2005 Scion xB

Summary:

Awesome and fun to drive car

Faults:

Bad wheel bearing at 20,000 miles.

Front axle replaced at 20,000 miles.

New tires at about 45,000 miles.

Back windows stopped working at 60,000 miles.

New front brakes at about 60,000 miles.

General Comments:

I just sold this car to pay for school, and I am going to miss it very much. It was a great little car!

The dealer screwed up the wheel bearing replacement twice, once replacing the wrong side, and then damaging the front axle when they replaced the correct wheel bearing.

Dealer sent me off with my "fixed car", that in fact had a damaged axle due to their poor work... took it to another dealer that repaired it under warranty.

I found a TSB on how to fix the back windows... and did it myself, easy!

Tons of room inside, you can bring anything home in this!

I loved the upright seating and short clutch throw.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st January, 2011

2005 Scion xB Sport

Summary:

XB is 100% better than a Jag

Faults:

The Scion XB was a VERY reliable automobile. I trusted that vehicle if I had to drive from Kentucky, all the way to the tip of Alaska. Nothing NEVER went wrong with that vehicle, I even bought it used with 53,000 miles and NO warranty.. I drove the XB until it had 72,000 miles on it. But my heart was always with a Jaguar. Dumb me traded my XB for a X-type, which WAS a POS. I wish I had never traded.

Now I currently own a 2010 Nissan Cube, which I love.. It has a lot more features than my XB did, but I really think both automobiles are great!! Never ever buy a Jaguar...

General Comments:

Fuel Economy: Excellent, but I believe the Cube does slight better.

Electronics: Awesome sound system for stock.

Reliability: Trusted the XB very much.

Comfort: Pretty good if you do not have low profile tires.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 22nd October, 2010

17th Mar 2018, 03:02

Don’t buy a Jaguar based on an economy car, or else you get the expensive maintenance without any of the charm that had associated with the brand.

An X-type? No wonder you are bitter.

2005 Scion xB 1.5

Summary:

Stylish mediocrity that lacks Toyota's reputed reliability

Faults:

About 1 windshield per year due to the angle and lots of freeway driving.

Stereo fuse blows about every 3 months or so. Dealer has no answers for this (completely stock stereo system).

"VSC", "Trac Off" and "Check Engine" lights come on about once a week. They turn themselves off after a few hours of coming on. Dealer has no answers for this.

Alternator went out at 90,000 miles.

Water pump went out at 95,000 miles.

Fuel injector problems after about 105,000 miles.

A/C compressor at 125,000 miles.

General Comments:

The Scion XB is stylish. I still think it looks good, sometimes better than the new body style.

There is lots of passenger space. I'm 6 feet 1 inch, and I feel like a smaller person inside the XB, especially the back seat!... How did they do that?

It's not as reliable as I thought a Toyota would be. In the past I've owned Volkswagens, which have a poor reputation for reliability, and I found that I needed to do as much work on the Scion as I had to do on the VW's.

The fuel mileage was very much misrepresented on the sticker. It was supposed to 34 mpg on highway, but really gets about 28mpg on highway. This is how it has been since I drove it off the lot.

The 1.5 liter was not peppy at all. I added a K&N air filter and a Greddy exhaust, this helped a lot, but my brothers stock 1997 Jetta 2.0 (nick named 2.slow by VW enthusiasts) still blows it away.

The dealership is expensive and not very helpful.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 9th September, 2010

11th Feb 2011, 14:41

Update..

The Scion is still running. It seems all the bugs are worked out. I haven't had any problems since writing the review except the passenger side front wheel bearing, but that's to be expected with the mileage.

Current mileage is 149,000. I use it mainly for commuting still, lots of freeway miles.

I got rear ended a few months ago by a Ford Escape and it did very well. I got a new rear bumper and hatch out of it.

29th Apr 2011, 13:38

UPDATE.

I just sold the XB. It was bitter sweet. Mileage when sold was 169,000. Still running great. Still no issues since the previously mentioned issues. I must have worked the bugs out by now.

My wife is pregnant with our third child, so both Mom and Dad's cars will have to fit two child seats and a booster. Otherwise I would not have sold it.

I loved Scion, but am going back to Volkswagen. I picked up a 03 Passat Wagon (total "dad" car I know).

The only other thing to mention would be resale. I was kind of unimpressed with resale. I know my mileage was high, but I am a non-smoker, and my XB was in immaculate condition. It has been garaged since new, and had new tires and a new battery. Other XB's with lower mileage were selling for $7k-$8k. After a month of trying to sell it, I finally did. But the most I could get was $4500. That blew.

Anyway, I hope this is insightful for someone looking for an XB.

In reply to 29th Apr 2011, 13:38

18th Jun 2011, 18:08

I think the VSC, trac off, check eng light is a fuse blown. It's happening with mine.

Your review was very insightful.

It has 206k+ miles on it.

In reply to 29th Apr 2011, 13:38

10th Mar 2012, 11:13

Thanks for your updates. It helped me.