2006 Scion xB review from North America

• Windshield constantly cracks/chips. I have had 7 windshields in 6 months of owning the car.

• Engine is sluggish and you won't be street racing with it.

• Engine has problems shifting gears if it is still cold.

• Limited cargo space in the rear.

Read more below.

First off I really did love my xB and I think Scion made an interesting product with its boxy shaped step-child. I have owned my xB since August 06 and have thoroughly enjoyed it most of the time. I had all sorts of bells and whistles added to the car including interior illumination, premium audio system, panoramic sun roof, sport exhaust, spoiler, tail light…the list really does go on-and-on. That is the great thing about this car; it is completely customizable.

Overall the car has been a real blast to own. I do get a lot of looks and it handles pretty good. The engine is definitely sluggish, so don’t think you are going to be out there street racing like The Fast and Furious, because it’s just not going to happen. It is very spacious and I haven’t had any complaints about leg room. That is the one thing that surprises people most of the time is the interior space is such a small looking car.

There isn’t a whole lot of storage space in the back since it is a stubby little machine, but it makes up for that with tons of headroom. By adding the premium sound system with the bazooka-tube subwoofer you decrease that space about 35%. If you are just running to the store to pickup a few groceries it has plenty of room for them, but don’t try to hogtie your friend and toss them back there because they just wouldn’t fit.

The main issues I found when looking for the car before I purchased it was no cruise-control and no center armrest. I did get an armrest installed at the dealership, but never got around to the cruise control. Other than those two items nothing bad was said about the car and most of the time the car does indeed deserve its rave reviews, but why did I score the xB so low?

The main problem I have with the car is broken windshields. I have looked around online, including epinions, and no one seems to be bringing this little design flaw up. I have owned my xB for about 6 months now and I have had to replace the windshield glass 7 times. That means 7 entirely new pieces of glass have been installed on the car. That is just insane. This week alone I have had to replace the glass 3 times. Each time the glass has cracked/chipped, the first time was 2 days after I purchased the car, I was driving between 40-70mph and have been about 4-10 car lengths away from the person in front of me.

Since I know the glass installers on a first name basis now I asked them about the whole windshield issue, because I have never had a problem like this with any other car I have ever owned. They told me that the Scion xB windshield is the most replaced windshield at their company, the second being the Jeep. They said it wasn’t just my car that was having this problem but all of the xB’s that have been produced. I asked them what made the xB such a problem child and they said the steep grade of the windshield and the fact that the car sits so low.

Knowing that it wasn’t just me having the problem made me feel a little better, but it was still an issue. The funny thing is I have spoken to numerous people now; from owners to people who run the local car wash, and they have all informed me that the windshield problem is quite common. At the car wash the attendant came up first thing and started looking at my windshield and asked me if I had problems with it because his friend who owns an xB does and he sees lots of cracked/chipped windshields roll through his business on the xB’s.

Well, the 7th cracked windshield happened last night on my way home from work and I pretty much just lost it because that was the 3rd new windshield this week that has been busted. I called up the dealership and asked them how much they would give me for a trade-in on the xB and they wanted to know what was wrong. I explained the situation about the windshield and they informed me they had never heard another complaint about it. They tried to blame it on where I live, but I am just not falling for it. Granted, I do understand that in the desert, I live in Arizona, there is going to be more rocks, but how come my wife, my parents, my co-workers, my friends, and everyone else I talk to do not have this problem? We have lived out here 5 years now and my wife has only had a crack once in that entire time. I have only had a chip once in that entire time on another car.

Luckily for me I do have full coverage insurance that has glass protection on it, so I do not have to pay a deductible every time I get a new windshield, but I have at least $3,500-$4,900 in new windshields paid for by my insurance. I am now afraid they are going to raise my rates because of this when it is the car’s design flaw, not mine, that the causes the windshield to keep getting cracked.

Well, having already said I lost it, I decided to take a loss and trade-in the car for something else. Yeah with all the bells and whistles I still owe about $24,000 and I know they are going to stick it to me with a new car, but what other choice do I really have? I see the glass installers about every month. I am tired of the smallest speck of dust causing the glass to chip/crack. I am tired of losing my temper when it happens. I am tired of having to deal with my insurance company about it. I am tired of taking time off from work so I can go down and let them work on my car. This experience has been a real bummer. *sigh*

Having the xB, which I researched for 2 years before moving on it, has been a real headache. The car was equipped with everything I wanted, but it turns out to be more hassle than it is worth. No one can fix the issue that is causing the chips/cracks because it is a design flaw in the car. What is Toyota going to do about it? Nothing. They would have to design a whole new car to fix the issue and I don’t see them doing that anytime soon. So the rest of us are stuck with the stress of driving our car around like it is a fragile egg because we are afraid of the smallest rock coming close to us.

So for all the headaches my xB has caused me I have decided to look at the PT Cruiser GT, Pontiac Solstice, and Chevrolet HHR. All I really wanted was a Scion xB, but the stress it causes is just not worth it in the end. If you do decide to get an xB I would suggest upgrading your insurance, if it isn’t already covered, to handle glass coverage because you are going to need it. You will also want to put the auto glass replacement company of your choice on your cell phone’s speed dial, mine is on #9, because you will be calling them frequently.

The other reviews are correct and the car is a lot of fun and a real blast, but in my shoes with my experience the windshield issue is just too much to put up with. If it wasn’t for the windshield I would love my xB and would probably purchase another one, but with the experience that I have had I won’t be purchasing an xB again. I would still consider a tC or the tA(?) because Scion seems to have a nice product but never again an xB.