Dont get me wrong I like this car , I think Toyota/Scion did an awesome idea coming up with a cool lookin design of the interior and exterior , as well as putting something edgy on teh market that was well equipped for the price tag attached . My book Toyota/Scion lost points in final quality . When I mean final quality I mean paint , Yes paint it has been discussed and it has been noted that most newer vehicles out there do have cheap paint . By far the Scion line has the weakest point as to date that I have encountered , easily scratched even when washing , paint chips all over . Also on final quality my car recently passed the four thousand mile mark , and litterally has exploded with more interior noises (rattles , squeeks and other mystery noises) by far I have very low expectations of how this car will be when the clock hits eighty thousand miles . I know some are gonna fire off the "Its a cheap car what do you expect" , Well your absolutely right it is a cheap car . It isnt a Mercades and it isnt a Lexus and it isnt an Infinitie . What it is , is a Toyota product , and it should not be rattling like it has 50 thousand miles on it at 4 thousand . I have driven far cheaper cars and they never sounded like this . I attribute part of these noises and interior sounds to the poor assembly of the vehicle . Recently I plugged my cell phone adapter into the power outlet located next to the gear shift . When removing the plug I looked down to find my center console still attached to my adapter and no longer attached to the dash . Interior pieces are easily scratched , very low on the durability score card . Gas Millage on a recent trip down south using the cruise control at highway speeds set at 75-80 mph, and no there are no hills in Florida. I pulled a dissappointing 26 mpg , no heavy weight in teh vehicle as well as tire pressures set at proper levels and so forth . Not exactly where it was suppose to be at the estimate written on the sticker . Handling , while at low speeds in city traffic the tC handles very well , one of the better handling cars I have driven . At highway speeds at 80 mph I found the rear end swaying or drifting from time to time . I orignially thought maybe it was due to the 18 inch enki rims but if that was the case why wasnt the front affected by the tires grabbing into grooves sometimes etched into the highway . Overall I like the tC if I am lookin at it , if I am driving it I dont like it at all , Mainly the interior noises kill it . yes I have turned the stereo up and I still hear the rattles and noises going nuts . I have a feeling that the time the tC spends in my driveway is limited and I wont be keeping it long . Just figured I would speak my mind and get a few things off my chest .

 

Buyer's remorse is a _____.


--Don't expect 30mpg at 80mph all the time. The EPA does their estimates at 55-60mph. (though I averaged 33mpg on a tank not too long ago)
--All new paint sucks.
--the rattles seem to occur randomly, to random people at random times. I have more miles than you, and no rattles.
--the rear end is sprung fairly stiff, but any wandering has to do with tire, alignment (camber or toe) or a combination of those factors.

Sell it, swap it, whatever. Buy a MAzda 3 or summat. All of the critics seem to looooove it.

 

I have been pleased with the paint job on my FM, 13,000 miles and still looks great. Much better than the black Highlander I used to have. I had a rattle in moonroof which dealer fixed last year. The hatch rattle is minor but I am taking in next week for TSB. I would suggest you take to dealer and let them try to fix (since it is free under warranty). But you will find any car which includes Mercedes, Lexus, Acura, have had problems with rattles.

I still love the car looking at it as well as driving it. The stereo is MUCH better than stock systems (in this price range). The TRD exhaust is excellent. And the full glass roof is an extra for a car at this price.

If you still are "not loving it" after the dealer has tried to fix some things, then I would suggest you trade in and get something else. Life is too short to invest in something (this expensive) and not like it.

Good luck.

Kevin

 

i dont know about the quality of the paint (i do have some paint chips) but that is expected i suppose and iw ont gripe about everything to be perfect. while it's understandable you shouldn't settle for less than perfect realize that you didnt fork over $40k and that the value of the car (in comparison to others) exceeds what you actually put into it. (for me at least) you're getting the most bang for your buck.

the rattles and whatever noise does seem to be random and there are tsb's for some of the noise.

i have 12k miles on my car and i average like 28mpg.

the only gripe i have is the a/c is a little weaksauce, (there is a tsb for this as well) imma have to go to dealership for my last oil change and have them check it out. and the road noise which is exceptionally louder than most cars (i think from larger rims perhaps that attribute to more noise)

 

I think I covered that in my post , sorry still unacceptable regardless of price when Toyota preaches about their quality

 

damn all thats happening and ur only at 4k? im creepin up on 3k..hope that doesnt happen to me when i get to that point. i dont hear any rattles except the sunroof cover whenever i hit a pothole or a huge bump. and the road noise i think alot of it is because of the 18s..i do agree that our cars were poorly put together tho. i think the interior is very poor quality. the rear passenger side panels seem like if u press hard enough, u'll just bust through it. yes it is a cheap priced car but it is basically a toyota and a cheap toyota doesnt mean its should be a poor quality car. i agree. the quality of our cars is not up to par with the rest of the toyotas

 

You guys are all complaining about a first-year model. Let's not forget that. Period.

While I was very tempted to purchase the '05 tC, a Golden Rule concerning new cars is to keep away from the first-year models. There are guaranteed TSBs associated with them. I'm not busting '05 owners...I understand it's hard to resist a car like the tC.

Now, when I start noticing things about my '06 - I'll insert foot, open mouth. Until then...please don't complain about problems that have been covered well before an RS.1 (which is much more an '05 build than an '06) was even released.

 

I agree that the paint is the worst feature of this car. I have several scratches on my car that just appeared out of nowhere. I have three thousand miles and no rattling. 26 mpg is awesome for 70-80 rethink your criticism on that point, because this car has decent gas mileage and most going cars 70-80 on the highway will be below or the same. Unless of course you get a small economy car.

 

just take it back to your dealer, tell them to fix it, you have a warranty, thats what its for........i have a 05 M3 3500 mi, and i hardly drive it (weekend car) and i have had that thing in the shop maybe 5 times for rattles squeaks and other things.......and i paid 70k for it......... my oil changes are 300.00 and i can only use thier oil.......so yeah the scion is a cheap ___ commuter car, im not a toyota fan, and toyotas are not that great but for 20k, who cares.......my other commuter car is a 04 accord, and i have had no issues what so ever.....but when i do have an issue, i take my cars to the dealer, that is what the warranty is for..... and the TC is a economy car in a sports car dress.......so yes you get what you paid for. and with anything brand new, you dont know its wrong until it goes wrong.......

 

All is pretty comprehensive. The new paint on my car is fine.

From this single owner's report I'm glad I don't have a TC. After 4K miles, I was expecting a glorifying report. Especially in this forum. I can't imagine purchasing a car I'd be unhappy with after 4K miles or even 15K miles!

Maybe 1st year run has something to do with it, but we took a chance and purcahsed a 2000 Mazda MPV its first year. It has 80K on it now and I couuldn't ask for more. Mind you, lots of parts were borrowed from other models just as the TC.

I would think it's very rare to find a criticizing report from a new car owner with only 4K miles and even more rare under the Scion nameplate.

 

one more thing about toyota quality......my family uses tacomas and tundras for our construction company (15 tacomas, 9 tundras) i would say most if not all have had major quality fit and finnish issues.......4 of the tacomas have gone in to have the motors, and tranny's pulled to fix a spot weld that the assembly line missed (about 8k in work per truck according to toyota) and all 4 of the tacomas went in within the same week.......one of the tundras, the windsheild fell out, yes fell out, into the cab at freeway speeds, and one of the tundras beds lost its bottom when loaded.....these are all 04 trucks, we had been using chevy's primarly but go these cheap.......never had the issues close to that with the chevy's.......however my denali has gone in for 3 sunroof adjustments and 2 full replacments, no cars are perfect.......and all car companies think they are the best, so go figure that......

 

Funny, Chrysler is hoping to achieve Toyota quality standards within 5 years.
http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=39614
Maybe it will be a lot sooner. LOL

Perhaps things could have been worse if they were Dodge trucks.

 

so tell us again why you got a Toyota, and a first-year model at that??

 

it was a cheap, and my wife liked it.....

 

Relatively, anyway. Remember the 70s? Remember lead? Or even further back, to the days of nitrocellulose lacquer? I met a man with a '40s Cadillac that had factory original paint on it. Now, with the eco-friendly stuff carmakers have to shoot, you're lucky if the factory paint lasts 5-6 years.

 

TCRS1.0... I am responding to you as a former BMW Owner, mind you this was not just your run of the mill 4 door, it was a 325ci Sport Coupe fully loaded with all the goodies, a $40,000 car. The complaints you are having with regards to your tC are some of the similar b%tches I had about my beemer. The car was fragile at best... beautiful interior but front seat backs that cost $250 each that had to be replaced when the rear seat rubbed on them while folded down. My beemer had 28K miles on it and the all of the coils had to be replaced, under warranty of course, but that would have been a $1000 repair. Then there was the leather problems, wear... door trim panel wear was bad too, and don't even get me started on the interior cabin rattles that I had in my $40,000 car.

My point her is its a car, you drive over roads that are rough... one other thing, and I don't know if you have this done in your car but those great bumpin stereos, had them myself in the past, also rattle the sh%t out of the car too. 4000 miles is a little low for so many issues, but cars as a whole are NOT made like they used to be... look around you, how many late 80 early 90 cars do you see on the road these days, its just not the same. One other thing, you did buy a car with an all glass roof, you will have noise, in the 90's I had a Camaro with T tops, the most noisy car on the planet...

My sincere suggestion to you, take your car back to the dealer where you purchased it from, get the service manager involved and tell him your complaints... My Fiance is a Director of Operations at a major LA Auto Dealership, they take this stuff seriously... I have taken cars back with problems (when they were merely weeks old) thrown the keys on the desk of the service manager and simply stated, I don't want to see it again until it is 100% completely fixed... no questions asked, put me in a rental and have a nice day.

Remember, you have purchased something that is a depreciating asset from the get go, a car is a car, price be damned... look at my beemer, though I loved my car (glad it is gone though) I still had the same problems at $40K that you are having at $20K.

Best of luck to you and I am sorry you are unhappy about your purchase... I have been around the automotive business my entire life, my dad is involved in it and I am now marrying into it... it is what it is.

 

I haven't gotten around to driving the tC a whole lot. I mainly drive my Impreza and the box. If the tC holds up half as much as our xB, it will surpass all my expectations for a first year car. If you bought a tC and aren't happy with your purchase, then just sell the mother F-ing car, don't rain on everyone elses parade. It sucks that your car isn't up to your standards...but maybe you set the bar to high. I haven't even heard a peep from my moonroof, rear hatch, or paint chipping any more than any other car i have owned. At 1,775 miles i couldn't be happier. Well, i could be happier if all the haters out there would STFU. My .02

 

i dont know what ur talkin about man it definately must be those enkeis kuz im not hearing all this inside the car noize your talkin about no rattles or anything and im at 7k miles do u have a stiff suspension upgrade?

 

If it was me and i had all those problems. Instead of complaining like a lil b***h on a public forum,(j/k) i'd simply take my car (which is covered under waranty), back to the dealer and have them fix my car.

 

It's a first year. While I have some small issues (rattles mostly), I knew the risks when I took a chance on a first year model from a "new" manufacturer. The car's quality always has to speak for itself, not the brand. Who cares if its from Toyota... that simply means it *shouldn't* die immediately after the warranty is over, but it still can because not even Toyota knows if it'll last because the car hasn't been around 3 years...

My 2¢