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Dealer has had FRS in shop for 3 weeks for engine rebuild, advice?
Three weeks ago I had sudden loss of power while canyon driving my 6 speed '13 FRS and the check engine and VSC lights came on. Luckily I'm still under warranty but they've been tooling around with my car for more than 3 weeks.
First they suspected it was the VVTi gear so they replaced it and it made the power issue worse. Then they sent the engine to a machine shop where they rebuilt the heads and basically reconstructed the upper half of the engine. Toyota put the engine back Tuesday but now they're hearing an unknown noise so they're taking the engine out again. No word on whether the power issue is even resolved. Anyone been in a similar situation? I'm concerned that the techs might not be in their element and my engine might never perform the same, along with potential resale devaluation due to a partially rebuilt engine. Also I just want my car back. No engine mods, never tracked. Thoughts? |
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Too bad your car is not running right. So, if all this work is warranty work, I reckon your choices are limited. Sort of like the old joke about what to do when a pit bull starts humping on your leg ........ let em finish .....:eyebulge: I hope they get it sorted out and get you back on the road soon ......:thumbsup: humfrz |
Remember your car is not the only one they have to work on. They also will need to wait for parts (no dealer has them all on a shelf). Even worse when they are chasing an issue that they can not find.
Pain the ass but like Hum said there is not much you can do but let the pit bull finish. Hmmmm not sure I should have mixed those metaphors. |
Seems like it took about three weeks for mine to come back. They had to take it out and tear it down first to find out what happened and see if anything was salvageable. Then they couldn't source a crate motor and had to order the parts to build one for me. Mine was a fairly straight-forward "yes it's fucked and will need to be replaced" and still took three weeks, so it's not surprising to me that yours is taking longer if they're having to chase down a problem that isn't as obvious as mine was.
Once they get it running right, I doubt the work will affect the value significantly. This isn't an expensive car in the first place, so there's not a lot of value to diminish. Besides, when you go to sell it, you'll be competing against a bunch of cars that have been modded anyway, so a little warranty work isn't going to matter. I understand what you're thinking, however. When mine went, I was telling my dad about it and wondered aloud whether it would make a difference in the value. He said, "If anything it'll make it more desirable. It's got a brand new engine in it." |
Thanks for the feedback guys. At this point it's been about 5 weeks and they're still tooling around with my engine. After rebuilding the heads and re-inserting the engine, there's still an unknown engine noise and no word on whether the power issue is fixed.
Do I have any grounds to ask that they swap the engine out for a new one? Thanks. |
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Well, you can ask them ...... they may decide to give up and do that anyway .... :iono: humfrz |
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This morning I escalated the issue to Toyota customer service. It'll take them a few days to call me back regarding the issue. Tomorrow I'll try to give a convincing argument to my service advisor for a full engine replacement.
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If it's under warranty they have to get it right. Mine took two tries. Eventually was carried to another dealer which had a knowledgeable tech. I think most ham fists have problems with cam timing.
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Today the dealer told me they received permission to replace the engine block, which they received today. ETA Friday, so fingers crossed. Given that they already replaced the heads, I'm apparently getting a brand new engine.
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Yesterday (5/3) I received a call from my service advisor that they had installed the new engine, and the same error codes/power issues are still occurring, so back at square one. They're now exploring the possibility of replacing the fuel lines/filter and other peripheral parts (as per instructions from Toyota).
He was super apologetic. It's definitely a frustrating situation -- not sure what recourse I have at this point... |
:(:cry:
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THAT is a prime example of "throwing parts at a problem" till it's fixed.....:sigh: However, it ain't fixed ....... so, more "parts" ......?? It sure seems to me that now days, the more self diagnostic tools the engine has ....... the more elusive the solution is. What ever happened to just figuring out what the problem is (if there is one) ..?? Let's start ..... it's an internal combustion gasoline engine. It needs ...... fuel, air, compression and spark to run. So, what is missing or not delivered properly ......?? Now, back-in-the-day ......... oh, never mind ...... :mad0259: humfrz |
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However, I imagine that before I quit "driving" (or at least riding in cars), most of the cars will be "self driving". So, I take my new self driving machine back to the dealer because it keeps trying to pull off the road and trying to run into trees. The tech says ....... OK, lets switch a couple of numbers in the line of code of the car's self driving computer and then you can take it out and see if that "fixes" it. :eyebulge: humfrz |
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Heck, I figure that by then, my driving career will have come full circle and I'll be back on a small, off road vehicle ..... this time electric .... not gas ......:thumbsup: humfrz |
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Won't hear back for 30 days, but I heard elsewhere that Toyota will only buy your car back if it's fairly new and after 3 separate repair attempts. Not sure about lemon law rules or it's applicability to my situation. |
This is at least two strikes gone.
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That’s what I’m goin through right now. Mine has a CEL and Toyota says they can’t fix it. So I’m making them buy it back and give me another one. Mine is a 2017. Doesn’t even have 3500 miles on it yet. |
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It seems like it’s been more than 3 attempts. They already pretty much put a new block and heads. Vvti gears as well. What’s left? Cams, intake, exhaust, ECM? Did Toyota tell you what u heard about the 3 repair attempts and the age of the car. And also is this a daily driven car? Are u in a rental? |
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Service advisors don’t know whether or not Toyota will buy the car back. U mentioned earlier that you already spoke to customer service and started the buy back. Has Toyota said anything about that? |
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A vehicle is a “lemon” if the following
criteria are met within 18 months of delivery to the buyer or lessee or 18,000 miles on the vehicle’s odometer, whichever comes first: 1 The manufacturer or its agents have made two or more attempts to repair a warranty problem that results in a condition that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the vehicle is driven; 2 The manufacturer or its agents have made four or more attempts to repair the same warranty problem; or 3 The vehicle has been out of service for more than 30 days (not necessarily all at the same time) while being repaired for any number of warranty problems; or 4 The problems are covered by the warranty, substantially reduce the vehicle’s use, value, or safety to the consumer and are not caused by abuse of the vehicle; 5 If required by the warranty materials or by the owner’s manual, the consumer has to directly notify the manufacturer about the problem(s), preferably in writing. The notice must be sent to the address shown in the warranty or owner’s manual (for bullets 1 and 2). Quote:
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Has it been in the shop for more than 30 days total with this problem and can #4 below be proven. On the downside, be prepared to rebutt Toyota's claim that the vehicle was abused. They tore apart the engine, I'm sure they took pictures of things that might be prima facie evidence of abuse, in their expert opinion. You won't know this (unless they are stupid and tell you) until discovery, and at that point, you have a the right to find a better expert than toyota to rebutt the expert opinion of toyota in court, either by fact, bias, or other means to make the expert look less credible. Now that everything is going the way of arbitration, their may be more loose or strict discovery rules. In no way that the statement above encompasses legal advice, opinions, etc. Using the information above at your own risk. Your best bet is to consult an attorney that is an expert on California lemon laws. Be sure you bring everything with you (receipts, notes of conversations, phone calls, etc). Once you talk to your attorney, if he tells you that your case is not good, then try to work with toyota on an amicable solution. You might also look for a federal Lemon law attorney (someone that is allowed to practice in federal court) as the federal lemon laws are more vague. You might also want to chat with your attorney about the nuisance of filing this as a state lemon law or federal lemon law court/arbitration case and the advantages/disadvantages. This would depend of course on the sales contract for the car and what you agreed to as dispute resolution and venue. Another thought is, you can be extremely nice and explain to them that you love Toyota and that you (and possibly wife/girlfriend/kids) will be loyal Toyota customers for XX years to come and the small amount they will spend on getting your compensated in infinitesimally small compared to the gross amount you (your gf/wife/kids) will spend on purchasing new Toyotas, etc etc etc. I tried this approach with Mitsubishi when something was out of warranty and corporate paid for the work to be done out of warranty. |
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Ok. Well at worst if they don’t buy it back then they have to fix it I would think. |
Got my car back today (5/10). They said the main issue was the VVTI gear but they dealt with a myriad of other issues along the way. It ran fine for the first 20 miles. Was cruising tonight (under 4k since it's a new engine) and started hearing intense knocking, followed by the battery light, then the EXACT same issue again! Check engine light, vsc light, loss of power, but this time with knocking and smoking.
Car is sitting in my driveway undriveable. Tomorrow will call corporate and dealer to further investigate the buyback process, which I started last week. No way I'm leaving my car at the dealer again after they spent 41 days working on it for the same issue to reoccur to a worse degree. Smoke - https://i.imgur.com/eGQcksR.mp4 My twin - https://i.imgur.com/si6WhTW.jpg |
Well, DARN, what an aggravation ........:sigh:
I think it's time for you to get a different car ...... that one is jinxed ......:cry: humfrz |
Seems to be a broken accessory belt, which will be installed tomorrow, will post updates. In another rental for now.
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Wow [emoji50] are you serious?!!! Now it’s knocking and smoking damn!! What the hell did they do?! I thought I was in a bad situation. I feel for you brotha.
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I got my car back yesterday after the accessory belt was replaced. When I pulled up to my driveway the car was steaming again (engine wasn't overheating though) and oil was all over the engine bay. Took it back to the dealership today and it's definitely not coolant burning off. They're stumped. Back in a rental (my third rental) and on day 48.
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Burn the thing to the ground (the car not the dealer). https://media1.giphy.com/media/3o7bu...9mBa/giphy.gif |
Honestly sounds like the dealer techs don't know what they're doing... Have you asked Toyota corporate about alternative repair facilities?
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I was thinking that same thing. Those guys at that don’t know what they’re doing. |
Got car back yesterday. They couldn't diagnose any issues, they just ran a thorough diagnostic test and cleaned the engine bay of oil. Obviously it was only a matter of time before the issue reappeared. Today the check engine light turned on along with a very loud ticking noise from engine (belt issue again?). I am definitely not taking it back to a dealership. I have an open buy back case with Toyota and am keeping corporate informed.
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