Owners have filed 897 complaints on the Scion xB, covering 2004–2015. The system named most often is Air Bags (310 reports). Worst years by volume: 2008, 2006, 2009; cleanest: 2007, 2015, 2014. 88 reports describe a crash, 18 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 5.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Scion xB
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 897 xB complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 310 Read
The brakes failed
Earlier today I was involved in a car accident on my 2013 scion xb. My car's front bumper and hood are completely damage, along with the side fenders, the radiator is also broken and out of place, even the frame is a bit bent. The brakes too a bit longer than usual to kick-in and the person in front of me made a…
I was t-boned on march 6th, 2013 on the driver's side. I was in a scion xb and the person who hit me was in a chevy silverado. The impact was estimated at 45 mph and the door was jammed shut. No air bags deployed. The curtain airbag should have which would have lessened the impact. As a result, the driver (myself)…
Visibility 163 Read
Poor quality back-up light could cause vehicle to be unseen while backing up. Scion xb has only one back-up light mounted on the lower right side of the bumper. This light could cause a serious hazard to children and pets that are walking or playing at night.toyota has installed a very safe light assembly on the same…
My scion xb developed an l-shaped crack in the front windshield, starting from the bottom of the passenger side (below the wipers), going up and to the left towards the driver side. The crack is about 6 inches long and it suddenly appeared with no apparent cause one morning
A crack in the windshield has appeared. It is about 12' long, in a slight "l" shape, starting on the passenger side near the top. There was no impact by pebbles or ice or anything. The car is a month old today, and has about 1900 miles on it
Electrical System 60 Read
While parking smoke or steam started coming from under the hood and me thinking the car was over heating pulled the hood release and before I could open the hood flames shoot from the right fender. I run into home depot and yell to call the fire department and ask if anyone has a fire extinguisher and a young man came…
The contact owns a 2012 scion xb. After starting the engine, smoke was present coming from the dashboard. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the failure occurred due to a faulty computer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage…
Vehicle had no dashboard light indicators. While traveling on highway, started to sound like a motorcycle and decelerate. Pulled over and started to smoke from the hood, exited vehicle and smoke turned to flames. Fire deescalated by Fire Dept. And vehicle is a total loss. All maintenance was UpToDate and just passed…
Engine 59 Read
The contact owns a 2012 scion xb. While driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle decelerated, the steering wheel was tight, and smoke emitted from the rear of the vehicle. The contact was able to exit the vehicle without injury. The vehicle erupted into flames and the contact was able to extinguish the fire with a…
The car is giving problems in the engine, it's consuming way too mucho oil. I found out that there was a recall this Monday oct 18, 2021, and they told me that I can not participate because my car exceeds the miles limit by 6k miles, which I know, but if I knew that, I would've taken the car to a Toyota Dealer…
Car burning oil, 128000 miles. Oil light can on before oil change was needed. Checked oil level it was really low. No visible leaks. I had to add 1 quart of oil 1 month getting oil changed. I have read that scion xb has had a problem with oil consumption because of the piston rings in previous models.wondering if my…
Structure 52 Read
Recall id 287614-my vehicle was involved in an accident on 1/10/2019 for failure to stop due to brakes. My car ran a red light and hit another vehicle in the intersection. Both cars were totaled and removed from the scene by a tow truck. I received a notification in the mail in april 2019 3 month after my accident…
Recall id 287614-my vehicle was involved in an accident on 1/10/2019 for failure to stop due to brakes. My car ran a red light and hit another vehicle in the intersection. Both cars were totaled and removed from the scene by a tow truck. I received a notification in the mail in april 2019 3 month after my accident…
Recall 287614- my call was involved in an accident on 1/10/2019. My car ran a red light due to failure of brakes and struck another vehicle. Both cars were totaled. I have received a notification in the mail in 4/2019 3 months after my accident I have contacted toyota and since they are unable to locate my vehicle to…
Service Brakes 46 Read
The contact owns a 2015 scion xb. While driving 20 mph, the vehicle failed to come to a complete stop when the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, the vehicle crashed into another vehicle. The air bags deployed. A police report was filed. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was towed to the contact's…
Recall id287614 NHTSA campaign #18e091000 my vehicle was involved in an accident on jan 10th, due to failure of brakes. My car ran a red light and hit another car. My car has been totaled in this accident. I have since contacted toyota about my accident and they have refused to help compensate for my loss. My car was…
While traveling in a straight line of left lane on the parkway at 50 mph, I lightly applied the brakes and the rear of the vehicle immediately began to sway uncontrollably left and right. The brakes were locked causing the vehicle to head off the road and onto the grass and crash into the guide rail. Immediately…
Vehicle Speed Control 43 Read
I purchased a scion 2009 xb for my mom. A few months ago, she complained it accelerated unexpectedly in her driveway. I assumed operator error. She was killed in it two weeks ago when it left the roadway at an extremely high speed and witnesses said it accelerated out of control. She traveled 750 feet after she left…
The toyota scion I was driving suddenly sped up causing me to crash into a hedge in a parking lot. I had come to a complete stop in odor to turn into the parking lot when the accelerator stuck
The contact owns a 2008 toyota scion xb. The contact stated while stopped with her foot on brake the vehicle surged forward and accelerated on its own hitting another vehicle in front of her. There were no injuries and there was no police report. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer and they diagnosed it stating…
Steering 39 Read
I bought a 2008 scion xd in september 2008. 6 weeks after I bought the car, I totaled it when steering on an on-ramp to the highway. It spun three times and finally stopped after hitting the guardrail. I was alone. I got whiplash. I am a very experienced driver but the car lost absolute control at a low speed (under…
Bought new 2006 toyota xb feb 14 2006 may 10 steering column froze....while making turn. Hit curb...called toyota they sent a national rep to dealership...looked at car and said "driver fault... Nothing wrong with toyota... So we had the car fixed with our insurance... The car was fixed $1000.00 deductible and state…
The contact owned a 2006 scion xb. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle veered to the right and left. The contact crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed into a mountain side. The air bags deployed. The contact sustained a fractured breast bone and ribs that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The…
xB 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Air Bags,structure,service Brakes | 2 | 1 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 5 | 3 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 11 | 3 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 27 | 7 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 17 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 13 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 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 | 177 |
| Average complaints per series | 5.1 |
| Worst single series | 31 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.3 years |
A model average of 5.1 hides a worst series at 31. 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
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
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 xB?
By complaint volume, 2008, 2006, 2009 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 xB years are the cleanest?
2007, 2015, 2014 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Scion xB have?
897 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2004–2015. Of those, 88 describe a crash and 18 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.