2007 Scion tC from North America - Comments

Rust spots/paint chips beginning at 8 months.

The interior back-lighting had some issues after about 7 months, dealer quickly rectified.

The performance of the tC is quite adequate, and is probably more than what the average consumer needs. I treat my vehicles well (usually reciprocates), but this car begs to be driven hard. It is VERY fun to drive. The tC handles more like a sports car, and the tires are wide enough to make cornering a dream. The 5-speed is not very natural and takes some to completely master. The wide tires are great when the road conditions are good, but during the snowy winters, the handling is terrible. This could be corrected some with more suitable tires, but with the width being as they are, physics is against traction during snowy and slushy conditions. While it handles like a sports car, the same can be said of the ride comfort. For everyday driving, the suspension is too firm. This, I believe, is what contributed to some of the early squeaking and rattling. Drive one for yourself before buying to see what I mean. Spirited driving, but too damn stiff for everyday.

I usually got about 25-26 mpg with it; satisfying. When driving strictly on the highway I was capable of about 31 mpg.

The standard panoramic moon roofs are a mixed bag for me. They are great when it is sunny and warm. If, however, you live somewhere that gets snow, the two moon roofs tend to get packed snow between them which makes a terrible sound as the body of the car shifts slightly while driving. The first snow was bad this year, and for the next two weeks I got to hear the squeaking nonstop as I drove along. Oh, yea, they also tend to lose a lot of the heat from the car during the winter, naturally.

I think the interior of the Scions is one of its huge plusses. It is refined, and everything screams quality. I like the climate control and audio control systems. The sound system as a whole could use some improvement. It lacks a lot of low end bass and sounds very punchy even with the right settings. Getting a small sub would rectify this problem quickly.

Here is the biggest problem with the car: the paint. It seems that I may not be the only one experiencing this problem. After about 6 months, I noticed more paint chips than I thought there should be. The next two months escalated exponentially. I have a clear bra on the front starting at the hood. This is the only spot that doesn't have chips beginning. When I brought this to the attention of my local Toyota-Scion dealership, they claimed that it was from my driving style, and isn’t covered by the bumper-to-bumper warranty. WOW, my driving style. I have been driving cars for a while now, and this seems to be the worst excuse the dealer could have come up with. I have NEVER experienced anything like this before. Vehicles are machines that will develop problems and you must keep them in good condition if you want the car to take care of you. But after having the car for 8 months, I traded it in because Toyota refused to back their product, and I feel that it is a HUGE issue.

There were also some rust spots developing that seemed to come from out of nowhere. They weren’t located where the chips are, but seem to be coming out from the pores of the paint?? Toyota said it was the spray on wax I was using. They said that Toyota uses this super awesome paint that is perfect in every way possible. Apparently not.

Up to the point of the paint chips, I was mildly satisfied with my purchase. Once this chipping stuff started up, however, I now cannot recommend the car. Paint jobs are expensive my friends, and this is something a new car owner should not be having to think about in the first year of ownership, let alone the first 10 years.

I hope my experience with this vehicle can help some of you get a proper angle on some of the real issues with the tC. If I could go back (even if the paint were perfect) I would have gotten a different vehicle. I now own a Mazda3 iTouring and couldn’t be happier. Where the tC lacked, the 3 has picked up the slack. The tC does have its advantages over the 3: the interior, the rims, the performance, the “cool factor”. Personally, I like the styling on both nearly the same. The tC looks sportier; the 3 looks smarter. The handling is very similar, but the 3 is much more comfortable to ride in. The 3 wins in terms of utility, gas mileage, sound system, engine “feel”, insurance costs, paint and smarts. There are obviously other plusses and minuses of each with one could go on for pages describing, but instead, I will summarize in a paragraph.

The tC is probably a decent choice for some. However, similarly equipped vehicles of other brands are just as capable. Don’t let people tell you that for the money, nothing can touch the tC. I think we are going to find out in the next couple of years that the tC has some paint quality issues of broad scale (maybe this is just limited to those who experience cold climates?) Do NOT purchase this vehicle as an impulse. The tC is as fun as fun gets, but think about whether you are truly going to be happy with this vehicle two years from now. This car is for a specific niche that cares about customization and technology. Look at the other reviews for the tC on this site; they are very short in comparison to other Brands and models (Mazda3 for example). Some of these people purchasing these tC s seem to have not really looked into the negatives of their cars. The negatives are there, and there are tradeoffs to all vehicles, I just find it funny that nobody else seems to point this out. It seems that some people are just posting their positive reviews to help affirm that they made the right choice (I suppose everyone has to deal with their post-purchase dissonance somehow).

Overall, I do not recommend this vehicle to anyone that is planning on keeping it more than a year. 

As much as I thought I would love this vehicle for years, I am going to have to give it a negative based on my experiences.

I will watch this review and it's comments and will respond to questions anyone has. Again, this has been my experience with the tC and doesn't represent anyone's opinions except my own.

WOW! I found this comment because my Tc is at the body shop right now and I'm having to argue about the chips in the paint!!

When I bought it there were swirl marks in the paint brand new. The dealer assured me these would be remedied by buffing. Wrong. Unfortunately, my Tc was keyed 2 months after I bought it. The body shop repainted the hood, side panels and trunk. In less than a year the paint is now "bubbling" in tiny spots which eventually turn into white chip marks after every wash. The majority of them are on the hood near the windshield where rock chips don't generally happen. Since I was given a warranty from the collision center, I took it back to the body shop and not Scion.

I asked the body shop if they believed it was the Toyota paint and they stated that Toyota has high quality paint. Sooooo if that's the case which is it??? The design of the car, the paint, or the body shop? Of course they'd like to believe that I drive through showers of rock chips without knowledge!!! I love my Tc but am completely disappointed with the paint job! My daughter owns an Xa so I'm gonna start looking at the paint on hers and see if it does the same thing.

I also noticed the paint problems. I own a 07 Tc and had it for around 6 months so far and there are chips and swirls all over the car. I haven't taken it to the dealer yet cause I figured they would say it was from my driving. Something needs to be done about this since the dealers don't want to fix it.

I have a Scion Tc 2006 n I have noticed a lot of chips on the paint n I'm planning on buying a bra for it.Every day there seems to be more chips on it. Any suggestions on this thanks. Just like the gentleman said is the case with my car. In all fairness I have not discovered rust spots yet.

I bought a new 2008 tC last month.

I discovered a few tiny swirls on the hood the first time I washed it (last week). I have no idea where these came from and didn't look for them when I bought the car - I'm sure they were there and I just didn't notice. My driving is pretty light and the weather has been almost perfect since I've had the tC.

The Scion dealership's detailers were able to buff out the swirl marks.

Hello Scion drivers! I own a 06 Scion tC. I don't have any paint problems, but I did notice something very wrong with the car itself. When I drive in general, it could be 20 mph or 50 mph, a VERY LOUD noise is coming from the engine. Having it for three years and only 43,000 miles it SHOULD NOT be doing this. The dealer said it was my imagination, but when new people come in my car they even say it sounds like crap. And being that the dealer only has an warranty on this car for 40,000 miles, I'm S.O.L! Anyone experiencing this same problem???

The engines in the Scion TC are very noisy. My car enthusiast friends refer to them as "mini diesels" because of the rattle and clatter. However, if you really DO have a problem, go ON RECORD with your service department and keep WRITTEN RECORDS of your complaints and copies of the paperwork from the service tech who "inspects" (in other words pretends to check your car but DOESN'T) the car. If you DO have engine failure related to your complaint, you can have a pretty good case to make them repair the car even after the warranty expires. Be aware, however that you are basically dealing with Toyota, and they NEVER own up to their problems, so you may need an attorney.

This car is terrible in snow! I cannot figure it out. I got new tires and everything! Paint chips I have a lot of too! It's sad because other than that it is a nice car...

I have an 05 Scion and the hood and top of the car is completely covered with small, round, down to the primer, chips! I thought maybe a hailstorm might have caused this... but there are no dents anywhere. If it were flying gravel the sides of the car would have chips also. None of the other cars where I park have this type of damage so I can only figure that it is a flaw in the "midnight blue" paint from the factory. I have never seen anything like this in any other car I have ever owned. Toyota denies any responsibility.

I totally agree with the paint issue. I bought an '06 new in the Light Blue/Teal color and within TWO MONTHS I was seeing swirls and chips! I did not take it off road... or do anything that could possibly have caused this. I have been driving for nearly 30 years and have never had this problem. I went to the dealer and they said it was my fault and not covered under warranty. I don't think that I have ever been so angry. For that and other reasons I traded it after only 9 months on a Honda Civic... which has been totally issue free going on 3 years now.

If you like the tC... avoid this color... just my two cents.

If it weren't for the paint... I would probably still have the car...

I own two different 06 Scion TC's. This week the paint on the mirrors on one of them is peeling off. I took it to the dealer where I bought it and they also said that it wasn't cover under the warranty any more, but the person who I talked to said that he is going to see what he can do. He will call me back this week.

Like all Japanese makers, Toyota/Scion use inferior paint and painting processes on all their vehicles. The Scion line seems to be especially bad. I test drove a Tc in 2006 and was very disappointed with the noisy, diesel-like engine, very rough ride and poor build quality inside and out. After reading comments on the peeling paint I was totally convinced I didn't want one. I bought a loaded Mustang and have not had a second's trouble with it.