Just about ready to move on...

[SCharged]

As some other recent posts, I'm just about ready to put the FR-S behind me. I love the car, the way it drives, the looks, philosophy behind it, equipment, etc.

However, I can't believe the number of small but very frustrating issues I have been having with the car. I'm not sure of my build date, but I just got the car last May.

Here's my list:

-Rough idle, bogging and stalling.
-Crickets, fixed once, came back within 100km.
-various rattles
-rear deck popping
-clutch throwout bearing noise (I think that's what it is)
-AC issues.

I know some of these problems are very common.. which does not make them acceptable, to the contrary actually, it makes it worst...

I'm not one to complain about every little thing in a car, I understand it's a machine and that it is being put under a huge a mount of stress on a daily basis, let alone in track duty. But in my work, if I presented such a flawed product as final, I would be fired.

I bought a new car, and am absorbing a great amount in depreciation and I don't think it's too much to expect not to have to go to the dealership every month for a new problem, and to get an old problem re-fixed...

I bought with Toyota expecting Toyota reliability.. Had I known, I would've probably gone another route.

Thing is the car is freaking addicting, and I can't imagine giving it away.. and most problems are not noticeable unless I'm stopped and idling, which I do a lot.

I'll give it another chance, send it to the dealer to get it all fixed, and if anything else comes up too soon for my taste, I think I'll have to trade it in.. Also, I would'nt be surprised if they tell me clutch bearing is not covered under warranty, which would make me ''disappointed''.

All this and I'm at less than 10K km. Meanwhile my matrix xrs sits in the driveway at 110K km with nothing going wrong.. and my borther's A3, 130K km *boooooo Audi reliability*.. guess what, nothing either..

[tennisfreak]

My crickets came and then went. Dont know why but I never had any fixes. Only explanation is I started only putting in Chevron with Techron in my car and no more "no name/discount" brand gas.

Rear deck pops all the time and I cant figure out what it is. I agree it gets annoying.

Various little rattles for me too. They usually come and go and I only hear them when the radio is completely off. I overlook these as I have had rattles/creeks in other cars.

[Cheddar]

Sorry to hear. Lmk what they find with the "clutch throwout bearing noise" issue.

I too have something like this but only happens when cold, at idle, in neutral, and clutch is engaged.

Sounds like a little knocking but when I press down on the clutch peddle it will go away. Once its up to temp I cant duplicate it but that's when the crickets take its place lol.

[BlueDubbinTDI]

give it time bro its barely been a year since release. No other car for me could replace this car, for what its meant to be, besides the new Jag F-type. This IS my poor mans Jag F-type and I feel very engaged every time I drive it even if Im grannying and getting 30mpg. I'm afraid if I ever did go forced induction with this car I'd NEVER get rid of it. Only time will tell if the feeling will last. Hopefully yours comes back to you.

[Calavera]

Originally Posted by SCharged

-Rough idle, bogging and stalling.
-Crickets, fixed once, came back within 100km.
-various rattles
-rear deck popping
-clutch throwout bearing noise (I think that's what it is)
-AC issues.

My FR-S was one of the first built and here are my experiences with your issues.

Never experience rough idle or stalling. Experienced the little dip at idle with AC on but I believe that's most cars.

Have the crickets but waiting on new part # fuel pump then will have it replace on warranty.

Rattles - only one from the passenger side that annoys me but it appears it might be the window controls. Will have dealer look at it when I get them to exterminate the crickets.

rear deck popping - WD40 took care of that

clutch - no issues

AC - no issues

I do understand where you coming from though. Bought a brand new car so I expect a brand new card ride experience. I'm bother by the rattle, crickets and at one point pops but not enought to get rid of the car.

[Sportsguy83]

Originally Posted by SCharged

As some other recent posts, I'm just about ready to put the FR-S behind me. I love the car, the way it drives, the looks, philosophy behind it, equipment, etc.

Sell it and move on. Nothing worse than paying for a car you don't love or pisses you off in any way. Its not like this is a once in a lifetime car a.k.a old skyline, supra, etc.

[CAMBAM_6]

Its crazy how many posts are starting to pop up of people wanting to get rid of there cars because of these same rattling issues...There are 2 FRS' in my driveway everyday one assembled in 2012 and one in 2013 and neither of them have any of these issues except for the well known crickets which doesnt affect the performance of the car its just annoying..lol

**I got only one rattle from door speakers bass being to loud once i turned the bass down that went away completely

[DarkSunrise]

Hope the dealership helps you with your issues. In the end, only you can decide whether this car is right for you. It definitely sounds like you've had your share of problems.

[Steve201brz]

Originally Posted by Calavera

Have the crickets but waiting on new part # fuel pump then will have it replace on warranty.

I can't wait for this fix, I'm so sick of listening to the crickets haha. This is one design flaw I agree with OP on. They should have noticed and fixed this prior to releasing the model.
I wish there was a more efficient quality control program for car manufacturers but it's almost impossible to have perfect product realization. These issues suck, I agree, but I simply look at it as, "hey, atleast you have a new car to complain about, right?"
I think if the dealership is doing awful jobs that don't actually fix the problem you should look into another dealership. I'm currently going this myself...my dealership actually lied to my face and said they fixed and did what I had asked them too. I feel your frustration

EDIT: Rattling in the doors from music can be fixed with Dynomat. They use thin plastic panels that vibrate from the bass, at least that's what I assume. Haven't done this myself yet but it's worked on other cars

[Kelbyat07]

I'm sorry to hear that. I am very satisfied with mine, I hope you get everything situated.

[wbradley]

I agree with Sportsguy83.

Received my FR-S in April '12. Been through 3 tail lights, have crickets like crazy. Otherwise no other issues I can think of.

The crickets might not really be considered a malfunction. That is unless the fuel pump fails later as a result.

This is a quirky car made for the most part for enthusiasts. If the flaws you are experiencing have ruined your enthusiasm unfortunately I say let it go. Fortunately, I haven't felt that way at all.

I only wish I had waited to snatch up a bargain from someone like yourself.

I hope this isn't your first new car. These type of cars (lightweight, performance oriented) are more likely to have rattles and squeaks. Some people put insanely high expectations on the flawlesness of a new car.

[strat61caster]

Different people are sensitive to different things, I bet the OP would sit in my car and say "how can you stand this?" while I would sit in his and say "sounds good to me!".

Best of luck OP, hope you're happy with whatever automotive decisions you make.

[DAEMANO]

Running down your list, and I haven't seen nearly any of these issues. Although when a few did creep up, I would remind myself that this is a sports car designed to be lightweight in its' 1st generation and not an overweight GT, family-camry, or 5th gen car. IMO Chasing down rattles & pops with some CLD tiles and silicone is a lot cheaper than trading in the car, but if you needed a 3400 lb car instead of a 2700 lb car then like many have mentioned, you're probably better off moving on.

-Rough idle, bogging and stalling.
Nope
-Crickets, fixed once, came back within 100km.
Crickets, I got em' - will wait for mfg to fix
-various rattles
Window switch area - easy to fix, see the DIY on the board
-rear deck popping
Nope - my buddies BRZ has it, but not on my FRS
-clutch throwout bearing noise (I think that's what it is)
Nope - first I've heard of this, take the car to the dealer
-AC issues.
Nope - but the AC does shut off (purposefully) at WOT is that what you're referring to?

[KevinBRZ]

Randomly my car drops to 400-500 rpm for a second then goes back up while idling, but it's rare and the same thing happened with my Honda.

One day I started driving and heard some rattling coming from the back and I thought I had the rear deck issue. Turns out the rear seat just had not been pushed back in all the way and it popped out of the lock and was banging when I hit bumps.

I get a noise from the transmission when it's idling and I put it into first. Sounds like a drop, not really sure how else to explain it. I thought that was normal for this car based on what I read. I'm not sure if that is the sound you are referring to.