There are 6 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2005 Scion tCin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I PURCHASED A RED 2005 SCION TC FOR MY DAUGHTER IN FEBRUARY, 2019 FROM TOYOTA AUTO NATION IN DAVIE, FL. THEY HAD IT PRICED IN GOOD CONDITION, SO I EXPECTED TO GET SOME USE OUT OF IT. I PAID ALMOST $6,000. MONTH LATER IT OVERHEATED ON THE HIGHWAY (595) AND MY DAUGHTER HAD TO PULL OVER LATE AT NIGHT ON THE HIGHWAY AND I HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED TO MY HOME. VERY SCARY AND UNSAFE SITUATION FOR A TEEN. HAD IT TOWED BACK TO THEIR SERVICE STATION AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE A PROBLEM, THAT COST ME $600. I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THIS COMPANY WOULD NOT HAVE SEEN ANY DAMAGE UNDER THE HOOD. SHAME ON THEM FOR SELLING ME A CAR THAT BROKE DOWN IN ONE MONTH. I HAVE CALLED THEM AND THEY WILL NOT HELP WITH THE PAYMENT. IT IS 'AS IS' I CALLED AND TEXT THE SALES GIRL AND NEVER RECEIVED A CALL BACK OR RESPONSE. FINALLY PUT A BAD REVIEW ON THEIR WEBSITE AND RECEIVED AN E-MAIL TO CONTACT MANAGER TO HELP WITH THE SITUATION, ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT WAS AN AUTOMATED EMAIL AND AGAIN TOLD 'TOO BAD'. IT IS NOW JULY AND YET AGAIN IT BROKE DOWN ON MY DAUGHTER AS SHE WAS AT THE GAS STATION. IT WOULD NOT START UP AFTER SHE TURNED IT OFF. TRIED TO JUMP IT AND NOTHING. ONCE AGAIN HEADED TO GO TO THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE STATION. AT FIRST WAS TOLD IT WAS ONLY THE BATTERY, SO I SAY GO AHEAD, I WILL PAY THE $140 AND REPLACE IT AND WE WILL GO FROM THERE. ONLY TO GET ANOTHER CALLBACK FROM THE MANAGER STATING THAT THERE IS MORE WRONG WITH THE CAR, THAT AFTER THE $89 FIVE POINT CHECK ON THE VEHICLE AND REPLACING THE BATTERY THAT IT STILL DID NOT START. THEY WOULD HAVE TO KEEP IT OVER THE WEEKEND. IT IS COSTING ME AN ARM AND A LEG AND I NEED HELP WITH THIS. I FEEL LIKE THEY LIED ABOUT THIS VEHICLE AND ALLOWED A CAR THAT IS NOT SAFE TO BE BOUGHT AT THEIR BUSINESS. I AM CONCERNED FOR MY CHILD'S SAFETY AND ONLY WANT WHAT IS FAIR.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SCION TC. WHILE THE DRIVER WAS AT A STOP LIGHT, THE CLUTCH PEDAL FAILED AND TRAVELED TO THE FLOORBOARD. PRIOR TO THE FAILURE, THE CLUTCH PEDAL WAS STICKING. THE DRIVER HAD TO PULL THE CLUTCH PEDAL UP WITH HER LEFT FOOT. THE VEHICLE WAS PUSHED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND LATER TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC CAME TO HIS RESIDENCE AND DIAGNOSED THAT THE CLUTCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER WERE NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 166,367.
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 CAR WOULD STALL WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE MORE QUICKLY THAN NORMAL. THIS OCCURRED THREE TIMES IN APPROXIMATELY 10 DAYS. THIS OCCURRED TWICE ON TOWN ROADS, AND THE THIRD TIME WHILE ENTERING THE INTERSTATE TO DELIVER THE CAR TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIR. A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WAS DONE WHICH PRODUCED CODE #P2112--THROTTLE ACTUATOR STUCK CLOSED. THREE NEW PARTS WERE REPLACED: HOSE, THROTTLE BODY; BODY ASSY, THROTTLE; GASKET , THROTTLE BOD. *TR
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HESITATES TO SHIFT GEARS EVERYDAY. DEALER STATES THEY CANNOT DUPLICATE THE ISSUE. THIS STARTED ABOUT A MONTH AGO (11/05). PAINT CHIPS ON FRONT OF VEHICLE AS WELL AS SCRATCHES IN THE PAINT. ONLY DRIVE ON PAVED ROADS AND HIGHWAYS. NOTICED THIS WITHIN THREE MONTHS OF HAVING VEHICLE (05/05). *JB
IN STOP & GO BUMPER-TO-BUMPER TRAFFIC, MY CLIENT TOOK HER FOOT OFF OF THE BRAKE OF 2005 TOYOTA SCION XA, AND CAR ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN. AFTER CRASH, CLIENT COULD NOT SHIFT CAR FROM DRIVE INTO PARK POSITION.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026