Failure After J02 Recall - Discussion Threads

[daniloneil8]

What is the latest status on the valve spring recall?
Are people still doing it? Or did everyone who is gonna do it, already do it?
I never did the recall. I doubt I will bother at this point.
Who else decided to skip the recall ?

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by daniloneil8

What is the latest status on the valve spring recall?
Are people still doing it? Or did everyone who is gonna do it, already do it?
I never did the recall. I doubt I will bother at this point.
Who else decided to skip the recall ?

We have no real way of knowing if people are still getting the recall done, but it is likely since those in CA are required to do it.

I did it early on, and have had no issues, but if given the choice again and given my car had 100K miles on it at the time, I would not bother. At the time I used it as some "free labor" to get other work done such as changing plugs, etc.

The general agreement seems to be skip it because if they were going to fail, it's likely they already would have.

[daniloneil8]

I'm at 60k miles, and don't plan to bother with the recall.
Was just curious if dealers are still screwing up the repair

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by daniloneil8

I'm at 60k miles, and don't plan to bother with the recall.
Was just curious if dealers are still screwing up the repair

the requirements for the recall for registration purposes have passed so doubtful any more will happen

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by TommyW

the requirements for the recall for registration purposes have passed so doubtful any more will happen

Actually, probably not true. Not everyone that owns the car knows there is a problem, and actually that is the majority of owners.. Also, many dealers clear recall work when reselling a car (it may required in some states). So it is possible more will be successfully done, and some may fail.

Not sure if there is a place you can get the progression on a recall (how many are complete) but that would be interesting.

[l0aded]

Necro.

My car was on PNO for the past 4 years so never did the recall. California forced me to do the recall before I could reactivate my registration.

I feel like I just started the clock to my car's demise


--

Is there anything I can do to verify the sealant was properly placed?

[x808drifter]

Originally Posted by l0aded

Necro.

My car was on PNO for the past 4 years so never did the recall. California forced me to do the recall before I could reactivate my registration.

I feel like I just started the clock to my car's demise


--

Is there anything I can do to verify the sealant was properly placed?

Drop the oil pan.

[l0aded]

Originally Posted by x808drifter

Drop the oil pan.

Forgive my lack of knowledge here, how difficult is it to drop the oil pan to inspect? Is it as simple as lifting the car and accessing it or is more disassembly required?

Are there any DIY guides or YT videos I can reference? I checked around but don't see anything definitive.

Thank you!

[radroach]

@l0aded you might get a borescope camera through the oil drain hole and inspect the oil pickup for silicone debris

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by x808drifter

Drop the oil pan.

That will tell you if there is sealant in the pickup tube but not if any of the channels were plugged. Unfortunately the only way to check that would be t I pull the timing cover which means you have to reseal and be back to not knowing.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by l0aded

Forgive my lack of knowledge here, how difficult is it to drop the oil pan to inspect? Is it as simple as lifting the car and accessing it or is more disassembly required?

Are there any DIY guides or YT videos I can reference? I checked around but don't see anything definitive.

Thank you!

Keep in mind that those that had issues were the tiny minority not the majority.
Many of the failures occurred before Subaru issued the updated instructions and tech awareness was low. They are all well aware by now!
Not to say that it couldn’t still happen but the odds are much much lower now than they were 4 years ago.
Even if you pull the pan and see sealant a shady dealer isn’t going to do anything about it anyway. A good dealer may but even then if it hasn’t failed then there is no issue in their mind.

[bcj]

Got my springs done last winter. Aintn't broke yet. 0.02
Been out to the ocean a few times and out to the races this weekend.
Don't feel bad. Stuff happens and you get over it.

[Dylan]

Vehicle Mileage: 66,096
Vehicle Make: Scion FR-S 2013
Mileage After Recall Performed: 63,716 (done twice, first one at 51,216)
Symptom(s): Engine knocking after a hard pull from a stop sign on a highway on-ramp, headed uphill. Loss of power before eventual stall.
Failure: Crankshaft rod bearing failure. Dealer quoted $7k+ to replace only the lower end and send some parts out for machining.
Resolution(?): None yet, currently reaching out to corporate. Initially got the GM to agree on a trade-in value towards a GR86, but they have no idea when they'd get one (friend said he waited over a year!?) and the trade-in would drop as time goes by. Backtracked and now seeking repairs.
State: Milford, CT, USA
Dealership Offering Repair: Colonial Toyota

This was a bit of a saga. I brought it in for the J02 recall initially at 51,216, but it always had a small leak around the timing cover and I brought it back 6 times over 3 years to have it "fixed". They kept pulling and resealing the timing cover, as well as completely replaced it, before having a regional specialist come out who decided the valve cover wasn't sealed properly during the recall. So they pulled the engine and sealed the valve cover a second time. This was right before winter, so I was barely driving it before April when this happened. The car's never been tracked, autox'ed, redlined, or otherwise thrashed as it's my daily.

Credit where it's due, they never charged me for the repairs up until this point and always comp'ed a rental.

UPDATE: Dealer's buying out the car in cash and I've got a reserve on an incoming '23 GR86 somewhere else. Life's good

[Dzmitry]

Originally Posted by Dylan

Vehicle Mileage: 66,096
Vehicle Make: Scion FR-S 2013
Mileage After Recall Performed: 63,716 (done twice, first one at 51,216)
Symptom(s): Engine knocking after a hard pull from a stop sign on a highway on-ramp, headed uphill. Loss of power before eventual stall.
Failure: Crankshaft rod bearing failure. Dealer quoted $7k+ to replace only the lower end and send some parts out for machining.
Resolution(?): None yet, currently reaching out to corporate. Initially got the GM to agree on a trade-in value towards a GR86, but they have no idea when they'd get one (friend said he waited over a year!?) and the trade-in would drop as time goes by. Backtracked and now seeking repairs.
State: Milford, CT, USA
Dealership Offering Repair: Colonial Toyota

This was a bit of a saga. I brought it in for the J02 recall initially at 51,216, but it always had a small leak around the timing cover and I brought it back 6 times over 3 years to have it "fixed". They kept pulling and resealing the timing cover, as well as completely replaced it, before having a regional specialist come out who decided the valve cover wasn't sealed properly during the recall. So they pulled the engine and sealed the valve cover a second time. This was right before winter, so I was barely driving it before April when this happened. The car's never been tracked, autox'ed, redlined, or otherwise thrashed as it's my daily.

Credit where it's due, they never charged me for the repairs up until this point and always comp'ed a rental.

UPDATE: Dealer's buying out the car in cash and I've got a reserve on an incoming '23 GR86 somewhere else. Life's good

Wow. Seems like the dealer took pretty good care of you!