towed at 717miles CEL severe shaking (apparently a huge issue)

[gdi2290]

waiting for tow atm.
the car started to shake at each red light each time more viscous.
I'll update when i find out what's up
seems to be leaking something

Update: I uploaded the Service Bulletin they're going to use for my BRZ and parts are on order

More about this issue
Unofficial - CEL/SL/Idle Issue List for FR-S/BRZ Owners
Car at dealership, decided to give them the laundry list..
First Drive - CEL - Cam Sprocket Fix
Check engine light just came on after 2k miles.
CEL and SL on -My experience so far
Cel issue
Idle issue?
First Check Engine Light and Traction control

Towing guy bent my front bumper luckily I recorded it

CEL first 717miles in BRZ limited - YouTube

Originally Posted by primo

I received a phone call from Santa Monica Subaru on Friday, 8/17/12, informing me that my BRZ had arrived! Super excited, I signed all the dotted lines and drove away from the dealership. I live about 30 miles away and at some point while driving after showing my family the car, the check engine light and traction light came on. Started her up Saturday morning and everything seemed to be okay, but I took it to the dealer anyway just to be sure.

A diagnostic was performed and the mechanic told me that there was a problem with the ignition timing. I'm not sure if anything was done at that point to my car, but they sent me on my way and told me to come back if the lights came on again.

I drove around for about 100 miles on Saturday and at times my car just did not feel right. Shaky engine which shook the whole car, rpm fluctuations while idling, slow acceleration from first gear. But no return of the check engine light.

Well, Sunday I went for a drive around Torrance Beach and the check engine light came on. I parked my car, snapped a few pictures for memorial purposes, because I was upset and started to believe the past 2 years I spent following the production of this car, + the 5 months waiting after pre-ordering the car were all in vain.

I was able to get my car back to the dealer on Tuesday and pretty much told them I didn't want to see her until she's fixed. I felt bad for abandoning her but I had no choice. I'm no car scientist.

Yesterday I got a call from Dan, a Subaru tech at the dealer, who told me that Subaru had released a fix for this problem that my car and another BRZ that had recently rolled back in on a tow truck... belonging to another forum member, Hammer. The fix includes the addition of a cam sprocket. I looked it up on the internet but I won't claim to understand what it is exactly, only that it is supposed to fix and/or aid the engine timing. Does anyone know if this is a major fix? It doesn't sound very complicated but it's still worrisome.

I'm hoping that this fix is not some sort of trial and error experiment, but only time will tell. I'm happy at least that I went ahead and purchased the 100k warranty through my credit union.

My car was born 06/12, last 4 digits of the vin are 2739. Good luck to all the others in the same situation. (side note: when I dropped my car off on Tuesday another guy was in the process of buying the red car in the picture below. I don't know if his car will have the same problem as mine but I think it arrived the same day mine did. I didn't have the heart to tell him and rain on his happy day. Sorry dude if you're a member here.)

Pardon the narrative but I just needed to vent my situation. I rode a bike in college and borrowed a parents car for the past couple years waiting for this to be my first car. And I'm driving a crappy rental right now.

Originally Posted by Hotlava86

yeah this is a huge issue. BRZ owners aren't noticing it much because there aren't as many BRZ's on the road. What is happening is, there is an Actuator in the timing setup or VVTi (variable valve timing (intelligent)) and well over 30% of the actuators made are faulty. they are failing to advance or retard the timing of the car properly to allow the car proper acceleration and cause RPM fluctuations like you were noticing. Toyota is actually rebuilding the entire top half of some customers engines because the problem is so severe, HOWEVER they are NOT informing their customers of this. I am good friends with my technician at Toyota and he said that he had done the job twice now, and that over 200 FR-S have already been repaired for the issue and about 20 of those are already showing signs or problems again....Sorry man it really sucks first year woes are always the hardest just remember warranty warranty warranty! they will get it right soon

[StarsGarrador]

=(

[earthsscum]

looks like water were you running ac, could just be condensate... won't explain the hesitation though hopefully nothing major good luck

[gdi2290]

Originally Posted by earthsscum

looks like water were you running ac, could just be condensate... won't explain the hesitation though hopefully nothing major good luck

Yeah that's what I figured it was too. I didnt run ac too long i actually had it off most on the time. I turned it on for a minute or two before the engine light turned on. I took pics just in case

[ngabdala]

Umm the picture you have of the tachometer and speedometer with the check engine light on has all of the lights on meaning the picture was taken right when the car was started

[White64Goat]

This thread is loaded under the warranty section of the forums.

[Zadkiel]

I know what's wrong.....it's an automatic.

[Sportsguy83]

Originally Posted by ngabdala

Umm the picture you have of the tachometer and speedometer with the check engine light on has all of the lights on meaning the picture was taken right when the car was started

Most probably it was taken with the ignition switch/push button in the "On" position because the revs are zero

[ngabdala]

I get it. He couldn't replicate the CEL when it came time to take the photo. Me so stupid. Anyways it was most likely because he wanted us to see the ODO

[Sportsguy83]

Originally Posted by ngabdala

Anyways it was most likely because he wanted us to see the ODO

That's what I believe.

[gdi2290]

I'm going to update my original post. Apparently this is an issue with our cars and will result in a rebuild of the whole top end of the engine. More reports are showing up for the FR-S merely because there are more of them out there. The Parts are in back-order that's how much it's showing up.

PS: yeah the picture was meant for the ODO since the towing people needed to know it. I figured i might as well take a photo

Originally Posted by Hotlava86

yeah this is a huge issue. BRZ owners aren't noticing it much because there aren't as many BRZ's on the road. What is happening is, there is an Actuator in the timing setup or VVTi (variable valve timing (intelligent)) and well over 30% of the actuators made are faulty. they are failing to advance or retard the timing of the car properly to allow the car proper acceleration and cause RPM fluctuations like you were noticing. Toyota is actually rebuilding the entire top half of some customers engines because the problem is so severe, HOWEVER they are NOT informing their customers of this. I am good friends with my technician at Toyota and he said that he had done the job twice now, and that over 200 FR-S have already been repaired for the issue and about 20 of those are already showing signs or problems again....Sorry man it really sucks first year woes are always the hardest just remember warranty warranty warranty! they will get it right soon

[Hotlava86]

you picked the right quote. If your RPM's were dipping every time you came to an idle then you sir have yet another faulty Timing actuator in your VVTi system. Really sucks seeing this happen so frequently now...

[gdi2290]

Originally Posted by Hotlava86

you picked the right quote. If your RPM's were dipping every time you came to an idle then you sir have yet another faulty Timing actuator in your VVTi system. Really sucks seeing this happen so frequently now...

that's exactly what has been happening :/ 3 weeks in the shop would suck. they weren't able to look at it until tomorrow meanwhile they gave me an Outback which I hate: the brakes go in too deep, smells like cigarettes, it's huge, and, speakers suck. I only found two good points the sound fades when you turn off the car and it's very comfy

[chulooz]

Sorry to hear it man. Lol at the TC comment, let him know whats up!

[gdi2290]

Originally Posted by chulooz

Sorry to hear it man. Lol at the TC comment, let him know whats up!

lol yeah it was a funny comment i think we all (BRZ/FR-S) would agree that our cars shouldn't be compared or mistaken as a tC

[pinoyplaya]

Awe... your car looks soo clean. Also, I think the bumper got damaged when it got loaded and hit that thingy.

[gdi2290]

Originally Posted by pinoyplaya

Awe... your car looks soo clean. Also, I think the bumper got damaged when it got loaded and hit that thingy.

yup I have to report it. all the more reason everyone should record their cars when it's towed

[pinoyplaya]

Originally Posted by gdi2290

yup I have to report it. all the more reason everyone should record their cars when it's towed

Why your car is soo clean... wtf did you do to it lol

[avholic]

Originally Posted by Hotlava86

you picked the right quote. If your RPM's were dipping every time you came to an idle then you sir have yet another faulty Timing actuator in your VVTi system. Really sucks seeing this happen so frequently now...

Does this happen only to manual transmission or even automatics? Mine is manual, ~680 miles. It happened many times but i never got a CEL. I learned how to prevent it by doing slight engine brake when coming to full stop. BTW my vin ends 23xx. Pre 100 miles the engine was really shaky under 2k rpm. Post 100 miles it improved a lot, that i could glide thru traffic jams b/w 2nd and 3rd @1500 rpm like driving an automatic.

I asked the kid tech at subaru who went for brz training. He said the idle issue is normal and behaves that way to lower emission blah blah. If they give me a Kia for loaner when i get my car repaired for this issue, im gonna shove it their a##.

[gdi2290]

Originally Posted by pinoyplaya

Why your car is soo clean... wtf did you do to it lol

lol well i just bought it not too long ago the car definitely grabs a lot of attention I blame the World Rally Blue




the guy next to me joking said "wanna race" when he seen my car. I told him I just bought it and I have a CEL then he was talking about how he had his car for 16 years no problem while I only had mine for 5-6 days. what's up with that

[FT-86GOD]

Good luck dude..... This is why its handy to have tow hooks..... I would have spat the dummy if my lip touched, the dude should have had wooden boards to lay down so the angle was not so steep but im sure at the time this was the least of your worries....

[gdi2290]

Originally Posted by FT-86GOD

Good luck dude..... This is why its handy to have tow hooks..... I would have spat the dummy if my lip touched, the dude should have had wooden boards to lay down so the angle was not so steep but im sure at the time this was the least of your worries....

it didn't accure to me until after I seen it happen. it was a little funny when we got to the dealership he was extra conscious and followed protocol correctly since he knew he fk'd up. I plan on calling up a lot of people tomorrow, so there is no point yelling at him when I can get his Boss to do it for me