Scion xD?

Serendipity

Any Scion owners here on the forum? Would like to know if this is any good compared to a typical small car (Honda Civic, Nissan Versa, etc.) and how is the reliability.

Dad's looking to replace the old Nissan so I made a few suggestions like the Honda's...but he likes the xD the best. I'm mainly interested in the build quality - heard a few stories about Toyota's having sludge problems, would this be an issue?

Thanks!

Danny Tse

My 2001 Toyota Camry LE 4 cylinder sedan was supposed to be one of the models affected by the oil sludge problem. I even received a notice from Toyota about the problem and how it will extend my warranty to cover any related problem I have. However, my Camry never has such an issue....in fact, after over 121,000 miles, I never had any reliability issue with the car. I just change the oil and oil filter every 3000-4000 miles. Three months ago, I purchased a 2008 Honda Civic LX sedan to replace the Camry and I'm going to miss it....it was the best car I've ever owned. I just transferred the title of my Camry to the new owner about 1 hour ago at the local DMV I'd imagine any Toyota car would be quite reliable. However, make sure you get all the safety equipment you can; Toyota tends to offer bare minimal safety equipment on their smaller cars.

My 2008 Civic LX? It's very nice but it has some quality issues such as squeaks and rattles. I am hoping the dealer will get those resolved. The other cars I've checked out included the 2009 Toyota Corolla/Camry, 2008 Honda Accord, 2008 Hyundai Elantra, etc.... If not for my favorite color not available, I'd have purchased a Hyundai Elantra SE.

BeRad

I know nothing of Scion other than the tC is the only one I like the appearance of.

madmax

I have the 06 xB "the toaster" and wouldn't trade it for anything else. It is the best car I've owned to date, and I've had quite a few. It is also the most fun vehicle I've ever owned. I plan on keeping it forever.
madmax

Demiurge

Avelanche fan is/was a Scion owner.

strider

appadv wrote: »

Any Scion owners here on the forum? Would like to know if this is any good compared to a typical small car (Honda Civic, Nissan Versa, etc.) and how is the reliability.

Dad's looking to replace the old Nissan so I made a few suggestions like the Honda's...but he likes the xD the best. I'm mainly interested in the build quality - heard a few stories about Toyota's having sludge problems, would this be an issue?

Thanks!

The sludge problems you might read about on the internet were not really a function of the engines, but of lack of maintenance. Change the oil regularly and you'll be fine. If anything, the "Toyota sludge problem" and how they dealt with it shows the true colors of the manufacturer. Toyota, up until recently, has replaced short blocks, cylinder heads, and entire engine assemblies on cars many years and miles out of factory warranty. They stand behind their products because they truly take pride in them.

We bought our second Toyota in a row a couple of weeks ago, an '09 Matrix, for my wife. I've got a '99 Tacoma with 125k miles on it. I beat the crap out of it, and so far the only thing I've had an issue with was the starter contacts at about 100k.

madmax

Sludge problems don't even necessarily have to be due to poor maintainence schedules. Mixing multiple brands of oil can cause the same effect. I wouldn't worry about this aspect of the older vehicle.
madmax

Serendipity

Dad changes the oil every 2500-3000 miles. I'm sure you could go 4000 miles between oil changes, but the car just runs better when you change the oil at 3000 miles to the dot.

JohnLocke88

I drive a Scion tC, had it for a little over two years now. Had no problems what so ever, only have 21,000 miles on it though. Only problem's I've had have been me crashing into things. Car handles great, is very peppy for an inline 4. Interior is really nice, and so is the fit and finish.

Hope my .02 has helped.

Serendipity

JohnLocke88 wrote: »

I drive a Scion tC, had it for a little over two years now. Had no problems what so ever, only have 21,000 miles on it though. Only problem's I've had have been me crashing into things. Car handles great, is very peppy for an inline 4. Interior is really nice, and so is the fit and finish.

Hope my .02 has helped.

The tC is really nice, but we're looking for something with a bit more trunk space. With the xD, you can fold the rear seats down and use it as a 2-seater with a big trunk (most of the time) and set up the rear seats when you have more than 2 people in the car.

JohnLocke88

appadv wrote: »

The tC is really nice, but we're looking for something with a bit more trunk space. With the xD, you can fold the rear seats down and use it as a 2-seater with a big trunk (most of the time) and set up the rear seats when you have more than 2 people in the car.

That's what I do with my tC, dont be fooled by the hatch back, it's got quite a bit of room, but i'm sure the xD has more. (Just felt like I had to defend my car, it's got a bunch of room, enough for 3 32 inch tv boxes btw).

Serendipity

JohnLocke88 wrote: »

That's what I do with my tC, dont be fooled by the hatch back, it's got quite a bit of room, but i'm sure the xD has more. (Just felt like I had to defend my car, it's got a bunch of room, enough for 3 32 inch tv boxes btw).

I've seen the tC's trunk and it does indeed have a lot of room. But IIRC the salesman said that the xD has more trunk space. He might not be right, but that's from what I understand...

RutgersFTW

madmax wrote: »

I have the 06 xB "the toaster" and wouldn't trade it for anything else. It is the best car I've owned to date, and I've had quite a few. It is also the most fun vehicle I've ever owned. I plan on keeping it forever.
madmax

Own the same car, feel the same way.

38,000 miles with no problems (other than getting rear-ended @ 31,000 miles).

Serendipity

RutgersFTW wrote: »

Own the same car, feel the same way.

38,000 miles with no problems (other than getting rear-ended @ 31,000 miles).

I wouldn't necessarily consider that a problem with the car

But it seems like the Scions are great!

bobman1235

They're made by Toyota, it's not at all surprising that they're good cars.