What are the common problems with the 2009 Scion tC?
Owners of the 2009 Scion tC have filed 60 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine (15) and the airbags (9). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 42 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 60 owner complaints on the 2009 Scion tC. Owners named the engine most often: 15 complaints, and half of the 8 that list a mileage came after 62,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 60 complaints, 15 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 5 report an injury (8 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2009 tC
NHTSA's file holds 60 owner complaints on the 2009 Scion tC. Owners named the engine most often: 15 complaints, and half of the 8 that list a mileage came after 62,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 15 | 8 | 62,500 |
| Air Bags | 9 | 5 | 102,000 |
| Structure | 8 | 6 | 32,646 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 8 | 6 | 12,000 |
| Visibility | 6 | 6 | 19,800 |
Of the 60 complaints, 15 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 5 report an injury (8 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2009 tC
The 42 mileages owners gave run from 1,000 to 255,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 12,000 miles, half at or under 45,000, three quarters at or under 73,000 and nine in ten at or under 131,049; 7 (17%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (2%) after 150,000 and 1 (2%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2009 tC wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 35 of the 42 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2009 tC can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1,000 miles |
| 25th percentile | 12,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 45,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 73,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 131,049 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 255,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 7 (17%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 1 (2%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 1 (2%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 535 NHTSA owner complaints on the Scion tC that list mileage came after 51,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Scion tC last? →
Is the 2009 tC a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad tC: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 60 complaints, the 2009 ranks 5th of the 9 Scion tC model years from 2005 to 2015 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2006 (161). The fewest: the 2010 and 2014 (20 each).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 tC | 155 | 113 | 41,465 |
| 2006 tC | 161 | 131 | 62,750 |
| 2007 tC | 117 | 91 | 63,915 |
| 2008 tC | 86 | 75 | 65,000 |
| 2009 (this page) | 60 | 42 | 45,000 |
| 2010 tC | 20 | 14 | 30,000 |
| 2011 tC | 29 | 20 | 8,400 |
| 2014 tC | 20 | 13 | 53,000 |
| 2015 tC | 22 | 19 | 33,999 |
2009 Scion tC recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 2009 Scion tC. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2009 tC lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2009 tC.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 18 of the 60 complaints on the 2009 Scion tC give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: TC. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: TC.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2009 Scion tC questions
What are the most common 2009 Scion tC problems?
NHTSA's file holds 60 owner complaints on the 2009 Scion tC. Owners named the engine most often: 15 complaints, and half of the 8 that list a mileage came after 62,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 60 complaints, 15 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 5 report an injury (8 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2009 Scion tC?
Of the 42 complaints on the 2009 Scion tC that list mileage, the middle half came between 12,000 and 73,000 miles; 7 (17%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (2%) after 150,000 and 1 (2%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2009 tC can cover.
Is the 2009 Scion tC a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad tC: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 60 complaints, the 2009 ranks 5th of the 9 Scion tC model years from 2005 to 2015 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2006 (161). The fewest: the 2010 and 2014 (20 each).
How many recalls does the 2009 Scion tC have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 2009 Scion tC. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2009 Scion tC before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2009 Scion tC.