There are 7 owner-reported speed control & cruise complaints for the 2008 Scion xDin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
THIS IS THE FOURTH INCIDENT, AND THE FOURTH TIME I HAVE BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER WHO CANNOT FIND OR DUPLICATE THE ISSUE. I HIT THE BRAKES, AND INSTEAD OF SLOWING OR STOPPING THE CAR, THE CAR ACCELERATES. ONE TIME, IT DAMAGED A TIRE, THIS TIME IT HAPPENED WHILE MERGING ON A HIGHWAY AND NEARLY CAUSED A DANGEROUS COLLISION. THIS LAST INCIDENT, I WAS TRAVELING AROUND 30 MPH. THE TWO TIMES BEFORE, I HAD BEEN ATTEMPTING TO COME TO A STOP FROM 25-30 MPH, AND THE FIRST TIME I HAD BEEN TRAVELING BETWEEN 30-35 MPH WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO BREAK TO AVOID ANOTHER VEHICLE SWITCHING LANES. TOYOTA DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG.
I WAS DRIVING AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CHECK ENGINE WOULD COME ON AND THE VEHICLE WOULD START SHAKING AND SLOW DOWN FOR MAYBE A COUPLE OF SECONDS THEN IT WOULD DRIVE NORMAL, SOMETIMES EITHER THE SAME DAY OR IN A COUPLE OF DAYS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD SHUT OFF AND VEHICLE WOULD DRIVE NORMAL AGAIN, THIS HAPPENED ABOUT 4/5 TIMES, I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC, BUT WHEN I DID THE CHECK ENGINE WAS OFF AND HE FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH IT, (NOT REALLY SURE IF HE EVEN DID A DIAGNOSTIC ON IT) HE STATED MAYBE IT WAS JUST A TEMPORARY GLICHE. THIS SUNDAY 9/6/2015, I WAS DRIVING, THE CHECK ENGINE CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE STARTED TO SHAKE BUT THIS TIME IT FELT IT WAS ABOUT TO STOP, THIS IS HAPPENING WHILE I WAS DRIVING IT WAS SCARY BECUASE A PERSON DRIVING BEHIND ME AT 40MPH DOES NOT KNOW THAT THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF THEM MIGHT COME TO A FULL STOP AND THEY MAY CRASH INTO ME.. VERY SCARY.. LUCKILY THERE WAS NOT A LOT OF TRAFFICE BUT STILL IT WAS VERY SCARY. THIS TIME IT TOOK LONGER TO GET BACK TO A NORMAL SPEED I HAD TO CIRCLE AROUND, STOP THE CAR, HIT THE GAS A LITTLE TO SEE IF THAT WOULD HELP AND IT DID BUT I WAS ONLY 5 MINUTES AWAY FROM MY HOME. THIS IS VERY SCARY ESPECIALLY IF YOUR DRIVING IN A FREEWAY OR IN A BUSY STREET. I WANT TO KNOW IS THIS A TOYOTA SCION PROBLEM AND IS THIS HAPPENING TO OTHER SCION XD 2008 DRIVERS AND WHAT'S CAUSING THIS?
AS I WAS DRIVING, MY ABS, BRAKE LIGHT, VSC LIGHTS ALL CAME ON . THEY FLASH CONSTANTLY. I HAD THE VEHICLE CHECKED AND WAS TOLD I NEEDED TO REPLACE MY ABS SENSORS BOTH THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE. NOW AGAIN THE LIGHTS CAME BACK ON AND I'M TOLD THAT THE WIRE HARNESS HAS TO BE REPLACE TO FIX THE PROBLEM. *TR
WAS STOPPING BEHIND A LINE OF CARS ON AN EXIT RAMP, MASHED BRAKE PEDAL AND BRAKE DID NOT STOP CAR COMPLETELY,HIT TRUCK IN FRONT OF ME ROLLED BACK AND HIT IT AGAIN ROLLED BACK AGAIN AND FINALLY HAD TO PULL EMERGENCY BRAKE TO GET CAR TO STOP COMPLETELY. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SCION XD. THE CONTACT WAS ATTEMPTING A TURN WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED UNEXPECTEDLY AND CRASHED INTO A BUILDING. THE BRAKES FAILED TO BRING THE VEHICLE TO A COMPLETE STOP. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,190 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 3,195. UPDATED 10/11/11 *BF UPDATED 3/28/12 *CN
SUDDEN ACCELERATION AT A SLOW SPEED. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA SCION XD. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 34 MPH, THE VEHICLE SPONTANEOUSLY JERKED TO THE RIGHT. THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL, BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A PARKED VEHICLE AND SOME BUSHES; HOWEVER, THE ONLY THING THAT STOPPED THE VEHICLE WAS THE MUD. THE ENGINE CONTINUED REVVING UNTIL THE IGNITION WAS TURNED OFF. DURING THE FAILURE, THE CONTACT COULD NOT CONTROL THE STEERING COLUMN NOR THE VEHICLE BECAUSE THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM FAILED. IN THE EVENT THAT AT LEAST ONE WHEEL LOSES TRACTION, THE STABILITY SYSTEM PREVENTS THE DRIVER FROM STEERING THE VEHICLE. IT WILL ALIGN THE VEHICLE TO MOVE STRAIGHT FORWARD, THUS PREVENTING THE CONTACT FROM CONTROLLING THE VEHICLE IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY. THE CONTACT REQUESTED A COPY OF THE POLICE REPORT AND HAS PICTURES OF THE FAILURE. AS OF AUGUST 1, 2008, THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION. THE VEHICLE SUSTAINED MODERATE DAMAGE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 9,750. UPDATED 09/10/08. *LJ UPDATED 09/16/08. *JB UPDATED 06/22/10.*JB UPDATED 5/28/10 *CN UPDATED 06/14/10.*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