Hello Everybody,

I hope to soon be a new xA owner - moving to LA from NYC and getting my first car. I love small cars and also am considering a MINI, and have read one of their owners' forums. They have a section called "Problems and solutions" or something like that, and by reading only that section you would think that every MINI is a total piece of crap - so many different types of common problems! I'm sure some of them are problem-free (maybe not?). And still they LOVE their cars. Anyway, I don't see this type of section of this forum for the xA and so I was wondering 1) if there should be, and 2) if you could list any problems you've had with your cars that required fixing, either minor or major. Thanks!

 

I've owned my xA for 6 months now. I have had ZERO problems. The longer I have this great little car, the more I like it. I've owned many, many cars and trucks over the years (I'm almost 39) and I can honestly say that the xA is my favorite.

 

Oh cmon no one talks about the problem.

There is one.
Watch your window levels while driving. You can have audio reverb in the cabin where the waves try to scramble your brain and it's really really loud.

no kidding.

 

I have had my Scion XA RS 2.0 for about 3 weeks. Here are the problems so far:

1. Two rattle/squeak issues. The driver's side left-hand speaker rattles when I'm listening to bassy music (the rattle stops when I put my hand on it), and there is a rattle coming from the passenger side right corner.

2. The A/C isn't cold enough for hot climates (like Montana in the summer).

Fortunately, there are TSBs out for both of these problems and I have an appointment on Tuesday with the dealer to get them fixed at Toyota's expense. No arguments whatsoever. The dealer agreed to give me a free service loaner while they do the work. They're also changing the oil for free (I just turned 3,000 miles).

There is another thread on the XA clutch going out--one guy claims that it failed after only 3,000 miles. I haven't noticed any clutch issues so far but will be monitoring this closely.

 

I have a slight rattle in the center console area, but it goes away when I leave the ash tray open.

 

The only problem I have is a rattle somewhere near the guage cluster in the dash.

 

I've taken my xa in for rattles twice, but i hardly consider that a "problem."

other than that, the only thing that still bugs me is the stubborn first to second gear shift. that's not so much a "problem" either, as it is more of a characteristic of the transmission than a defect. just wanted to give you a heads up on that one before you buy. just make sure you test drive. mechanically, i'm betting the car is going to last until im 80. im 20 this year.

 

Loud ain't the word for it...painful is more like it. If I forget to raise the rear windows and go above 65mph the reverb is very painful. I guess they never tried to do this in the windtunnel.

Would the window shields(I think that's what there called) prevent this from happening?

NJTrout

 

Vent visors?
I've been thinking about those and wondering if they'd do any good.
I hear some people have the same issue with the window inteferance on the tC

 

Haha, yeah that sound is crazy. Sometimes it will catch me off guard, and i feel like my ears are going to bleed. I actually make everyone that gets in my car experience it. Initiation

 

I noticed this as well. I have a Ford Aspire now with a stick. I am considering an xA automatic and took one for a drive. When I did, I noticed that the car stayed in first gear far longer than it should have. The test car had 17 inch wheels; does it do the same thing with the stock wheels? The shift to second gear was smooth, just way too late (and I wasn't pushing the accelerator hard at all). Is there an overdrive button somewhere that was maybe disengaged?

 

The hang-up between first and second is normal when the automatic car is cold.... As soon as the blue temp light goes out, you will get smooth shifts.
I have an xA with the auto, no problems except that I don't get quite the mileage as advertised, but it still is better than what I was getting. I had a rattle at the hatch, but it turned out to be I had left the tag frame loose so it was my fault.
As for the reverb, with the windows all the way down, it isn't that bad...


I hope you enjoy the car as much as I do mine!!

 

What kind of mileage are you getting? I'm currently getting 32-35 with my Aspire (114k miles on it). Part of my decision is which car to get, and part of it is whether to even get rid of the Aspire which has been insanely reliable and fuel efficient thus far. I'm kind of tired of it and want something new, but only if new is also clearly better. My big fear is that I'll get the xA or some other new car and miss my Aspire, as unlikely as that sounds. I may opt to drive the Aspire into the ground (of course, I could be a week away from a major breakdown and not know it yet).

 

I have been getting about the same in the Scion. There is almost a science to it. It is different ever where.

 

I am honestly getting around 30mpg around town. Just got back from a 600+ mile road trip, 85 mph or so, air on, windows up...32 mpg. 75-80mph, windows down, air off... 35mpg...

Tell the Aspire thanks for the good times, but you will not be disappointed with the xA.

 

i had that same rattle also but that rattle went away some how but i made a new rattle sound with my aftermarket gague cluster i installed i just ignore it most of the time

 

many cars that cost $10,000 have minor problems with rattles and squeaks so to have my affordable XA i can care less wat squeaks as long as it runs good mechanically, as far as the wind noise don't drive with only one rear window down have at least one of the fronts opened- problem solved. The Xa's design can't handle wind comin' in from the rear windows only, thats like tryin' to run with a plastic bag open at your side. Sum it all up u get wat u pay for...

 

I have had my xA for about a month now and I'm totally happy with it. I traded a 2003 Nissan Maxima in for it based on the crazy expenses I had with the Max. I have the 5 speed and I get about 29 to 31 in town here in Houston traffic. The A/C is excellent and will cool the car down well and within about 5-10 min you should see penguins dancing around in your rear view mirror. All around a great car for the 13000 I paid for it!

 

For the people with any A/C problems...
There is a Toyota Service bulletin for it. The fix takes just a few minutes depending on the dealership service load.
Mine was cooling OK but took it in to take advantage of the Service bulletin which most of the times is a good upgrade to the system in question.
The difference is amazing. I thought my A/C was cooling well but now it is impressive. I used to turn it on to the second position, kind of a Med/Low thing, now I always keep it in Low.

 

Only problem ive had with my xA is the 6-disc changer all the sudden deciding to read "Error 4" all of the time, other then that i havent had any...