SCION Complaints

I was shocked by electrical component on a rainy day on the driver side the electric component In the door panel were exposed to rain as all buttons to control lock and windows from driver side have sunk down a couple inches. This happened almost right away after I purchased pre-owned from Honda dealership in Corona. I took my Scion to Toyota of Ontario who said faulty electrical components had been replaced prior to my purchase and wasn't covered as a free replacement/repair item. I had to get recalled airbags replaced though and as a courtesy door panel was tightened up no exposed wires but it wasn't replacing melted parts either from direct sun exposure as the windshield is like a magnifying glass, amplifying the heat of the sun exponentially. The "courtesy fix" didn't last even 2months and being on disability and on a fixed income that expense hadn't been on the top of my list. It's more than cosmetic and more than merely a nuisance, I was actually shocked. Not as badly as the time I was shocked by jumper cables when my battery died, which caused me to have a seizure and I am not epileptic. I believe it was not due to defect, but rather my lack of experience. Still the lock and windows are electric and should be available to operate by driver. To unlock the rear door when picking up kids from school, I must turn the ignition off or remove my seatbelt put car in park, engage the E Brake and reach way over and all the way back. It's annoying and what, God forbid I am involved in a terrible accident I cannot unlock car door or escape a flash flood by rolling down my window. These things worry me most. Even more than being electrocuted again the next time it rains.

Under normal driving conditions, a well maintained 79k car, the joint that holds up cylinder #2 failed, totalling the engine. Thankfully the rod did not kill me.

It is my belief that the valve spring on the engine broke, even after the recall work had been done. I was getting out of my car and heard, what sounded like, metal under tension popping really loudly. After that the engine made a rattling noise. In hindsight I should have known something was wrong, but I had an oil change at the dealer in 2 days and thought they would hear it. After the oil change they didn't say anything so I felt it was ok. On my way home from work the following day, less than 40 miles after the oil change, the car suddenly completely shut off while I was driving home on the highway. What saved my life was that I was getting off the highway in the right lane and was able to roll the car slightly off the highway. Had this been in any other lane I might have been in an accident. Trying to restart the car on the side of the road it had a terrible knocking noise and sounded like something was spinning freely. I had it towed to the dealer as they had just changed the oil thinking that was it. They "looked" at it a couple days later and said it was a spun bearing and that it was normal wear and tear. The car only has 103,000 miles on it and was driven normally, with regular maintenance. Upon retrieving the car the tow truck driver stated that's not normal to happen, and I noticed the car was in the same place as where I had it towed originally. The dealer never actually inspected or looked at the car and just made the spun bearing assessment without trying to start it, as the battery was dead from trying to restart on the highway. No one has since touched the car, and some research online shows that I am not the only person this has happened to. The recall stated that the valve springs could break while driving and the car would suddenly shut off with no warning. This is exactly what happened, while driving on the highway home. According to the dealer it is a spun bearing but that is not what it sounds like at all. It definitely sounds like a rod.

Defective engine/motor failure spark plug popped out of engine along with coil. The service technician and service manager were shocked at the spark plug broken internally. I paid for spark plug replacement totaling approximately $1,200. Upon inspecting other parts of the motor it was determined the engine bay has coolant inside mixed with oil. The tech mention of engine over heating however the temperature gauge never reached overheating readings. If the engine overheated the temperature gauge failed to alert me while I was driving at any point and expressed this to the service advisor. My vehicle motor failed while I was engaged in driving on the freeway and turn off and on in the middle of flight and travelling at freeway speeds. I originally purchased vehicle at Long Toyota USA in El Monte, CA with zero to 15 miles brand new in 2015 it is less that 10 years and I never experienced a defective motor/engine. Today is October 21, 2022 and my vehicle is still at the Culver City Toyota dealership. When: September 25, 2022, towed vehicle to Culver City Toyota a dealer of Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc Where: Engine/Motor failure occurred in the middle of the 10 freeway at Robertson/Venice exit in Los Angeles, CA. I immediately was able to steer the car to the nearest exit there was a loud pop and then a very loud motor noise was heard. I paid the tow company to take the vehicle to the culver city Toyota to get it fixed. How: While driving. Preferred solution Assistance in replacing engine at no cost due to defects and failures and placing my life at risk while the car was in motion. I am not looking for monetary claims or any gains. I just want my car back fixed I already paid for the spark plugs as i mentioned above but this is a defective motor. All my services have been done through Toyota's trained service technicians I asked all the time for spark plug replacement and they always said it isn't due.

On April 22, 2022 the car burst into flames while parked in a supermarket parking lot at 1000 US Route 1, Edison, New Jersey. Fortunately I was not in it at the time but the car was a total loss. There were no warnings ahead of time.

ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THE HOUSING AROUND THE AIR CONDITIONER FILLS WITH WATER FROM CONDENSATION, THE DRAINAGE TUBE IS NARROW AND CLOGS, WHICH CAUSES THE WATER TO DRIP OUT OF THE HOUSING AND INTO THE PASSENGER SIDE INTERIOR WHERE IT SWAMPS THE CARPETING FROM FRONT TO BACK. I KNOW AC NORMALLY DOES NOT QUALIFY AS A SAFETY CONCERN BUT TO MY UNDERSTANDING THERE IS ELECTRIC WIRING THAT RUNS UNDER THE CARPET THAT IS CERTAINLY NOT DESIGNED TO BE UNDER AN INCH OF WATER AND THEN THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR HARMFUL MOLD TO DEVELOP FROM THE WET CARPET. THE DEALER WILL CHARGE TO CLEAR THE CLOG BUT THEY HAVE SINCE TOLD ME THERE IS A PERMANENT FIX (AN AC CASING WITH BETTER DRAINAGE) WHICH COSTS MORE THAN $2000 TO INSTALL. A SIMPLE SEARCH ON THE INTERNET SHOWS TOYOTA HAS BEEN IGNORING THIS DESIGN FLAW AND THIS PROBLEM SINCE THE MODEL REDESIGN IN 2011. THEY HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE WHICH CAN EFFECT THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THE OCCUPANTS. I KNOW A NARROW TUBE DRAIN LINE SEEMS LIKE A MINOR THING BUT THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO HAPPEN IN MOST CARS. WHILE IT HAS BEEN A CONCERN FOR SCION TC OWNERS SINCE 2011. I DRIVE A 2014. THERE WAS PLENTY OF TIME FOR TOYOTA TO OFFER A BETTER CASING OR A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM OVER THE YEARS. I HAVE REACHED OUT TO TOYOTA AND THEY REFUSE TO DO ANYTHING SINCE MY CAR IS NOW OUT OF WARRANTY DESPITE THAT MY CAR WAS IN FOR THIS TEMPORARY REPAIR SEVERAL TIMES WHILE IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY AND THEY NEVER OFFERED THE PERMANENT FIX UNTIL NOW.

Timing chain cover oil leak Oil pan cover oil leak Has been a persistent leak since I purchased the car in 2014. I’ve learned it’s an extremely common issue which the dealership won’t warranty. It’s been a documented leak since 2015 and over $2500 to fix. Several members on forums/Facebook claim the exact same leak in same location. It’s due to poor quality sealant used by manufacturer instead of a gasket. New sealant sold by dealership because original sealant is faulty.

The vehicles car horn no longer works, this is safety manufacturer defect that should be reported and fixed by the manufacturer. I was driving the vehicle and could not honk to other vehicles thus creating a safety hazard.

The contact owns a 2009 Scion TC. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, he slowed for a traffic light and the vehicle failed to shift out of third gear. The accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle revved without moving. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle occasionally slipped out of gear and failed to exceed 15 MPH while driving. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was locked in overdrive and that the transmission needed to be repaired or replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

The day before the incident, took the vehicle for an oil change at dealership. Driving in a Interstate 8 under construction and vehicle had engine malfunction turning off and also turned off power steering creating difficulty steering, could have created accident on freeway jeopardize my safety and of others. The engine malfunction started by making a rattling sound and turning off the engine. Since my vehicle is Standard/Manual transmission, I stepped on the clutch and the rattling stop making me coast with the moment it had. I removed the clutch to turn on the vehicle and the rattling continued so I put it in neutral, waited to slow down to push the vehicle onto an emergency lane (since the freeway was under construction and the lanes had Jersey Barriers). The problem hasn't been able to reproduce because the vehicle cannot restart, contact local dealership and rejected to perform recall unless I put down $2,000 (November 2018). Sent out to a local shop but didn't have workers with Boxer engine knowledge. Contact DMV for guidance about rejection on recall (which happened again on March 2022) and made another appointment at local dealership. They rejected me again without inspecting recall component and commented that "It was suspicious that you haven't had the recall done on it". There wasn't any check engine light nor abs or any message prior to the failure.