Selling a dead or junk Scion

Scion is a brand that no longer exists, so most of what follows is history: what Toyota built it for, why it ended, which of its eight models owners have complained about most, and where each one went.

A Toyota brand built for younger buyers

Toyota founded Scion in 2003 and ran it from Torrance, California. Wikipedia says the badge came out of "extensive market research and testing with Generation Y consumers." The pitch was simple buying: "Pure Price" selling, one trim level per model, and a long list of factory and TRD accessories sold one at a time instead of in packages.

The plan also relied on short product cycles and low dealer margins. Those, Wikipedia says, "became increasingly unsustainable as sales fell after the 2008 financial crisis." The best year had been 2006, with 173,000 vehicles sold. In the EPA's fuel economy list, Scion runs from the 2004 model year to 2016.

Toyota ended the brand at the start of the 2017 model year, in August 2016. By then more than a million Scion-badged cars had been sold.

Where the Scions went in 2017

Three models kept going with a Toyota badge:

• FR-S became the Toyota 86.
• iA became the Toyota Yaris iA. The iA was a rebadged Mazda2 from the start, and Canada already sold it as the Toyota Yaris sedan.
• iM became the Toyota Corolla iM. It was based on the Toyota Auris sold in other countries.

The tC was dropped. The iQ, xB and xD were already gone; Wikipedia says they were discontinued as the iM arrived, and their last years in the EPA list are 2015, 2015 and 2014.

Which Scions draw the most complaints

Scion owners logged 2,247 NHTSA complaints over all eight models, by our count on October 10, 2026.

The xB alone has more complaints than the other six models below the tC put together. It shares the longest run of the eight with the tC: twelve model years each in the EPA list. The iA and iM each have a single model year, so far fewer cars were ever on the road to report on. A 2016 Scion has also been around for less time than a 2004 one to pick up reports. These numbers are what owners reported, not a ranking of which Scion is more reliable.

One part that Scion itself dropped

The tC was once sold with an optional supercharger that took it from 161 to 200 hp. Wikipedia says the option was "discontinued in 2007 due to early failure of the bearings inside the centrifugal blower." If you have an early tC with that blower, it is one of the few parts on any Scion with a known history of its own.

Selling a Scion that no longer runs

Even the newest Scion is a 2016 model now, ten years old, so a big repair bill can quickly be more than the car is worth. If that is where you are, our guides on an old or high-mileage car and a car that doesn't run walk through the choice.

To get an offer, tell us four things:

1. The model and year, and the mileage if you know it.
2. If it starts or moves at all, plus anything broken or missing.
3. Who holds the title. A lost one has its own fix: start with selling a junk car with no title.
4. Where the car sits. Our truck meets it there, in a driveway, a parking lot or a shop.

Pickup is free anywhere in the US. Once it is gone, take care of the plates and paperwork.

Rather talk to someone? Call (877) 421-6008.

All eight Scion models

Years are model years in the EPA's list.