There are 1 owner-reported steering complaints for the 2005 Scion tCin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I TOOK MY 2005 SCION TC TO DEALER TO HAVE A ROUTINE WARRANTY OIL CHANGE. TECH TOLD ME THAT POWER STEERING FLUID WAS COMPLETELY BLACK. WHEN PRESSED FOR AN EXPLANATION, I WAS TOLD THIS WAS NORMAL WEAR (EVEN AT ONLY 25,000 MI). I HAD THE FLUID REPLACED FOR A HEFTY FEE, BUT CALLED TO SPEAK W/ A SERVICE MANAGER AND WAS AGAIN TOLD THAT THIS IS A NORMAL WEAR ISSUE "FOR ALL TOYOTA'S" AND WAS ASSURED THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH THE STEERING SYSTEM. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEING "NORMAL" AS THIS IS A CONTAINED SYSTEM. ANOTHER FRIEND MECHANIC SAID IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH SOMETHING WITHIN THE SYSTEM IS CORRODING OR WEARING (POSSIBLY METAL CHIPS OR WEARING OF BLACK RUBBER HOSES). I AM IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING A LETTER TO TOYOTA/SCION HEADQUARTERS, AS I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIND A REASONABLE EXPLANATION OR A SERVICE BULLETIN AND MY WARRANTY WILL BE UP IN ANOTHER 5000 MILES. I DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT SOMETHING IS WRONG IN A COUPLE YEARS, BUT BE OUT OF WARRANTY BY THEN. IF YOU'VE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM, PLEASE MAKE A FORMAL COMPLAINT! *JB
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 26, 2026