Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power windows, windshield, wipers, mirrors, sunroof).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Scion tC owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Scion tC. While driving approximately 65 MPH, a booming sound was heard outside the vehicle. After stopping the vehicle, the driver discovered that the glass air defector had shattered. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 05V483000 (visibility) in November of 2005 to prevent the failure from occurring. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced the same failure listed in the recall. The local dealer was not notified. The failure mileage was 113,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Toyota Scion tC. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the sun roof glass exploded and shattered. The contact did not sustain any injuries. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,500.
I was cruising in my 2005 Scion tC at approximately 40 MPH on a smooth road with the moon roof closed. Air temperature was in the high 90s and, as I had been driving about an hour, the interior had been cooled by the A/C. There was no traffic within sight either ahead or behind me and no trees, overpass, etc., above. I heard a loud gunshot-sounding "bang" and found, when I pulled over, that the glass of the front wind deflector of the moonroof had shattered. There was no evidence of any object impacting the glass. Because the moonroof had been closed, glass particles did not enter the passenger compartment. The moonroof wind deflector glass was replaced by my local authorized dealer under warranty (after I called their attention to similar failures of other vehicles); the fragments of the old glass were removed and disposed of by the dealer. …
Car: 2005 Scion tC purchased: mcgee Toyota of hanover, ma in May 2007. -emergency brake failing 2 weeks after purchase, which caused an accident. -the dealership misdiagnosing the wheel bearing (2-3 times, finally fixing it). -we've been to mcgee Toyota probably 5+ times now, and woburn Toyota twice, all for problems with a 2005 Scion tC. One of the other issues was when my wife bought the car, she bought a Toyota extended warranty. We noticed a few weeks after purchase that the weather stripping was dry-rotting, and woburn Toyota said they wouldn't replace it since it wasn't a factory windshield. We were originally told by mcgee Toyota that we could take this car to any Toyota dealership and the warranty would be valid. Why were we not told by mcgee Toyota when she bought the car, that the windshield had been replaced? Mr murphy said he would do anything in his power to make us happy. …
Incident occurred on 9/30/08 at ~3:15 pm. I heard a loud bang (sounded like a shotgun blast) while driving on the highway at ~60mph. My immediate reaction was to duck...I literally thought someone was shooting at me. After a quick second to collect my wits, I looked around and saw no damage. Once that "soaked" in, I realized I heard wind noise (I remember thinking that was odd because windows were up and sunroof was closed). I pulled back the sunroof screen and, to my astonishment, saw that the sunroof had spiderwebbed into thousands of tiny pieces...pieces that were already starting to fly off into traffic behind me. I pulled over and got out to look at the damage. The sunroof looked like something had blasted it from the inside out. I cleaned up the glass the best I could on the side of the highway and headed straight for the dealer. …
While driving with the sun roof open, the front deflector of the assembly shattered, spraying pieces of broken glass into the passenger compartment, causing me to lose control of the vehicle as I was hit in the face and head by glass. I was able to maintain control of the car as a piece of glass hit my sunglass lens, saving me from a possible eye injury. The interior of the car was littered with sharp, jagged pieces of glass and thankfully I was alone in the vehicle, saving a passenger from possible injury. I have yet to contact a dealer or Scion but will do so after the weekend. I am aware of other reports and complaints with regard to the same thing happing to others. Scion obviously engineered a fragile piece of glass designed to stand nearly perpendicular to the road with the vehicle in motion and sun roof open. …
While driving my 2005 Scion tC on the interstate highway, I heard a loud pop. After the pop I heard glass shattering and flying off the top of the car. The only thing protecting me from shattering glass was the sun shade. Yet, almost immediately glass started coming through the vent holes on the sun shade and falling down on my head and flying in from the sides. When I stopped to look at what had happened, it appeared that the top sun roof had exploded. Nothing had hit the car from the outside that I was aware of. I know that I would have seen it or heard something hit the car, not the loud pop that sounded like an explosion. I looked on your site and was able to see that other owners of scions have experienced this same problem. I am waiting on Toyota to determine how this will be fixed and if they will cover it. …
1. Driver door required more force to close. Later, I noticed the driver window would not raise more than half way. 2. The window regulator arm is bent, and the internal attachment point is broken. The window gets progressively worse over time, and the raised height becomes lower. 3. The dealer stated their must have been previous damage to the vehicle, and they were unable to resolve. Maaco said they were unable to resolve. More than a year later, took it back to the dealer, and the new service personnel were able to replace the regulator arm, and weld it to the door in March 2010. It's now June, and the window will no longer go past the half way point when attempting to close. …
I love my Scion however I bought brand new from expressway Toyota in dorchester ma in 2005 and with all the recalls I see on here I've only done one, and that the glass windshield. Every other time I go the dealer and tell them that there are recalls, they ignore me and say that there isn't . I have some rattling noise going on under my car...I fixed once at the dealer and it came back again but now the dealer wants me to pay again to fix it and I think it's a safety concern in the car, the tires are also uneven, I keep having to change tires too often, the hatch lift in the back keeps breaking...major failing and cheap. It feels like it was glued on. I would an answer from the dealer where I bought the car as to why they keep denying my visits on the recalls and why in being charge the same safety work that I've paid once to get fix and now the same rattling noise keeps coming. …
I was driving down the highway at approx 70 MPH. I had the sun roof opened. While driving I heard a loud crack and glass came pouring in from the sunroof opening. I went straight to the dealership by my house. The front panel that angles up was broken all around the entire piece of glass. They said they could not see a point of impact where something May have hit. He said he could still hear it cracking as we were standing there talking. He said since there was no point of impact it should be covered under warranty. (I've only had the car a month.) I am currently awaiting for the piece to come in. This has happened at least one other time that I've heard of from a Scion web site. I can only imagine what could have happened if I hadn't ducked down when I heard the crack. …
Related recalls
Visibility › Sun/moon roof assembly
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with a glass wind deflector, the deflector, if impacted by a projectile, such as road debris, while driving with the wind deflector in the upward-tilted position at highways speeds, May shatter and separate from the frame.
Remedy: Dealers will install a protective laminate to the wind deflector to prevent pieces of glass from separating from the wind deflector frame. The recall began October 27, 2005. Owners May contact Toyota at 1-866-707-2466.
NHTSA investigations
Sun/moon roof wind deflector breakage
The manufacturer states that there are no indications of deficiencies in the design, manufacture, or assembly of the wind deflector that May account for the incidents reported.the manufacturer also believes that impact of airborne road debris with the wind deflector is the probable cause for the incidents reported.odi's analyses of the warranty data indicate that incidents of wind deflector breakage while driving…
Sun/moon roof wind deflector breakage
The manufacturer notified NHTSA by letter dated October 17, 2005, that a safety recall has been initiated.NHTSA has assigned no.05v-483 to the recall.the corrective action will consist of installing a plastic film to the inside surface of the wind deflector glass.the corrective action will be performed on approximately 71,400 my 2005 and 2006 Scion tc vehicles manufactured during the period of March 12, 2004 through…
Window & Wiper complaints in other tC years
Frequently asked questions
How common are window & wiper problems on the 2005 Scion tC?
NHTSA has 50 complaints about the windows, wipers & sunroof of the 2005 Scion tC, 32% of the model year's 155 complaints. The component named most often is sun/moon roof assembly (32 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Scion tC window & wiper problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 05V-483 (sun/moon roof assembly, Oct 18, 2005). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2005 Scion tC window & wiper problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 33,000 miles, and 38% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 2 injuries to windows, wipers & sunroof problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.