Scion · iQ · 2012
1
Recall
17
Complaints
-
Not Rated
The 2012 Scion iQ has 1 recall and 17 owner-reported complaints on file with NHTSA. Most reported issue: structure (4 reports).
Source: NHTSA Public Records · Updated Apr 22, 2026
This page combines three types of NHTSA data: recall campaigns (official manufacturer or government actions), owner complaints (unverified consumer reports), and crash test ratings (where available). A vehicle with many complaints is not necessarily less reliable — complaint volume correlates with sales volume and vehicle age. Recalls indicate identified defects, not overall quality. To compare this model year with others, use the year navigation in the sidebar or return to the model overview page.
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.
Remedy Status
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.
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 the first light snow of the year. On a city street, going slow on level road. Just maintaining speed..... not slowing ..... not speeding up...... not turning. All of a sudden
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.
The paint of the body is defective
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 A CATALYTIC CONVERTER THAT WAS CLOGGED, SO HE REPLACED IT WITH A NEW OEM PART. THE AIR CONDITIONER WAS BLOWING HOT ALSO, SO THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE AIR COMPRESSOR IN CAR AT THE SAME TIME. I WISH TO FILE A REPORT BASED ON THE "SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION" DANGER.
PAINT IS COMING OFF OF CAR IN DIFFERENT PLACES & TO MUCH OIL CONSUMPTION EVEN AFTER CHANGING EGR VALUE HAVE TO ADD OIL TO OFTEN.
PISTON ARE BURNING A QT OF OIL PER 200 MILES OR LESS AND PAINT FLAKING ON CAR
PAINT BEGAN PEELING ABOUT 13 MONTHS AGO AND NOW HAS BEGUN TO RUST IN THE OPEN METAL AREAS.
THE PAINT IS PEELING OFF THE ENTIRE CAR. THE BODY SHOP SAID IT IS A FACTORY DEFECT. A QUICK INTERNET SEARCH SHOWS THAT THIS IS A WIDE SPREAD ISSUE FOR THIS YEAR, MAKE, MODEL & COLOR. WHY WON'T TOYOTA DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT?
STARTING BACK IN OCTOBER TOOK CAR IN FOR OIL CHANGE, I WAS TOLD CAR HAD NO OIL. I BRING MY CAR IN FOR REGULAR OIL CHANGES, SO WAS NOT SURE WHAT WAS GOING ON, SO I DISMISSED IT... BROUGHT CAR BACK TODAY 01/10/18 HAD THEM CHECK THE OIL LEVELS AND THE CAR NEEDED 2 1/2 LITTER OF OIL... I WAS TOLD IT MIGHT BE THE PISTONS... PLEASE RECALL
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 STATED THAT THE HEADLIGHTS WERE DIM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 62,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
IN MANHATTAN WASEEM NASEEM AHMED AND YES IT MAHMOOD DID HEROINE,MARIJUANA AND ROBBERY CRIME ON THIS SCION2012 VEHICLE IN THE ABSENT OF OWNER CAR OWNER IN JUNE 2015 AND THAT CASE STILL NOT CLOSE THEY NEED BOTH OF THEM INFORMATION I AM READY TO GIVE THERE INFORMATION BCUZ I WANT TO REMOVE FLAG FROM MY CAR PLEASE.I HAVE NO OTHER CARS I NEED TO DRIVE IT.THEY DETECTIVE OF MANHATTAN'S SAID UNTIL YOU DIDNOT TELL YOUR BROTHER NAME OR INFO I DIDNOT REMOVE FLAG ON YOUR CAR.AND ALOT OF TIME I DROVE MY VEHICLE BUT I AM STILL SCARED IF SOMEONE KNOW THIS CAR HAS FLAG ON IT THEN WHAT HAPPENS AND NOW I WANT TO CHANGE ITS SOME PARTS WITH SAME MODELS JUNK CAR AND THEN I WILL DRIVE IT.
DRIVERS SIDE FLOOR MAT ATTACHMENT HAS BROKEN OFF. THE PLASTIC ARMS HAVE SNAPPED AT THE END OF THE DRIVERS SEAT. THE FLOOR MATS NOW MOVE AROUND AND PRESENT A POSSIBLE SAFETY RISK IF THE FLOOR MAT BECOMES LODGED UNDER THE GAS PEDDLE.
WHEN COLD THE CV TRANSMISSION IN THE IQ WILL NOT ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO PULL AWAY UP A STEEP HILL. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES AND REPRESENTS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN. THE ISSUE ONLY HAPPENS WHEN THE CAR IS COLD, IT WILL PULL THE SAME HILL WITH NO PROBLEM WHEN WARM. THE IQ HAS A CV TRANSMISSION AND IT FAILS TO ADJUST TO A HIGH ENOUGH RPM TO PULL AWAY UP A STEEP (10%) GRADE. THE PROBLEM MANIFESTS AS EITHER NO OR VERY SLOW FORWARD PROGRESS (LESS THAN WALKING SPEED) EVEN WITH THE ACCELERATOR HARD DOWN. THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE REP SEEMED UNCONCERNED ABOUT THE ISSUE. *TR
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 THAT NO ONE ELSE HAS THIS PROBLEM, THE DRIVER COULD HAVE DIED BASED ON THE IQ NOT BEING SAFE AND NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYING. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 SCION IQ. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH OVER A ROAD BUMP, THE CONTACT TEMPORARILY LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE STEERING SYSTEM WAS NOT STABLE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING AND THE DEALER PERFORMED A FRONT END ALIGNMENT. THE FAILURE WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE CONTACT CONTINUED TO LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AFTER DRIVING OVER A ROAD BUMP. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER. THE MANUFACTURER SENT A REPRESENTATIVE TO FURTHER EXAMINE THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,500. UPDATED 3/28/13 *CN THE CONSUMER STATED THE STEERING HAD A QUICK OVER STEER, CREATING A DANGEROUS CONDITION, WHEN HAVING TO QUICKLY CHANGE DIRECTION WHILE TRAVELING.
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 MILEAGE WAS 562.
CLEANING FRONT OF CAR WITH A WET TERRY CLOTH...RUBBED PAINT RIGHT OFF THE FRONT NEAR HOOD EMBLEM. THANKS EPA FOR CRAP PAINT. *TR
The 2012 Scion iQ has 1 recall recorded by NHTSA.
NHTSA has received 17 owner-reported complaints for the 2012 Scion iQ.
NHTSA has not published a safety rating for the 2012 Scion iQ.
The most commonly reported complaint categories for the 2012 Scion iQ are structure (4 reports), air bags (3 reports), unknown or other (2 reports).
Yes. NHTSA has 1 recall on record for the 2012 Scion iQ. Scroll up to review the published recall summaries, consequences, and remedies. To check for unrepaired recalls on your specific vehicle, use your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Look up recalls and complaints for any year, make, and model.
This page summarizes publicly available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA by vehicle owners and do not by themselves prove defect severity or vehicle safety. Safety ratings may not be available for all vehicle-years. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any vehicle manufacturer. For official information, visit the official NHTSA page for this vehicle.