Need advice concerning engine recall.
 

Hello.

I have a 2013 BRZ Limited I bought new in early 2014, with about 50,000 miles on it.

Because of illness, I haven't been here on the forum in a long time, so I was unaware of the engine valve spring recall until just a few days ago when I read an article about it.

I never received a notice from my dealership nor Subaru about the recall. I didn't know anything was wrong.

I have never had engine problems, so I was upset to hear of the recall - and especially the fact that the engine was worse AFTER the recall work was done.

I would appreciate any information and advice on why the recall was first issued, and whether I should have the recall work done, or if I would be better off not having the work done since I have never had engine problems.

I hate the thought of having a "timebomb" in the engine that could explode on me at any time - but I also hate the idea of my engine being ruined (it's out of warranty) because I had the recall work done.

I'd appreciate any help/advice anyone might have.

Thank you.

engine doesn't become worse, ya just read all the nightmare stories of poor workmanship plus it aint like all the successful folks have posted..

all the info has been posted in all the threads you've come across. here is a small spoon..

at least on this forum thus far, no one has reported their engine blowing up as a direct result of not doing the recall..

Your car my not be affected if you didn’t get the notice. Don’t get it done if you don’t have to. The dealer ruined my car during the recall

BuzzR, welcome back!

The details of the recall can be found at the links in this post from earlier today.

Short version, the valve springs in some Subaru engines were found not to meet engineering specifications and a recall was issued.

The engine in the BRZ has a gasket seal that has to be reapplied very precisely in the process of doing this job. Some mechanics have not done so and that has resulted in a small number of engine failures due to oil starvation. Most were repaired or replaced with no pushback, some were more difficult.

The general thought even for those of us that had successful updates is that if we had to do it over again, we probably would not do it. The recall covers damage if it does fail before.

As said above, check your VIN at at the appropriate site to see if its required.

Dadhawk. Thank you SO much for the info - especially the production dates of the affected cars. I KNOW that my car was produced in November of 2013, so that was after the production dates of the affected cars. So I think I'm okay - very happily. I will check the VIN number, just to be sure, but it looks like I'm in the clear. Thank you and the others SO much for your help. I feel a lot better now. Sincerely, BuzzR

Good for you. It's Russian Roulette when getting the recall done. The bullet was in the chamber when I pulled the recall trigger.

Thanks Tommy. I'm sorry you had so much trouble. That's what I was afraid of happening to me. I got lucky. I thank you and everybody for helping me out. My mind's at rest now.

Yup me too and after it was fired the bullet went straight to plugging up some oil passages and wrecking my engine.

Well, in the big picture it worked out. I had a new incredible motor built by one of if not THE best people when it comes to the FA20. Total confidence now when I'm on the track as I have to drive there and the piece of mind was worth the money.

Any engine is a ticking time bomb. Getting the recall done or not is not Russian roulette. It is risk management. Are the odds of the engine having issues greater with the poor quality valve springs, or having Joe mechanic put your engine back together. With the valve spring issue your odds are fixed. With getting the recall done you can affect your odds. If you just drop it off and let them run with it they may put new guy on it. in that case you would be better off not having it done. I would be a Helicopter owner and ask who is doing the work, how many has he done, ask to talk with the technician doing the work, try to get a personal connection with the technician so he knows who's car he is working on, ECT, ECT...... You would be amazed what a couple of dozen doughnuts will do for a group of mechanics. Anyway Hope this helps. I would get the recall done but would have to have confidence in the technician doing the work first.

Nope. Doesn't work like that. When I researched things I thought I found the right place. Sat the service manager down, had the conversation. In the end it didn't end well. These tech's are in a time constraint and taking extra care with the sealant is not in that timeframe. There is a sequence that must be followed and it is time consuming and not part of their program. If you don't track your car there's a good chance that you'll never have an issue however pushing the car a bit and the issue WILL show up.

You can dislike me, but this actually pissed me off. Getting the recall done arguably was the worst decision I've ever made for any car I've ever owned. It not only cost me 2 years of ownership so far without being able to drive it, but now I don't trust it and have lost every modicum of faith I had in my local dealership to begin with.

Who would think that a voluntary recall performed by professionals would possibly destroy the vehicle's engine, and they'd charge the owner for it! Never again will I take a voluntary recall unless it comes with written agreement for inpatient psychiatric therapy and full buy-back guarantee of the vehicle should something go unexpectedly.

Ok, I'm sorry. I'm not mad at YOU, Grady, I'm mad at my hobby and at myself. </tears>

I understand, It has been years since I had a technician at a dealership I trusted. In fact it was back in in 2003 and it was a Saturn dealership. I had an Orange SC2. His name was Cam and I had a strange issue and he worked on my car for days to get it fixed. Was always honest with me and did a lot of extra work I know he did not get paid for to make it right. “Professionals”? Yes. However in all industries, Technicians, Doctors, etc you have the top 10 percent that are good. The next 80 just do the job. The bottom 10 you can not trust. So without a lot of research you have a 10 percent chance of gettin exceptional work.

And yes once you take a hit from the track pipe you are forever screwed!

It does work like that, you did improve your chances of getting a better job. I did not say it will eliminate your chances of issues. My crystal ball has been on back order for over 30 years, Once it comes in I will help everyone here to avoid all of these issues.