2016 Scion Tc problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Structure:body (1) · Service Brakes (1) · Seat Belts (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Scion Tc model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Service Brakes, Hydraulic 2018-09-20 · campaign 18E091000 · 544 vehicles
Defect: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain Toyota Racing Development (TRD) brake kits, part numbers PTR09-21111 and PTR09-52080, sold by Toyota as an optional accessory for model year 2008-2015 Scion xB, and 2011-2016 Scion tC vehicles. Over time, the brake hoses in these kits may fatigue and fail.
Risk: Failure of a brake hose will reduce braking performance and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify all known owners of the Scion xB and Scion tC vehicles upon which an involved optional TRD Brake Kit could have been installed. If the vehicle is equipped with one of the TRD brake kits, it will be replaced with a standard equipment brake kit, free of charge. The recall began November 16, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0U.
Equipment:other:labels 2016-06-09 · campaign 16V420000 · 4,253 vehicles
Defect: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toyota Camry and Highlander, 2015-2016 Toyota Tundra, Scion FR-S, and tC vehicles. The Load Carrying Capacity Modification Label may not reflect the correct added weight of the installed accessories. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims for Passenger Cars."
Risk: An incorrect label may lead an owner to overload the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: SET will notify owners, and provide a corrected label for placement over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226.
Equipment:other:labels 2016-04-22 · campaign 16V236000 · 94 vehicles
Defect: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toyota Yaris, Rav4, Land Cruiser and 4Runner vehicles, and Scion FR-S, iM, and TC vehicles manufactured January 28, 2016, to March 14, 2016. The Load Carrying Capacity Modification Label may not reflect the correct added weight of the installed accessories. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims for Passenger Cars.
Risk: An incorrect label may result in the vehicle being overloaded, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: SET will notify owners, and provide them a corrected label to be installed over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began on June 3, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET's number for this recall is SET16A.
Service bulletins (37)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Visibility:defroster/Defogger/Hvac System:engine Coolant Hoses And Fittings 2020-12-11 · S-TT-0117-20 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
tt: hvac drain tube is found to be blocked/clogged.
Equipment:other:owners/Service/Other Manual 2020-07-15 · 20R001 Toyota Cu · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dl: toyota plans to send safety recall follow-up notices for the above referenced campaigns to remind owners whose vehicles have not yet had campaign repairs completed.
Equipment:electrical:navigational System(Global Positioning System) 2018-02-21 · S-TT-0115-18 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
tsb: some vehicles may display a 22-digit request code when attempting to perform a navigation map update.
Equipment 2018-01-03 · S-TT-0116-19 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
tt: in certain cases of leaking air conditioning systems, the root cause of the leak is inadvertently overlooked, causing a repeat repair. to improve customer satisfaction and repair a/c system leaks in one dealer visit, toyota has developed a set of guidelines for evaluating a/c system components.
Equipment:appliance:air Conditioner 2017-08-29 · S-SB-0012-14-Rev · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
tsb: revision notice august 23, 2017 rev1: ? applicability has been updated to include 2015 model year xb vehicles, 2015 ? 2016 model year tc vehicles, and 2016 model year im vehicles. ? the parts information section has been updated. any previous printed versions of this bulletin should be discarde
Equipment:appliance:air Conditioner 2017-04-25 · S-TT-0109-17 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
tt: during previous air conditioning service, leakage prevention agent (a/c stop leak) may have been added to the a/c system. adding stop leak products to the a/c system is not a recommended or approved scion repair process. during a/c service, moisture enters the a/c system, and can react with the
Showing the 6 most recent of 37 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-04-03 · Seat Belts · 143,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 scion tc. the contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the front driver's side seat belt retractor failed to function as intended. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed front driver's side seat belt retractor. the contact was informed that the front driver's side seat belt …”
2023-04-23 · Unknown Or Other“while driving on the interstate, all of a sudden, i hear a loud bang. this sound sounded like a tire blew or a gun shot. then i see glass rolling down the back windshield. after inspecting, it was the sunroof/moonroof that exploded outwords as if there was some pressure from the heat built up.my brother was in the backseat, luckily the windshield w…”
2022-04-15 · Service Brakes“i have a recall on my brakes. i took it to toyota in newnan ga. they said it would be a few hours and i asked for a rental because it was my only day off and i have 3 kids and errands to run. they then proceded to tell me i dont have a recall. they lied to get out of letting me use a rental or another car. my brakes go bad alot its so unusual. i h…”
2019-01-21 · Unknown Or Other · 12,400 mi“driving on the highway and the moonroof shattered from the inside out. was not near any overpasses. this seems to be a problem with them just shattering and the manufacturers/dealerships won't do anything. now i am having to pay for a issue that is known and they won't cover it!…”
2018-05-30 · Unknown Or Other · 47,000 mi“the sunroof of my vehicle suddenly exploded while we were traveling on the freeway at around 60mph. there are shattered glass all over me and especially to my passage at the front. the freeway is wide-open, without debris and nothing overhead. all the windows and sunroof itself was closed when the incident happened. it was a cloudy day, at sea-leve…”
2018-01-28 · Structure:body · 30,000 mi · 💥 crash“stopped at a red light and was rear ended. collision repair shop noted there was unibody/frame damage but was not totaled out. now we cannot trade in vehicle because the damage is showing up on the carfax and nobody wants to touch it. we cannot get our insurance company or the repair shop to remove that info from the carfax because they supposedl…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.