NHTSA — Engine Problems

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
57,786 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2005 Scion tC engine problems

engine problem

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2005 Scion tC Owner Comments

problem #7

Jul 112019

tC

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Weston, FL, USA

problem #6

Nov 022018

tC

  • 163,000 miles
The car burns an excessive amount of oil and only has 163000 miles.

- Dry Ridge, KY, USA

problem #5

Jul 082016

tC

  • 4 miles
According to Toyota service the engine had a catastrophic failure lower part of the engine due to no oil in the engine. According to the service department this was caused by excessive oil consumption. The problem occurred on the highway while driving to work. The car stopped on the middle of the 210 fwy without any warning lights on the dash panel.

- Fontana, CA, USA

problem #4

Aug 012016

tC

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2005 Scion Tc. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle VIN# not included in oil consumption program to repair the existing oil problems.

- Coram, NY, USA

problem #3

Mar 072014

tC

  • miles
I was driving and the car just died.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #2

Nov 202013

tC

  • 126,500 miles
I do not understand why Toyota knows that there is a defect in their engines on these cars but they would not recall them. They recalled the Camry with the same engine but not the Scion Tc. They redesigned the engine in 2007 to fix the defect. The known defect is the head bolts were too short, causing them undue stress and eventually stripping out the bolt holes for the heads. This causes the car to overheat blow the engines. This is a safety issue as many people have had this happen in the middle of the road and at intersections where the car dies. People can be rear ended and broad sided because of this. Toyota knew about the defect because they fixed recalled the Camry which had the same engine. This is no small fix. For most owners this out of pocket expense is between $3000 - $6000 dollars depending on how much damage was caused by the over heating. There are complaints all over the internet of this happening but no one in the government is doing anything to push Toyota into fixing their known screw up.

- Elgin, IL, USA

problem #1

Feb 042013

tC 4-cyl

  • 115,000 miles
My 2005 Toyota Scion Tc turned off while I was driving. I put vehicle in park and re started it. Moments later the brakes failed and I turned into a plaza. At that point the steering failed. I did not know the vehicle was on fire until this point. I had no control of the car so I reached back and grabbed my two year old who was strapped in her car seat. Right before we jumped out the car stopped completely ( tires melted), the flames were visible in front of me and the car filled with smoke. We jumped out and ran. Moments later the entire car was in flames. Witnesses told me that I was on fire for a while and they turned around to get my attention. No injuries or fatalities were suffered with this fire but it was way too close for comfort.

- Wellington , FL, USA

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