used BRZ: Weird coincidences or water damage?

[nickzue]

So I recently bought a WRB 2013 BRZ with 65k and wanted to call on the forum to either confirm or put my suspicions to rest.

1) I checked the carfax report and it said 4 owner, but the dealer president explained to me that it was a dealer's vehicle that had just been traded between hands and that it was really like a 1 owner. (Came from Chicago to SoCal)

2) When I test drove it, I noticed a distinct oil-like smell, but not from the engine, from inside the cabin. I narrowed the smell down to the trunk. I noticed that where I had set some papers they were all smudged with grease/oil.

3) The TPMS light was on, which the dealer told me was an issue with the outside temperature being hot.

4) I also noticed the car had aftermarket amber fog lights, which I like, but it made me question if the bumper may have been repainted or replaced.

5) It didn't have factory floor mats and I could see that the bolts holding down the seats had a bit of rust.

6) The door panels/seat are loose so any bass makes it rattle pretty badly and the seat creaks under any acceleration. I actually thought the speakers were blown at first.

7) Lastly, part of navigation unit screen doesn't work or is very inconsistently responsive in the upper right corner.

Now, in the month since buying the car the smell has subsided considerably, the TPMS still stays on, and the dreaded fuel pump chirp started happening but I'm hoping my fancy warrantee will cover that. Do any of these issues raise any red flags to you guys? Water damage affecting the electronics would be my biggest concern.

[Riseuporfall]

For the tpms sometimes you have to go to the dealership so they can reset the sensors on the wheels, but sometimes if you have after market wheels they font come with tpms so you would have to get them from the dealership and have them setup to your car. So the light would turn off.

Sent from my E6853 using Tapatalk

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by nickzue

So I recently bought a WRB 2013 BRZ with 65k and wanted to call on the forum to either confirm or put my suspicions to rest.

1) I checked the carfax report and it said 4 owner, but the dealer president explained to me that it was a dealer's vehicle that had just been traded between hands and that it was really like a 1 owner. (Came from Chicago to SoCal) Not unusual

2) When I test drove it, I noticed a distinct oil-like smell, but not from the engine, from inside the cabin. I narrowed the smell down to the trunk. I noticed that where I had set some papers they were all smudged with grease/oil. They spilled something

3) The TPMS light was on, which the dealer told me was an issue with the outside temperature being hot. Will not stay on because hot outside. There is something wrong

4) I also noticed the car had aftermarket amber fog lights, which I like, but it made me question if the bumper may have been repainted or replaced. Fogs are not an indication the bumper was replace just that fogs were added. sort of an odd thing if juts passed around between dealers.

5) It didn't have factory floor mats and I could see that the bolts holding down the seats had a bit of rust. A Chicago winter will do that

6) The door panels/seat are loose so any bass makes it rattle pretty badly and the seat creaks under any acceleration. I actually thought the speakers were blown at first. Door panels vibrate with bass on all of them

7) Lastly, part of navigation unit screen doesn't work or is very inconsistently responsive in the upper right corner. I have no input on this one

Now, in the month since buying the car the smell has subsided considerably, the TPMS still stays on, and the dreaded fuel pump chirp started happening but I'm hoping my fancy warrantee will cover that. Do any of these issues raise any red flags to you guys? Water damage affecting the electronics would be my biggest concern. There is nothing there that would indicate water damage. It is still not confirmed that the new pump will kill the crickets.

See bold

[nickzue]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

See bold

Thanks for your wise words, last question. There's a mark on the left edge of the spoiler where it looks like it was hit and it's partially cracked but not really too visibly damaged. It's rattling pretty bad though when going over 60mph, what's the best way to stick the outside piece to the inside? I was just thinking superglue but I'm not sure if I'll ever need to take the pieces apart. What would you use?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by nickzue

Thanks for your wise words, last question. There's a mark on the left edge of the spoiler where it looks like it was hit and it's partially cracked but not really too visibly damaged. It's rattling pretty bad though when going over 60mph, what's the best way to stick the outside piece to the inside? I was just thinking superglue but I'm not sure if I'll ever need to take the pieces apart. What would you use?

Can you get a pic of what you mean? Probably a silicone adhesive would be better. superglue does not weather well and has poor shear strength.

[Gunman]

For the nav screen, try pressing just to the left of where you think you should. That has helped me, especially along the right edge.

[86Boyz]

The TPMS light was on, which the dealer told me was an issue with the outside temperature being hot.

Dealer is a dumbass.

[yelsew]

Originally Posted by nickzue

The TPMS light was on, which the dealer told me was an issue with the outside temperature being hot.

As others said, yeah that's bull. I had my local Subaru dealer look at my TPMS light when I first bought my car used, and they tried multiple times to get it to go away before realizing they were using a Subaru protocol instead of a Toyota one. Once they got the right tool it worked fine. (mind this was in 2015 so its not like it was a new thing to them). Don't underestimate dealer stupidity.

[nickzue]

The touch screen is manageable for now, although hearing "GPS signal lost"😐 all the time sucks. I also forgot to mention that my radio will cut between HD and regular almost perpetually, which is really distracting. I'm actually surprised at how terrible the non-HD radio sounds lol I plan to put in some sound deadening material in the doors to help with the rattle.

I'll keep the TPMS advice in mind, it's always the little things that can trick ya.

Do you guys notice that you hear your engine creak and tink when it's warm? Mine drips a decent amount of condensation too. I know a lot of cars do that but my '02 RSX never made those noises so I didn't expect to have it in a 2013.

And this is my spoiler damage causing the rattle. The top piece of the left spoiler piece just isn't fully secured to the lower piece, but still too flush to fit any kind of tape in there. Best way to stick it down?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by nickzue

The touch screen is manageable for now, although hearing "GPS signal lost"😐 all the time sucks. I also forgot to mention that my radio will cut between HD and regular almost perpetually, which is really distracting. I'm actually surprised at how terrible the non-HD radio sounds lol I plan to put in some sound deadening material in the doors to help with the rattle.

I'll keep the TPMS advice in mind, it's always the little things that can trick ya.

Do you guys notice that you hear your engine creak and tink when it's warm? Mine drips a decent amount of condensation too. I know a lot of cars do that but my '02 RSX never made those noises so I didn't expect to have it in a 2013.

And this is my spoiler damage causing the rattle. The top piece of the left spoiler piece just isn't fully secured to the lower piece, but still too flush to fit any kind of tape in there. Best way to stick it down?

The high def thing is not the HU it is signal related. The normal signal works even when weak but high def needs a strong consistent signal. As you move it varies and cuts in and out. You can turn high def off.


The tink noise is just your header, shrouds and exhaust cooling. A very normal thing on most cars. These are just a little louder than some and nothing to worry about.


Get some silicone adhesive to take up the slack in the spoiler. A bit of body filler and touchup paint and nobody but you will know it is there.

[nickzue]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

The high def thing is not the HU it is signal related. The normal signal works even when weak but high def needs a strong consistent signal. As you move it varies and cuts in and out. You can turn high def off.


The tink noise is just your header, shrouds and exhaust cooling. A very normal thing on most cars. These are just a little louder than some and nothing to worry about.


Get some silicone adhesive to take up the slack in the spoiler. A bit of body filler and touchup paint and nobody but you will know it is there.

well hopefully the signal be a little more consistent when I get the sharkfin-style antenna, cuz turning HD off is definitely not an option haha these HU's just act funky. If I'm playing audio through the aux input but it's also plugged into the charger, it'll interrupt whatever I'm playing and just put on the first song in my music every time I change songs/videos, especially on Youtube. Maybe I'm just being dumb, but I still haven't figured out how to use the radio tuner or set any new presets haha I know there's a way...

I'll be trying out that adhesive today and giving that a shot for sure.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by nickzue

well hopefully the signal be a little more consistent when I get the sharkfin-style antenna, cuz turning HD off is definitely not an option haha these HU's just act funky. If I'm playing audio through the aux input but it's also plugged into the charger, it'll interrupt whatever I'm playing and just put on the first song in my music every time I change songs/videos, especially on Youtube. Maybe I'm just being dumb, but I still haven't figured out how to use the radio tuner or set any new presets haha I know there's a way...

I'll be trying out that adhesive today and giving that a shot for sure.

You missed the point. It is not anything to do with the car's reception of the signal. It is the broadcast signal itself. The HD broadcasts have crappy range and that is not going to change until they up the tech on it.
Can't help with the song change issue since I still use CDs.
The radio tuner is REALLY easy to use. Just read up on the manual if you have it.

[radroach]

@nickzue I have oil residue in my trunk, left a half bottle of 0w-20 wedged against the spare tire in there thinking it wouldn't leak. Well it did.