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What 179 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Scion Fr-s

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (179)Crash / fire / injury (6)Engine (141)Transmission & drivetrain (21)Fuel system (9)Steering (7)Engine & cooling (5)Airbags (3)Wheels (3)Brakes (2)Electrical system (2)Speed control (2)

Newest first · 179 complaints · page 8 of 8

Jun 4, 2013Transmission & drivetrain

MY DIRECT INJECTOR COLLAR ENDED UP DAMAGED/MISSING COMPLETELY, ORIGINALLY RESULTING IN A VIOLENT "FIRECRACKER" POPPING SOUND UNDER MODERATE THROTTLE ACCELERATION, DUE TO THE ECU WITH FAULTY PROGRAMMING. THIS IS THE 2ND TIME WITHIN A MONTH OF THIS HAPPENING TO BOTH DIRECT INJECTORS. THIS ISSUE IS CAUSING FUEL TO LEAK/MISFIRE FROM THE INJECTOR CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO RUN EXTREMELY LEAN, WHICH CAN LEAD TO ACCELERATED ENGINE WARE AND (WORST CASE SCENARIO) ENGINE DETONATION AND HAS HAPPENED TO ANOTHER PERSON ALREADY. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10515107

May 23, 2013BrakesFire

AFTER LEAVING A RESIDENCE, GETTING ONTO THE FREEWAY WITH NO ISSUES FOR ABOUT 1/4 MILE, SUDDENLY UPON GETTING ABOUT TO 50 MPH, I FELT A SHIMMY. I THOUGHT I HAD A FLAT TIRE. BUT I WAS SMELLING A BURNING SMELL PRETTY QUICKLY. I THOUGHT IT WAS FROM A POLLUTED SEMI TRUCK. BUT IT GOT STRONGER. SO, I DECIDED TO TAKE THE FIRST EXIT ANOTHER 1/4 MILE UP. I TURNED ON HAZARDS AND SLOWED TO 40 AND EXITED. UPON STOPPING I TURNED OFF THE CAR AND INSPECTED FIRST THE ENGINE, SEEING NO SMOKE AROUND IT. I THEN INSPECTED THE TIRES. ALL GOOD. SO I OPTED FOR A TOUCH TEST FOR OVERHEATED TIRE, TO SEE IF THEY WERE HOT. WHICH GIVEN I ONLY DROVE MAYBE 1.5 MILES TOTAL, OR 2, THIS SEEMED UNLIKELY. WHEN LEANING TO TOUCH THE LEFT REAR TIRE, I SAW A FLAME COME OUT FROM BEHIND IT, AND IMMEDIATELY GOT AWAY FROM THE CAR AND CALLED 911 FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT. THEY ARRIVED AND DETERMINED THAT LUCKILY THE FIRE HAD EXTINGUISHED ITSELF. UPON MECHANICAL INSPECTION, I LEARNED THE CALIPER FROZE SO THE BRAKE PAD HAD IGNITED. WHILE I WAS DRIVING. A LIVE FLAME UNDER MY CAR, I AM LUCKY NOTHING HAPPENED. I AM TERRIFIED OF THIS HAPPENING AGAIN AND WHAT IF ITS IN THE FRONT TIRE NEAR THE ENGINE? *TR

NHTSA ODI 10513321

Apr 30, 2013Latches & locks

THIS IS BASICALLY WHY I AM CONCERNED: I FOUND THAT IF YOU GO TO LOCK/UNLOCK YOUR CAR WITH A TOYOTA/SCION SMART KEY WHILE SOMEONE WITHIN RANGE OF YOUR CAR HOLDS THE LOCK/UNLOCK BUTTON ON THEIR TOYOTA/SCION SMART KEY, YOUR CAR WILL NOT RESPOND TO YOUR OWN KEY. THEIR SIGNAL BASICALLY JUST INTERFERES WITH YOUR SIGNAL CAUSING THE CAR TO DO NOTHING. IF YOU WALK AWAY W/O NOTICING, YOUR CAR WILL BE COMPLETELY DEFENSELESS. NO LOCK. NO ALARM. IN MY TEST, I HELD MY KEY BUTTON ABOUT 60 FEET AWAY FROM MY DADS CAR AND IT INTERFERED WITH HIS KEY CAUSING HIS CAR NOT TO LOCK. THIS ALSO WORKED VICE-VERSA. THIS MEANS THIEVES HAVE THE ABILITY TO STAKE OUT A PARKING LOT, FOR EXAMPLE, AND, JUST BY HOLDING A BUTTON ON THEIR KEY, WILL BE ABLE TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE CARS OF UNSUSPECTING CIVILIANS. THIS IS A FLAW THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10510175

Sep 6, 2012Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlEngineFuel system

MY NEW CAR HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF THE SHOP FOR THE PAST MONTH (4 TIMES). THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON AND THE DEALER DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO FIX IT. THE CAR DOES NOT ALSO SEEM TO BE ABLE TO HOLD AN IDLE SPEED. WHEN MY FOOT HAS THE CLUTCH COMPLETELY DEPRESSED AND MY OTHER FOOT ON THE BRAKE, THE ENGINE IDLE JUST GOES FROM 500 TO 1000 AND BACK DOWN TO 500 AND THE CAR SHUDDERS AND ALMOST STALLS. THERE SEEMS TO BE OTHER SCION OWNERS OF THIS NEW CAR THAT ARE HAVING THE EXACT SAME ISSUE (THERE ARE INTERNET POST ON WEB FORUMS DATING BACK TO JUNE 2012) AND TOYOTA/SCION DOES NOT ACT LIKE THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS ISSUE AT ALL. I AM CONCERNED THAT THE CAR IS GOING TO STALL OR THE ENGINE SURGE WHEN I AM DRIVING IT. THE CAR IS AT A SCION DEALER FOR THE 4 TIME AND I WAS GIVEN NO ETA ON WHEN THE CAR MIGHT BE REPAIRED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10474058

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Working with the data? Download all 179 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 28, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2013 Scion Fr-s verdict →