Winter? It's Snow Problem for the 2016 Scion tC
Owners of the model-year 2016 Scion tC don’t know just how good they have it compared to earlier versions of the coupe. One small addition of a standard rear wiper blade makes the 2016 tC much friendlier to drive in foul weather.
Related: More Scion tC News
With the exception of one trim level in 2014, the tC has gone without a rear wiper since the car’s inception in 2005, and it’s something that’s stood out in our testing. Cars.com Senior Consumer Affairs Editor Kelsey Mays called out the missed opportunity in his review of the 2014 tC:
“The rear window’s shallow rake picks up a lot of rain, and despite the tC’s hatchback layout it lacks a badly needed rear wiper,” Mays said.
Two years later, an early winter snowstorm blew through the Chicago area and we put the tC’s new rear wiper blade to the test.
A flip of the control stalk discarded most of the accumulating precipitation, though the swipe pattern skewed a little toward the driver side and left some of the passenger side untouched. Still, it’s better than nothing, which is what most tC owners deal with every winter.
On the model-year 2014 tC, the Monogram trim level included a rear wiper arm assembly, leather-trimmed seats, upgraded stereo, heated seats and decorative interior trim for $22,170 with a destination fee — a $2,190 increase over the base model. The Monogram’s rear wiper blade was so well-received that Scion made the feature standard for 2016, according to Scion communications manager Nancy Hubbell.
Can an older tC of the same generation be retrofitted with a rear wiper? Hubbell said in an email that it would take changing the rear deck lid, control stalk, adding a wiring harness and more, a potentially cost-prohibiting procedure. The new wiper may be a good addition to the tC, but it’s not a “tear apart your car” must-have for an older model.
