2011 Scion TC: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2011 Scion TC
On the 2011 Scion TC, the failure owners report most often is sunroof failure or glass breakage, and the reports cluster around 50,000 miles. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 30,000 miles. Overall it scores 78 out of 100, severe risk for a 2011.
Severe risk for a 2011 — 12th riskiest of the 283 2011 vehicles we can rate. 35 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
What owners report breaking
Owners have reported 16 named failure modes on the 2011 Scion TC, and the three most-reported carry 49% of everything filed.
Sunroof failure or glass breakage leads with 10 reports, about 263 per 1,000 vehicles and with the middle half of reports between 30k to 65,000 miles.
Transmission slipping follows with 4 reports, median 50,000 miles.
Tail light, brake light or signal failure follows with 3 reports, median 200 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into body (11), transmission (6) and lighting (5).
At what mileage it happens
27 of the reports on the 2011 Scion TC came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 30,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 67% by 50,000 miles, 96% by 100,000 miles and 96% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 0 and 10,000 miles, which alone holds 41% of the dated reports.
52% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, which is early enough that a fair number of these cars were still under a factory warranty when the owner complained.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 16. The full list is in the table below.
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
Severity, and what it costs
Across the named modes, 1 mentions a crash, 1 a fire and 2 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 4.37, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: sunroof failure or glass breakage at $700–$4,500, transmission slipping at $1,200–$5,500, tail light, brake light or signal failure at $100–$900 and other engine problem at $300–$4,000. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
31% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunroof failure or glass breakage | body | 10 | 9 | 30k | 52k | 64k | 263.2 | $700–$4,500 | High |
| Transmission slipping | transmission | 4 | 4 | — | 49k | — | 105.3 | $1,200–$5,500 | High |
| Tail light, brake light or signal failure | lighting | 3 | 1 | — | 150 | — | 78.9 | $100–$900 | Moderate |
| Other engine problem | engine | 3 | 3 | — | 900 | — | 78.9 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Oil leak | engine | 2 | 2 | — | 15 | — | 52.6 | $250–$2,200 | Moderate |
| Other lighting problem | lighting | 2 | 1 | — | 61k | — | 52.6 | $120–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Harsh or jerky shifting | transmission | 1 | 1 | — | 2k | — | 26.3 | $600–$4,000 | Moderate |
| Wiring harness or short circuit | electrical | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26.3 | $400–$3,500 | High |
| Airbag failed to deploy in a crash | airbag | 1 | 1 | — | 5k | — | 26.3 | $1,000–$5,000 | Critical |
| Airbag inflator rupture | airbag | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26.3 | $0–$0 | Critical |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 1 | 1 | — | 90k | — | 26.3 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 183k | — | 26.3 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26.3 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 1 | 1 | — | 2k | — | 26.3 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 1 | 1 | — | 29k | — | 26.3 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 1 | 1 | — | 8k | — | 26.3 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26.3 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2011 Scion TC draws about 921 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 100th percentile of complaint rates among 2011 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 38 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2011 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Sunroof failure or glass breakage
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota scion tc. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, he heard an explosion and noticed that the sunroof shattered. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, but they were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was repaired under warranty. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 6,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 scion tc. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the sunroof exploded. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 88,888.
Transmission slipping
While driving down the road my stability control light was on constant along with my ABS light. My engine and transmission hasn't been doing right like it should be doing. Its like the transmission is slipping or my engine is missing. This is not acceptable to me. *tr
While driving down the road my stability control light was on constant along with my ABS light. My engine and transmission hasn't been doing right like it should be doing. Its like the transmission is slipping or my engine is missing. This is not acceptable to me. *tr
Tail light, brake light or signal failure
I was backing out of a parking space when another vehicle nearly ran into my rear passenger side. There is only one reverse lamp and it is on the driver side of the car. People approaching the car from the passenger side cannot see this lamp; therefore they don't know the vehicle is reversing. I have almost been hit many times due to other vehicles not being aware of my reversing. This is also true of pedestrians walking behind/near the my vehicle as they cannot see the reverse light from the passenger side. I was not told this vehicle had only one reverse light when purchasing the vehicle. When I questioned the dealership they said there is nothing they can do. It is a major safety hazard and could easily result in a pedestrian or child being hit as they may walk behind the vehicle unaware of it being in reverse. *tr
Recalls on the 2011 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2011 Scion TC, affecting an estimated 38 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover service brakes, hydraulic. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
544 vehicles 2018-09-20- 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.
- Consequence
- Failure of a brake hose will reduce braking performance and increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2011 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
How 2011 compares with the other years
Severe risk for a 2011 — 12th riskiest of the 283 2011 vehicles we can rate. The comparison is always within the same model year, so an older car is never penalised for having had longer to break.
Across the 9 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2005 comes out best at 71 and 2015 worst at 80, with 2011 itself at 78.
If the model year is negotiable, 2005, 2006 and 2014 score lower than 2011 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 2011–2016 generation specifically, 2014 is the strongest year at 73 and 2015 the weakest at 80.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2011-2016 generation, 2014 Scion TC scores best at 73 and 2015 Scion TC worst at 80.
Where to spend the inspection money
The mileages below are where the first quarter of reports for each mode had already been filed, which makes them the point at which a fault is worth looking for rather than the point at which it happens: sunroof failure or glass breakage from about 30k.
On a 2011 Scion TC with more miles than that on it, the useful question to put to a seller or a mechanic is whether sunroof failure or glass breakage has been dealt with, and if so with what parts and at whose expense. A car that has already had the repair is in a different position from one that has not.
None of this is a diagnosis. It is a list of what other owners of the same model year reported, ordered by when they reported it, which is a good place to point an inspection and a poor place to stop.
Where these figures stop being useful
35 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 35 reports, 27 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 77% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2011 Scion TC?
The most-reported failures are sunroof failure or glass breakage (10 reports, median 50,000 miles), transmission slipping (4 reports, median 50,000 miles) and tail light, brake light or signal failure (3 reports, median 200 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
At what mileage do 2011 Scion TC problems start?
Sunroof failure or glass breakage is the earliest failure mode to show up, with a median reported mileage of 50,000 miles and a quarter of reports before 30,000 miles. Across all failure modes on this year, the median report sits at 30,000 miles.
Is the 2011 Scion TC reliable?
It scores 78 out of 100 on our risk index, which is severe — 12th riskiest of the 283 2011 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2011 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Scion TC is best?
Within the 2011–2016 generation, 2014 scores best at 73 out of 100 and 2015 worst at 80. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed