Owners have filed 22 complaints on the Scion iA, covering 2016–2016. The system named most often is Air Bags (5 reports). Worst years by volume: 2016; cleanest: 2016. 6 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 2.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Scion iA
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 22 iA complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 5 Read
The contact owns a 2016 scion ia. While at a stop, another vehicle went through a stop light and crashed into the front passenger and driver's side of the contact's vehicle. The other vehicle left the scene of the crash. The front air bags deployed with force. The driver and front passenger sustained head injuries and…
The contact owns a 2015 scion ia. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, they crashed into a wild horse. The contact stated that no air bags deployed. The vehicle was towed and a police report was filed. The contact sustained no injuries and no medical attention was needed. The contact had not…
The contact owns a 2016 scion ia. While driving approximately 5 mph, the vehicle was involved in a crash. Upon accelerating through an intersection, the contact's vehicle was struck (t-boned) by another vehicle on the front passenger door. None of the air bags deployed. A police report was not filed. The contact's…
Power Train 5 Read
The contact owns a 2016 scion ia. On two separate occasions, while driving, the transmission erroneously downshifted and caused the vehicle to abruptly decelerate. During the failure, a loud grinding metal noise was present under the vehicle and an unknown warning indicator displayed. On one occasion, while driving,…
Was getting off work. Started car and Engine system malfunction light, DSC malfunction light, TPMS System Malfunction light, Auto transmission malfunction light, and SCBS malfunction light all turned on. Car was not currently in motion when lights went on. Was in parking lot. Turned car off, and restarted, lights…
Transmission whine after used car purchase with 91k miles. Took it to toyota of greenville for diagnostic. Needed a new transmission. Took the car back to ralph hayes toyota of anderson whew I purchased and they replaced the transmission. Since then there has been a transmission grinding and severe vibration while in…
Electrical System 4 Read
Second time this happened...first they said battery...while driving, indicating warning lights on dash start blinking (ABS, check engine, traction, and others), then the engine goes into low hear and stays until the vehicle is turned off and back on. During these episodes the speed odometer is erratic. Also when in…
My car has under 60,000 miles, I bought it with about 28,000 on it and it has had intermittent issues with the display. I went to dealership, who said the whole infotainment system needs replaced, which is about $1200 with parts and labor. It has been doing this with less than 30,000 miles on the car and has gotten…
Car truck pops open randomle wile driving!
Service Brakes 2 Read
2016 scion ia. Brakes make loud noise when applied after cold start or long period of time engine is off. Noise disappears after 3-5 brake attempts and briefly shows up again afterwards. This issue has been happening for the last 6 months
Brakes make loud noise when applied after cold start or long period of time engine is off. Noise disappears after 2-3 brake attempts and briefly shows up again afterwards
Vehicle Speed Control 1 Read
I was about to park at a burger king store at delano california 93215 and slowing down when my scion ia speed up more and kept on running while my foot is already on the brake. So I accidentally hit the store. It only stop because the tire where already up. I tried to reverse my car but cannot move anymore
Steering 1 Read
Very poorly wired and wires are spliced together which I a fire hazard
Engine 1 Read
When at a stop the engine starts to shake like it's about to turn off we bought it with 29000 miles noticed it a week after we bought it and it has done it a few times the toyota dealership couldn't find any codes to remedy it. The check engine does not come on but it does shake violently.it has 35000 miles now.I had…
Wheels 1 Read
Is diffcult to buy tires for this car because of the dealers never have in stock this size tire toyota dealers have to order for you never have in stock other tire dealers have to order for you also more expensive to order
iA years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Air Bags | 6 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 10 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.2 |
| Worst single series | 4 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 2.4 years |
A model average of 2.2 hides a worst series at 4. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the iA?
By complaint volume, 2016 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which iA years are the cleanest?
2016 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Scion iA have?
22 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2016–2016. Of those, 6 describe a crash and 0 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.