2009 Scion XB problems & reliability
140 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2009 Scion XB, alongside 10 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
12 complaints report injuries (16 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 74 | 53% |
| Engine | 24 | 17% |
| Electrical System | 9 | 6% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 9 | 6% |
| Service Brakes | 7 | 5% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 7 | 5% |
| Unknown OR Other | 6 | 4% |
| Structure | 5 | 4% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 4 | 3% |
| Power Train | 4 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 80,000 miles (middle 50% between 36,594 and 113,500 miles), based on 66 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I want to report a defect with the hood of this vehicle. I was driving on the interstate and my hood lifted up and became detached from the vehicle, it literally flew off of the car. I didn't see where it went but fortunate neither myself nor other drivers were affected. I managed to pull over you a safety zone and…”
Structure · filed Dec 17, 2024
“This vehicle type had a oil consumption recall. My vehicle has never been repaired. The car consumes a lot of oil. I went to my local Toyota dealership to have my car repaired under the recall. They would not honor the repair.. my car is a 2009 Scion xB. The recall goes back to 2016. I bought my car after 2016 with…”
Engine · filed Feb 5, 2024
“I was shocked by electrical component on a rainy day on the driver side the electric component In the door panel were exposed to rain as all buttons to control lock and windows from driver side have sunk down a couple inches. This happened almost right away after I purchased pre-owned from Honda dealership in Corona…”
Electrical System · filed Nov 20, 2022
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
Technical service bulletins
139 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2009 Scion XB. The 10 most recent:
DL: Toyota has received reports of paint peeling on certain vehicles with the original factory-applied Blizzard Pearl or Super White paint colors. These reports indicate that vehicles with these specific paint colors…
Z3G_Dealer_Lette · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 14, 2022
DL: Toyota has received reports of paint peeling on certain vehicles with the original factory-applied Blizzard Pearl or Super White paint colors. These reports indicate that vehicles with these specific paint colors…
Z2G_Dealer_Lette · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 14, 2022
DL: Toyota has received reports of paint peeling on certain vehicles with the original factory-applied Blizzard Pearl or Super White paint colors. These reports indicate that vehicles with these specific paint colors…
ZKG_Dealer_Lette · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 14, 2022
CSP: Takata CSP Coverage Job Aid - published 7.28.2022
Takata CSP Cover · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 28, 2022
CSP: On July 30, 2018, a settlement of claims for Economic Loss related to Takata airbag inflators was approved for full implementation. The settlement includes Toyota?s agreement to provide a Customer Support Program…
22TE04 - Takata · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 28, 2022
DL: Toyota has received reports of paint peeling on certain vehicles with the original factory-applied Blizzard Pearl or Super White paint colors. These reports indicate that vehicles with these specific paint colors…
ZKG_Dealer_Lette · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 28, 2022
DL: CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM ZKG Multiple Models and Model Years Vehicles Painted with Blizzard Pearl (070) or Super White (040) Paint Color Coverage for Peeling of Factory-Applied Paint
ZKG Important Up · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 28, 2021
RL: CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM ZKG Multiple Models and Model Years Vehicles Painted with Blizzard Pearl (070) or Super White (040) Paint Color Coverage for Peeling of Factory-Applied Paint
ZKG Customer Sup · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 27, 2021
TT: HVAC drain tube is found to be blocked/clogged.
S-TT-0117-20 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 11, 2020
TI: TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS Customer Support Program ZKG Multiple Models and Model Years Vehicles Painted with Blizzard Pearl (070) or Super White (040) Paint Color Coverage for Peeling of Factory-Applied Paint
ZKG_Dealer_Lette · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 14, 2020
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2009 Scion XB has 10 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2009 Scion XB?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 80,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.