Well I wrote a lil review on my scion tc back several months ago... and now its time to see how the car is doing after over 7000 miles and 6 months of driving. This includes two long miles trips from the LR area to New Orleans and one over to Middle Tenn. So here we go...

I would say the 2005 Scion TC is a killer car in any right, it matches many of the higher cost sport coupes out there. The TC offers plenty of great features, and tends to still turns heads and take others by suprise. Though it seems accessories and mods tend to be slow moving in for this car, there still is enough to do to it to make it fun. The TC also has proven to stand up to idiots on the road pretty good.. from slamming the brakes on and swirving to miss the person coming to a complete stop on the interstate for no reason... to a lil teen _____ slamming into the front end of it when she ran a redlight. The Scion TC proves just because something looks like its all plastic doesnt mean it is all plastic. So here are my positive and negative facts on the car.

Positives:
This thing still turns heads even after six months.
There are still people out there would call them SKY ON's and its fun to laugh at them.
Over 7000 miles and she still purrs like a ____ed off kitten
The glass roof comes in handy when you wanna flip someone off
Its nice to know you can take down those punks in the civics if they annoy you to much.
The warrenty actually works unlike some other cars out there
Folding back seats... makes for a nice nap spot..


Negatives:
Damn just about every auto store has no parts logged for this thing yet.
Whoever chose cloth A Pillars for this car should be shot, they come apart really fast
Rattle rattle rattle.. its one thing to hear one.. another to hear 6 of em
Thank god for the good stereo otherwise I couldnt block out some of the road noise
Cheap floormats.. why did I pay for this...
That stereo cover is annoying as hell.
Quality controll? can we say someone forgot to check for rusty seat hinges? (dealer is fixing this though along with 3 other issues)
Paint just chips chips chips... yeah I can see a full repaint in this thing future.
Nothing says loving like cheap ___ tires... 7000 miles of normal use and they are wearing out fast.

So whats the vote? rating of 1 to 10 1 being ____ty 10 being hell yeah I give the 2005 Scion TC a 7

Why? Hey this is one hell of a car, but you do get what you pay for, there is a reason its got so much to offer for such a lower price. What you actually thought they were just gonna give all that away with some high high quality? ha ha ha. But eh.. least they tend to honor their warrenty unlike Honda and Saturn.. so the paint chips.. the car makes noises and rattles.. the interior is cheap as hell and the seats are already wearing out, not to mention I will need new tires before I need to change payment books. But its still nice to know that the engine.. ah.... the engine... something that wasnt new and was swiped from a good car is just freaking killer and still puts out the juice when I pound the gas pedal down.. which is rare.. because I love my car and personally rarely burn the rubber.. why? I know she can go.. doesnt mean I have to kill her trying to show it off...

So would I suggest it to a friend or family member? I would suggest they look at the Scion TC... yes... as far as them getting one? thats up to them...

Would I buy another one myself or buy it if I had to do it over again? Ahhhh nooo... why? nothing against the car really other than I think it needed to bake in the oven a tad bit longer before it was released... but with gas prices so high I think I should have bought a Hybrid... still I dont regret the car one bit when I go to pay my payment each month at my bank... she has saved my ___ and stood with me through one lil teeny bopper _____es bad driving stunt... so.. long as she stands by me.. I will stand by her..

Signed,
BloodRaVen

proud to be the owner of a car that can cause so many problems when others try to say its name

 

Dude. You are totally scaring me about the pannel rattling. That is my worst nightmare in any car.

 

oh the TC will rattle.. and it will make noises... but I have to be honest.. its a new car.. first year... thats what you get for buying something in its first year still a cool car.. even if it does rattle alot and is rather annoying.. but thats what the loud music and the sub is for...

 

don't kittens purr when they're happy...

and about rattles...i've gotten used to them.. i feel weird when i can't hear anything (mom's camry...toooo silent)

 

two words for the rattling plastic panels.. FOAM TAPE... it's what I used.. all quiet now

 

Get the SRS. Then you only have two cloth pillars.

 

Are you sure this isn't a review of a Dodge Neon SRT-4 rebadged?

I mean seriously, I've had my car since the beginning of October (7 months 5200 miles) and I don't have a single rattle, My A-pilliars are fully intact (as I hope everyone's is) my floormats are doing good so far but there's some wear where my feet rest, my stereo cover opens first push every time and my seats don't make a peep.

oh yeah, and my paint has 0 - count em - 0 chips anywhere on my car, and I'm very particular about my paint....

but it's YOUR review, and everyone's is different.

There are multiple threads asking high mileage peeps how their tires are doing, and people with over 15,000 miles, some even 20,000 miles all say they still have thousands left, but would want to replace them anyways because the stock crappy tires only get worse... I'm getting new tires as soon as I can make up my mind on what....

WAIT!!! I have had one problem... sorry to make it seem like my car's perfect... one of the plastic tabs broke on my drivers side that holds down the carpet and my carpet was moving around a bit... had it replaced under warranty when I got my (free) oil change done....

happy motoring and I hope what problems can be fixed will be fixed for you, and good props to an honest review.

 

No its not a review of a Dodge Neon... I would never compare a Neon to a Scion... nice attempt at a catchy name their dodge but you chose four letters cause you couldnt afford anymore Yeah well the dealer has had to replace the following.. but they have been good about it.

Replaced under Warranty:
1: Rear Bumper Applique'
2: Rear Bumper Applique'
3: Rear Bumper Applique' (they finally gave up they were just making it worse each time, so it was replace with the GBX Shifter)
4: Floormats (So worn out that you could see the rubber below the carpet)
5: A-Pillar (all bubbling up, looks weird)
6: Outside temp sensor (has a habit of saying its like 90* outside for the first few mins)
7: Repair heavy rust building up around rear seats fold hinges

But I did get 4 free oil changes :D and I try to keep my reviews honest, unless its ford/Chevy/Dodge then I just have to make fun of them

 

Nice review. I would give the tC a 9 out of 10 though. I have had few problems (moonroof rattle that was fixed and a hatch rattle that has not been fixed but not noticeable as I play the stereo).

However beware of the Hybrids. For one thing, the hybrids are NOT getting as good as MPG as published. And remember the hybrids save money by IN town driving. There is NO savings if most of your driving is Highway driving.

Also, I have had my tC since JULY and no paint chip problems. I have had only a small one which my touchup paint fixed.

Kevin

 

A question about all of these rattles...were they there from the moment you purchased the car or did they slowly creep up on you?

If there were there when you drove it off the lot, then I can say I have zero rattles...

 

my rattles are slowly getting progressivly worse.

i have glovebox rattle and reaaal bad squeak rattle out of the hatch. My only complaint on this car is the rattles. I guess i was coutning on better from Toyota

 

A lot of people don't have any rattles at all. I'm approaching 7000 miles and the only rattle I've ever had turned out to be the zippers on my bag in the hatch.

 

i think the rattle issue has been solved in most of the tC's now. my friend has a tC, he bought it about august of 2004, he has those rattles ppl talk about. i got mine dec 2004, my car has NO rattle. only when i'm going over rough road, which is going to happen. this car is pretty damn well built for how much it costs. i would give it an 8.5 our of 10 personally.

 

Yea, my rating would be a 9 out of 10. (Went up a bit since I put the TRD exhaust on and it actually has a sound to it now)

 

My moonroof rattle and pop came almost immediately with the car. Both of those have been fixed. The hatchback rattle came maybe 5-6 months after I got car. Still there but music downgrades the rattle. Still would be nice to have fixed. I have seen many answers but none seem to pan out. I don't think the one fix which would be a welding job is the answer either as I have put felt tape on the hatch rubber stoppers which made the hatch have NO rattles for two days. Then the rattles came back. So this one is going to be difficult to isolate and get a fix. The rattle came back and I had not open the hatch in the two days after putting on the felt tape. So something worked for two days.

Also have an occasional rattle from the radio/door.

The rattles are just noticeable if driving on bumpy streets with no music on.

Kevin

 

i jsut bought mine in late 2004, and it has all these rattles...

 

well we can just say this.. its a new car.. its a baby basically new to the market... come one.. it needs a rattle now and then hehe...

Anyway yeah mine still has the moonroof rattle, the dash rattles and the hatch rattles.. NorthPoint says they can duplicate any of them, yet the moment I get back in the car it does it again in all the places oh well... still a good car.. and yeah I know the Hybrids needs work, but with most of my driving round in LR a Hybrid would do well I know a person who has the Toyo Hybrid and it gets damn good MPG... still it also has about as much HP as a gerbil in the spin wheel.. hehe..

 

10,000 miles, two 1200 mile road trips, squeaky stereo cover door stopped squeaking affter 2000 miles, NO other rattles, NO paint chips, NO other issues. I love this car. Would I buy another? Hell yeah.

 

I will never buy into the hybrids... with the learning I have done in the area of fuel cells... and the progress they are making with them, that will be the only switch to a new fuel that I am planning.

Hybrids = some increase in mileage, still produce emmissions, and have all the power of a yugo running on 2 cylinders.

Fuel Cells = The potential for very nice power output and NO emmissions. They are very efficient (if they are using pure H and not a reformer on board).

 

What are A-pillars? I've seen that come up several times, and have no clue what they are. Thanks.