2006 Scion tC User Reviews

Pros

Decent horsepower, predictable handling, excellent features.

Cons

Somewhat uncomfy seating, interior plastics scratch easily.

Purchased As New

I am the original owner of my Tc. Though I have only put 21,000 miles on it since new, I am a fairly aggressive driver at times. I live in the mountains and I enjoy pushing my baby a bit. While it may not be a sports car, It has a nice stable feeling. Long drives to the Bay Area are relatively comfortable. My car feels quite at home and unlaborered at steady speeds at 85+ mph. I do keep a safe distance from the car in front because as others have already mentioned, the brakes could be beefier.

The interior still looks great, but black is so HOT!!! The glass roof only intensifies the problem. The sunroof visor offers no insulation at all. The center A/C vents need to be closer to the driver. Perfect solution to problem, I park in the shade if available. End of problem.

I agree with the tire wear problem. The salesman told me before I bought the car that Toyota was aware of the problem and that they were recommending wheel alignment once a year at no cost. My tires are worn somewhat prematurely in places, but I failed to have the car aligned for the first 17k miles and like I said earlier, I like to push it around the curves. If I had the car serviced at Toyota as I do now, the tires would probably be in better shape. Yes, the car shouldn't have had the problem in the first place, but considering the fact that so far it hasn't required any repairs of any kind leaves me feeling good about it.

I have no regrets to date. It was a good package for the money....read morehide

Pros

Handling on corners, lots of storage space with backseats down

Cons

Transmission, Radio, Body Panels Int/Ext, Tire wear, Brakes

Purchased As New

I am about to pay off this car and honestly was my worst car so far. The OEM tires had to be replaced after 20k miles, the brakes were worn out and replaced at 40k miles, Body panels both interior and exterior keep losing hold. My manual transmission/clutch is starting to fail at 52k miles, the radio volume dial only works in select cold temperatures....read morehide

Pros

Great fuel economy, Excellent features, Performs Well.

Cons

Nothing is perfect.

I got my scion tc the day before easter of 2006. It's been under a year since purchasing my tc and i love it. the five speed is awesome. much better than the automatic version. the clutch is a lil quick, takes some getting used to. to my embaressment i've stalled it several times. the rpms seem to run a lil higher than what'd you expect when on the freeway doing about 75-80, yet the car maintains its ability to accel quickly in fith gear and pass slower traffic. i easily got it up to 135.

it sits wider than my old s-10 so it took a bit to get used to that. i scratched the rim on some curbs at drive-thru windows. the interior is great. cheap looking up close but for 17k you're not getting lexus quality fabrics. the seats are perfect. i'm 6' and fit perfectly in the car. my freind is 6' 5" and doesn't complain about sitting in the back seat. he was actually surprised at how big it was.

i love the stereo. better than other factories in this price range, a pioneer cd player with 160 watts and six speakers! awesome. i didnt wanna pay extra for the ipod adapter so i use the aux input in the middle compartment to plug in my ipod. it sounds great with the ipod connected, good bass to for factory w/o sub. only thing is the ipod has to have it's volume turned all the way up, but they last for 10 hrs anyways so its all bueno. and if it does get low on power i use the power adapter in the center console next to the aux plug to charge it with ease. i love the locking glove box. i wish the center console wasnt so tall? it kinda gets in the way if you try to climb over it to the other seat. :P i love how the front seats, ifmove all the way forward and take the head rest off and lay them back, will lye flat with the backseats. great for the drive-in movies. especially when the back seats recline, we've made great use of this feature.

i also love how easy it is to modify the car. it's made for personalization. plus the owner freindlyness of the motor is good too. changing the oil, getting to spark plugs, everything under the hood is just about accessable w/o having to dismantle the entire car.

the car handles well. i've read the clutch wears out too soon. i've had my car for 22k miles already on original clutch, brakes and everything. no problems shifting in the cold. the trunk does rattle a lil bit but i only hear it when the radio is off...which never happens. the sunroof is awesome. i love the panoramic view. surprisingly with my car being a dark blue and having a practically all glass roof the car doesnt get as hot as i'd expect in houston and stays cool with the a/c on. i use a visor in the window for fear of the sun ruining the dash.

another thing, the tires. mine came stock with bridgstone potenzas. be very carefull on wet roads. i hydroplaned in my car on the freeway when i hit standing water. i have noted before that when a lil water stands in the freeway i can feel the car kinda move a lil bit. but that could be fixed with better tires or just slow driving n the rain....read morehide

Pros

great gas mil, nice looks, great price

Cons

noisy compared to a sadan

I'm happy with my 06 Scion tc. I do not have unrealistic expectations of a car that costs $5-8k less than its competitors. I'm happy with the mileage, acceleration, comfyness, stereo, my i-pod works great with the connection installed, sporty tires, dual sunroof, reclining back seats, plenty of trunk space along with the option to fold down seats. My large dog can fit for trips to the vet. I love to go 75-80 mph in it and am realistic that I won't get the advertised mpg when driving that way. Who drives the speed limit in this very fun to drive car? I'm at 15,000 and all is well.

I don't think a rear wiper is needed when you have a rear defroster....read morehide

Pros

Gas milage, looks great

Cons

already having problems

I get lots of compliments on the looks of my car and with having two large dogs, I love being able to fold down the back 2 seats to accomodate them. It gets fairly good gas milage and comes with alot of nice standard features not seen on most $17k cars.

Unfortunately, it has no rear windshield wiper which has been a problem. I've had to take it in for a recall on the airbag sensors. The breaks wear out faster than any other car I've had... every 16k miles. And they tell me I have only 1 type of breaks to chose from to buy. The passenger seat also does not go back to it's original position if you move it it forward with the side lever. Very annoying. Why did they make only the diver's side do it?

Another major problem? The moon roof. The flimsy cover keeps popping open while driving and the glass does not fit down all the way, leaving a noisy wind sound. I told the dealership it's noisiest after about 75-80mps on the fwy. They said it shouldn't be driven that fast and it was my fault! Excuse me?! They refused to fix it! I guess you get what you pay for....read morehide

Pros

Apearance, Std Features, Price

Cons

Fuel Econ 23mpg :( Tire Wear, Rim strength, clutch, shocks, rear wiper

Overall great car for the money.
All standard features are great!!!

Problem area, clutch is difficult to shift in cold weather.
Perhaps just let the car warm up a few minutes prior to driving.

Rims are easily bent, already had to replace one.
These are the weakest rims I have had aside from OEM non Alloys.
Look great, just no substance.
Turanza tires wear poorly, should upgrade to Pilots next.
The tires are horrible when there is rain on the road.

Blind spots not as bad as people, say, just need to get used to it.

The wheelbase is longer then I am used to... so I have rubbed against a curb with the rear tires a couple of times.

Any hatch really needs a rear wiper.
Why Scion did not do this for tC when it is on the other 2 models escapes me.

I have an several Acura/Honda cars prior.
I traded in a Civic Si for a new Scion tC manual.
This is my first time with a Toyota product.

The Scion tC drives much like a Civic Si except for softer suspension.

Would have preferred to see the Scion with stiffer shocks, 6th Gear, rear wiper, and limited slip differential. (maybe for 2008??)
But for the price, could not beat Scion for 17k vs. Civic Si for 23k

My next car, I will drop the extra money and either go with a 4door Civic Si or a RSX-type S.
Both have more of what I am looking for....read morehide

Pros

Good gas mileage!! Sleek style....

Cons

Rattling, sunroof has to much wind noise!!

I've had this car for one year, and im pretty satisfied with it so far. My only complaint is the sunroof has extreme wind noise. I took it to my local Toyota dealer and they were not able to tell me what the problem was. Also my road is pretty rough, so in the morning i can hear the spare tire clanging in the back. But all in all the car is very roomy, brakes work real well,and has some pretty good accleration. I would recomend this car to anyone......read morehide

I have this car 9 months and I think this car to this price is EXELENT because in other copanys this car will be coast abaut $25.000.
But I'm not happy abaut this shelf covered trunk.

Pros

nice looking style

Cons

clutch failure

My clutch failed at 19,5oo miles and Toyota/Scion stated this is normal wear and was not covered by Warranty. Dealer charged $1200. to fix. Stay away from a manual transmission-you may be sorry!

Pros

fuel economy standard features

Cons

rattles everywhere, extremely uncomfortable on long trips

The quality of this car is a huge disappointment. I have had the driver seat mount track replaced, endless rattles everywhere, stains formed on seats that cant be cleaned, interior and exterior pieces of trim falling off.

Now to top it off i get a strange sound coming out of the dash when the key is inserted into the ignition.

I plan on getting rid of this car ASAP, and no more Toyota products for me...read morehide