Engine failure - 38,000 miles

[Akari]

Care to share a bit more info?

When you pulled over, or before your tow, what did your coolant and oil look like?

Was it making this noise while idling or only while moving?

Seems a bit premature to say you need a new engine when you shut it down because you heard something rattling somewhere in the car.

[zohare]

Originally Posted by Mr 286

Add mine to the list of engine failures.
Here are my specs for those curious:

2013 FR-S 6MT
38,000 miles all scheduled maintenance performed
USDM TRD Exhaust
Completely stock otherwise
Original brakes and tires ~25% life remaining
Daily driven, no racing

Warranty issues serviced:
Replaced fuel pump for cricket noise (didn't resolve issue)
Replaced both tail lamp assemblies for water leaks (leaked again anyway lol)
Retorque loose rear axle nut for clank sound during accel/decel

One accident - pickup truck backed into it
$14,000 in parts/labor. Non mechanical
99% cosmetic aside from new fuse block and complete engine harness

So the story is, I was cruising around 45 mph, heard a light rattle from the engine compartment. Pulled over to inspect with my flashlight. Didn't see anything out of place. Pulled away slowly, rattling got more harsh followed by a squeak and car hesitated. Shut down engine and coasted to side of the road. Towed to dealer. Now I'm waiting for word from Toyota next week about going forward with an engine replacement.

In the meantime, back to driving my 22 year old MR2 Turbo still running strong with the original engine lol

$5 says Bearing failure. Mine just happened again at 26k, last one was at 18k. We need to track all of these so that when they keep trying to blame oil we can make sure Subaru pays and gets it right...

[Mr 286]

Originally Posted by Akari

Care to share a bit more info?



When you pulled over, or before your tow, what did your coolant and oil look like?



Was it making this noise while idling or only while moving?



Seems a bit premature to say you need a new engine when you shut it down because you heard something rattling somewhere in the car.

Oil and coolant were tip top. I did complain before to the dealer that there was some wet oil on top of the splash guard that I noticed when looking down on the engine between the last service interval. They checked it out and said it was spillage from the last oil change. Not a leak. I've built several cars over the years and luckily suffered only a couple engine failures. This one sounds like a bearing or rod is about to go so I'm pretty sure it's damage that can only be recovered by sending the motor to a machine shop or replacing the engine. Dealer called me today and they're removing the motor to look for metal in the oil pan.


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[Mr 286]

Originally Posted by zohare

$5 says Bearing failure. Mine just happened again at 26k, last one was at 18k. We need to track all of these so that when they keep trying to blame oil we can make sure Subaru pays and gets it right...

Yeah my bet was on bearing failure as well. I'll keep you guys posted.


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[N1rve]

Originally Posted by Mr 286

Thanks for the info. I thought I read somewhere on Scion's website that the car came with a 25,000 mile warranty. That might have been a maintenance warranty instead.


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25000 is the free maintenance

[Mr 286]

Originally Posted by Monogram

Do you actually read what people post, or are you so busy being defensive that you fail to comprehend?

I have yet to see a verifiable engine failure where extenuating circumstances are not involved.

My comprehension is just fine (and I don't need to waive either of my college degrees around to prove that by the way). I'm not being defensive.

I was only providing more details about the damages that occurred in my accident to give you some better data to form your opinion. Since you state that you have 21 years of experience and an associates degree in automotive technology I figured you would be able to use the info to better determine whether the accident last year was a possible cause of the eventual engine failure.

Guys, really. Chill out. At the end of the day it's just a car. If this doesn't work out well I'm fortunate to be able to purchase a number of other great sports cars. I only posted this in the first place to keep the community informed of potential issues with the platform since it is still very new. I don't need to get into heated debates about what caused this, or when the best time to shut down your engine and tow your car is.

[Stierzy34]

To add to the list, with no specific details, there is a 13 BRZ at a local dealership with 38,000 miles. When I asked about it, they said it needed to go into the shop because of significant engine problems.

Kind of weird that the 40k mark is seeing some problems.

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by evan

The motor is fine. There are flukes in any mass produced object. People would be surprised at how many iPhones Apple "swaps" under warranty. Yet, the phones are held in the highest regard in terms of build quality.

Same with iMacs. When I got my iMac in '08, it wasn't right from the get-go. Turned out to be a faulty mobo (they called it a "logic board"). Replaced entire computer under warranty.

[Annahra]

Originally Posted by Stierzy34

To add to the list, with no specific details, there is a 13 BRZ at a local dealership with 38,000 miles. When I asked about it, they said it needed to go into the shop because of significant engine problems.

Kind of weird that the 40k mark is seeing some problems.

Lou Fusz Subaru in St. Peters? That's my first BRZ. Still waiting for them to get an engine in it so they can pull my winter tires. Weird cause I've called a few times on days I was off to see if I could pick up the tires and they keep saying they don't have the engine back in it, but they keep dropping the internet price (down to $22.3K now and they gave me $21K on the trade). They've had it for maybe six weeks.

Curious what they told you about it.

[Stierzy34]

Originally Posted by Annahra

Lou Fusz Subaru in St. Peters? That's my first BRZ. Still waiting for them to get an engine in it so they can pull my winter tires. Weird cause I've called a few times on days I was off to see if I could pick up the tires and they keep saying they don't have the engine back in it, but they keep dropping the internet price (down to $22.3K now and they gave me $21K on the trade). They've had it for maybe six weeks.

Curious what they told you about it.

Ha interesting. Small world. That's all they have told me unfortunately. Just that they haven't even had it in to pull the motor.

[Annahra]

Originally Posted by Stierzy34

Ha interesting. Small world. That's all they have told me unfortunately. Just that they haven't even had it in to pull the motor.

They've had the motor out since March.

I know for a fact because I saw the empty engine bay when I cleaned it out to trade it in.

Good guys for the most part, though. I've really enjoyed working with them.

[Dmitri]

55mph, 6th gear, slight rattle turned to lound clanking in 15 seconds, fresh oil, less than 1k. 20k on the car, 10k with fi. Spun bearing on cylinder 3, blown di seals on 2 cylinders. Having to replace an engine in a 1 year old car out of pocket lol. Guess that's the price you pay as an early adopter.

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by Dmitri

55mph, 6th gear, slight rattle turned to lound clanking in 15 seconds, fresh oil, less than 1k. 20k on the car, 10k with fi. Spun bearing on cylinder 3, blown di seals on 2 cylinders. Having to replace an engine in a 1 year old car out of pocket lol. Guess that's the price you pay as an early adopter.

Ah, so they claimed that your FI setup killed the engine?

[tennisfreak]

In to hear the dealer diagnosis.