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Scion · NHTSA safety record

2012 Scion IQ

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

17

Complaints

4

Crashes

0

Fires

3

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2012 Scion IQ have filed 17 safety complaints with NHTSA between October 2012 and October 2023. The most complained-about system is the body structure, named in 6 of them (35%). The typical failure was reported at 36,500 miles, the median across the 12 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

AIR BAGS

12V528000 · November 8, 2012

The defect
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Scion IQ vehicles manufactured July 31, 2011, through October 12, 2012. The cable for the Occupant Classification System (OCS) may become damaged when sliding the passenger seat forward or backward.
The risk
If the cable for the OCS becomes damaged, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.
The remedy
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install a protective cover on the OCS weight sensor cable. The recall began on December 20, 2013. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 11,153 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 17.

STRUCTURE 6 35%
AIR BAGS 4 24%
ENGINE 4 24%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 18%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 12%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 6%
POWER TRAIN 1 6%
SEAT BELTS 1 6%
STEERING 1 6%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2013 at 3.

2012 2013 2023
2012 to 2023

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 75,189 miles

The contact owns a 2012 Scion iQ. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, another vehicle made a left turn, causing the contact to crash into the other vehicle; however, no air bags deployed. The contact was injured on her back and received medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the tow yard. The vehicle was deemed totaled by the insurance company. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,189.

NHTSA complaint 11536296. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · 562 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 SCION IQ. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT A UNKNOWN SPEED, SHE CRASHED INTO A BRICK WALL. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT SUFFERED INJURIES TO THE CHEST AND RIBS DUE TO STRIKING THE STEERING WHEEL. THE CONTACT REFERENCED NHTSA CAMPAIGN I.D. NUMBER 12V528000 (AIR BAGS) AND CALLED THE MANUFACTURER REGARDING THE RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT ALL OF THE VEHICLES UNDER THE RECALL HAD ALREADY BEEN REPAIRED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A BODY SHOP FOR REPAIRS. THE BODY REPAIR TECHNICIAN ADVISED THAT THE AIR BAG SENSORS WERE TOO LOW TO ACTIVATE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT DURING THE CRASH. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE

NHTSA complaint 10488990, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash

THE VEHICLE WAS IN AN ACCIDENT THAT ENDED IN A TOTAL LOSS. THE IQ WAS HIT BY AN F150 TRUCK AND NONE OF THE IQ AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. THE IQ WAS AT JOEMYERS TOYOTA ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT TO FIX THE SAFETY RECALL OF THE AIRBAGS NOT DEPLOYING. WE HAVE PAPERWORK FROM JOEMYERS TOYOTA IN HOUSTON, TX STATING THAT THEY CAR'S SAFETY RECALL CONCERNS WERE REPAIRED. THE IQ WAS SOLD TO US AS BEING SAFE BASED ON THE AMOUNT AND PLACEMENT OF THE AIRBAGS. THE DRIVER WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED, TAKEN BY AMBULANCE AND STILL RECOVERING FROM A BRAIN INJURY. THE RESCUE WORKERS, DOCTORS,ATTORNEYS ETC SAID IF THE AIRBAGS HAD DEPLOYED THE INJURY TO THE DRIVER'S BRAIN WOULD NOT OF BEEN SO SEVERE. WE WANT TO ENSURE

NHTSA complaint 10499704, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · 160,000 miles

I GOT INTO 2 ACCIDENTS IN 3 DAYS WHILE PARKING INTO OR OUT OF A PARKING SPACE. THE FIRST ACCIDENT 07/04/2020, MY CAR WAS PARKED IN A PARKING LOT. I PLACED THE CAR IN REVERSE AND SUDDENLY IT ACCELERATED AND THE BRAKES FAILED TO WORK. MY VEHICLE ONLY STOPPED AFTER CRASHING INTO THE CAR BEHIND ME. THE SECOND ACCIDENT HAPPEN 7/7/2020 WHILE PULLING FORWARD INTO A PARKING SPACE, THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND BRAKES FAILED TO WORK AGAIN. I CRASHED INTO A CEMENT POLE WHICH STOPPED MY VEHICLE. I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHY THESE 2 DANGEROUS ACCIDENTS OCCURRED? MY VEHICLE WAS JUST REPAIRED OVER A WEEK BC THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON. THE MECHANIC SAID THE PROBLEM WAS FROM

NHTSA complaint 11338204, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
have a 2013 Scion IQ (auto/cvt). I had the 'check engine' and 'trac control' lights come on a few years ago.. I was driving on city streets. All I noticed was that the car didn't respond as it should when I gave it gas. ( nothing drastic ) I ran the codes. It said the gas pedal was the problem. I removed the pedal assembly. (it's easier to unplug it that way. I unplugged it and looked at the inside of the plug. All looked fine. Plugged the pedal back in and all was good then. (I'm sure I avoided a $500 bill ) Same problem just occurred a few years later. I didn't bother running the codes. I just unplugged/re-plugged the pedal. Saved another $500. Here's a scary one. I was driving the car

NHTSA complaint 11549951, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
The paint of the body is defective

NHTSA complaint 11418531. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

62,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 SCION IQ. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR AN OIL CHANGE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS CONSUMING AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF OIL, CAUSING THE ENGINE TO FAIL. THE MECHANIC ADVISED THE CONTACT TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT BLACK SMOKE WAS COMING OUT OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS LATER TAKEN TO RUDY LUTHER TOYOTA (8805 WAYZATA BLVD, GOLDEN VALLEY, MN 55426) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT UNDER RECALL. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT YET REPAIRED DUE TO THE REPAIR COST. THE CONTACT ALSO

NHTSA complaint 11394418, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY

54,000 miles

PAINT BEGAN PEELING ABOUT 13 MONTHS AGO AND NOW HAS BEGUN TO RUST IN THE OPEN METAL AREAS.

NHTSA complaint 11341445. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other 2012 Scion models

XB 45 TC 8

Every Scion on this site — 13 vehicles, 28 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst