. TOYOTA TECHNICIANS ALSO ADMIT THAT THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE. IT IS A PART USED TO RAISE THE WHOLE TRUNK HATCH AND IS MOUNTED TO THE CAR WITH WEAK PLASTIC. I HAVE SEARCHED ONLINE FORUMS AND HAVE SEEN MANY PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME FAILURE. ALTHOUGH SINCE MOST HAD THEIR HATCH HANDLE BREAK IN THE FIRST 3 YEARS (COVERED UNDER WARRANTY), THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED. IT IS A PROBLEM FOR THOSE OF US THAT HAVE FAILURES OUTSIDE OF THE WARRANTY PERIOD BECAUSE THE PART HAS NOT BEEN OFFICIALLY DETERMINED TO BE DEFECTIVE. I HAVE HAD THE PART REPLACED AT MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP. I HAVE TRIED TO GET THE TOYOTA DISTRIBUTORS TO DETERMINE THIS PART DEFECTIVE, BUT THEY DENY MY CLAIM SAYING IT IS OUTSIDE THE WARRANTY. BEING COVERED UNDER WARRANTY IS NOT THE ISSUE. I WOULD LIKE THIS PART TO BE DETERMINED DEFECTIVE SO THAT IF I OR OTHER OWNERS FIND IT BREAKS OFF IN THE FUTURE IT IS REPLACED BY TOYOTA AS IT IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE NORMAL FUNCTIONING OF THE CAR. *TR

1. DRIVER DOOR REQUIRED MORE FORCE TO CLOSE. LATER, I NOTICED THE DRIVER WINDOW WOULD NOT RAISE MORE THAN HALF WAY. 2. THE WINDOW REGULATOR ARM IS BENT, AND THE INTERNAL ATTACHMENT POINT IS BROKEN. THE WINDOW GETS PROGRESSIVELY WORSE OVER TIME, AND THE RAISED HEIGHT BECOMES LOWER. 3. THE DEALER STATED THEIR MUST HAVE BEEN PREVIOUS DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE, AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO RESOLVE. MAACO SAID THEY WERE UNABLE TO RESOLVE. MORE THAN A YEAR LATER, TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER, AND THE NEW SERVICE PERSONNEL WERE ABLE TO REPLACE THE REGULATOR ARM, AND WELD IT TO THE DOOR IN MARCH 2010. IT'S NOW JUNE, AND THE WINDOW WILL NO LONGER GO PAST THE HALF WAY POINT WHEN ATTEMPTING TO CLOSE. EACH TIME I'VE ATTEMPTED TO GET A RESOLUTION, THE DEALER HAS INSISTED THE INTERNAL DOOR DAMAGE IS A RESULT OF A PREVIOUS ACCIDENT (CARFAX IS CLEAR) OR DUE TO THE PREVIOUS OWNER REPLACING THE DOOR MOUNTED AUDIO SPEAKER. NOW, I READ ANOTHER COMPLAINT WITH VERY SIMILAR DAMAGE THAT MAKES ME BELIEVE THIS IS AN INHERENT PROBLEM THAT THE DEALER SHOULD HAVE FIXED WHEN THE CAR WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. *TR