FR-S Valve Spring safety recall Ħɞ||
 

January 11th I scheduled my Valve Spring Safety Recall for the following Thursday the 17th with my local Toyota Dealership...I asked if I was the first to have it done at their location and was assured that was not the case. Added two other service items to have the Spark Plugs replaced and a AT fluid flush done while it was there and easy to do...Service rep insisted that they would add a Oil Change and Tire rotation....gratis

I expected a 12hr service...Friday they called at 2pm saying it would not be finished and offered a rental car for the inconvenience.

One week later no word on when my recall service will be finished...First there was an issue with availability of sealant...was told that the recall was 148 pages in the recall...and of course this is a SUBARU issue...now they can't get a CEL off...


I get the feeling mine is the second Boxer engine the tech has ever gotten into...



:sigh:

Well, now, Hypnocracy, that's got to be aggravating - :(

I reckon you don't have any viable options except to let them finish the job and get your car back in running order.

On the brighter side, it's wintertime, so let the loaner car be your winter beater for a spell. Not much fun driving an FR-S on cold, wet, slick roads anyway.

I would imagine they want to get your car back to you just as bad as you want it back.

Now, where did I put that serenity prayer??


humfrz

Yep. Sadly my local Subaru dealer has a 2 month long wait before they can get mine in. Mostly due to replacement parts being back ordered.

So just wait it out it's pretty much the only thing you can do at this point. Just enjoy the free rental.

After Coffee and a bite...going over to the dealership to get the run down of whats up for Day Nine of the Valve Spring Recall debacle...

keep us updated. This is one reason I am very reluctant to take my brz in....the car runs fine now..who knows after the dealership takes it apart.

So...this is what is happening...Valve Spring replacement has been performed...the issue now is the VVT Solenoid...Valve Variable Timing Solenoid was cracked at some point of the recall service and it is now giving a CEL...


Evidently there are no VVT Solenoids to be had on the east coast...Could be today...Monday or February 2nd...here is what is the hold up...


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7jg63RtWqo[/ame]



:rolleyes




And I was right...this is the second Boxer motor this dealership has ever had removed from the body to work on...

You could have called around and asked to see which dealership had the most experience with the boxer. Maybe it would have meant a longer drive, but you might have found someone with a bit more experience.

Sadly...I get the feeling that Toyota dealerships that have cracked open one of these motors are few and far between...which is a testament to the build quality of the motor or lack of people whom feel comfortable turning their car over to one...

Man, do I hear (feel) THAT!


humfrz

Good video!

Hells bells, even I could replace that puppy. Go to a wrecking yard, pull one off a wrecked car, slap it on to your car. :iono:


humfrz

Recalls always seem to go like this. Long wait for parts. I checked with my dealer a couple days ago. Don't have parts for the first one yet.

Changing the valve springs isn't rocket science. Don't think you need to be too concerned about the mechanics experience. He/she has probably worked on lots of engines and when it comes down to it, be it a four cyl, straight 6 or a v8, they all have similar major components with the little bits in different places. Collateral damage (your vvt) sometimes happens on any disassembly . Doesn't mean they are no good at their job.


If I was given a rental while I wait, perfect. They can keep it for a long time while I play with the rental...unless it is a Prius...then I'd be mad...

That was my feelings about it...yeah IF you have taken three or four out of the engine bay and cracked the case you should be doing it quicker....but it aint rocket science..


The Rental is a Nissan Altima...feels like the transmission is full of rubber bands...no excitement when driving it...I saw a 2014 BRZ on their used car lot...it has a salvage title per CARFAX...If this goes beyond Monday I'm going to ask they make that my loaner....

Ya, I would ask for a similarly fun vehicle....ask for a wrx...

Sometimes a call to corporate can do wonders.

Awesome idea...fun fact when I went to find the contact info for Corporate...there is a FAQ they recommend you check first...note the lack of a significant catagory....



LINK

That is because nobody frequently asks questions there. They come here.

Well now, dodj , 50 years ago, I would have agreed with you.

However, now, I'm not so sure that automobile technicians are, by training and/or experience, automobile mechanics
.

Back in the day, it seemed that most all automobile mechanics could diagnose, tear apart, fix and put back together any automobile engine. Didn't matter if it were a flathead or an OHV engine.

I get the feeling that these days, most automobile technicians, just know how to replace parts on the outside of the engine.

However, IF I do decide to take my "on the recall list" FR-S in for valve springs replacement, I hope the "technician" is also a "mechanic".


:popcorn:


humfrz

You may be right humfrz, they may not be 'mechanics', but valve springs? A spring, a keeper and a valve stem. What could possibly go wrong? Timing the chain? I can do that....you probably can to. They probably even give them a 'special' tool to do the job...lol

:lol: no doubt they will have at least one "special tool".

It's not so much actually replacing the valve springs themselves that bothers me - it's the disassembling and reassembling a lot of the engine that bothers me.

They don't use gaskets anymore, they just glue stuff back together - :mad0259:

What could go wrong? I suggest you read over the procedure they will use and then you tell me - ;)


humfrz

Ten business days later...I have my FR-S back...Was out of town so the wife had to go pick it up...and drop off teh rental...

I think you and I are the only two people on this forum that understand that this is not rocket science and techs that work with engines all day every day can manage the task. Will the occasional screw up happen? Sure but the odds are in your favour that they won't. Any 13 year old with reading skills and a set of tools could do this job much less some trained and expereiced techs.

OK so now we will hear the usual round of "but they don't care", "they are rushed to much" or "They don't know THESE engines" from a bunch of guys that pull their own cars apart in the driveway using beat to hell old tools but figure they never screw up anything.

Well, now @Tcoat , that's just not fair, @Ultramaroon and @Sapphireho try real hard - :iono:


humfrz

So, any oil on the garage floor ??

humfrz

If my car was in the recall i wouldn't hesitate for a second to take it in and get it done.

There is talk about a small group getting together that aren't affected by the valve spring recall and have a place where we can talk about things.
The thing is you aren't supposed to talk about it, so I'm not sure where we meet?

Well I haven/t been to Florida yet....

Those aren't the guys I was talking about. More the ones that 6 months ago were asking where the fuse block is located.

WAIT

THIS

I am talking about this kind of guy

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132647

You can add me to the list. I had no issue having mine done. Free refreshed parts, its all good with me.

The instructions for this recall are more detailed than the original BRZ/FRS manual. It has details on the few vague areas that the original manual has. They also provided a new special tool which would eliminate issues with messing up the packing on the timing cover. But it sounds like they need to add "be careful when handling the timing cover for risk of cracking the OCV connectors". This is the second report on the forum where someone had a messed up OCV after the recall. The OCVs stick way out on all 4 corners so they are incredibly vulnerable.

That's reassuring.

That would be the least of my worries.


humfrz

I am curious if there is much communication back to Toyota/Subaru on common problems that have come up after doing this job.

I still want to know what is "wrong" with the "defective" valve springs?

* are they or do they just get weak?

* do they break, but stay in place?

* do they break and separate?

* do they break and allow the valve stem slip off the retainer?

* other?


humfrz

Let's make a pact. Neither one of us will have the recall work done and if our car fails, we'll immediately let the other one know what happened.

Like you, I'm hesitant. So far my FR-S has been rock solid. I've never done anything to it besides oil changes.

I'm spooked by a co-worker's experience with his WRX. He had an engine replaced (dealership forgot to put oil back in after an oil change, d'oh!) and it never was right again. He had all sorts of problems, mostly electrical, over the next year and eventually traded it off.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Ya, I hear ya.

Maybe we could start a thread. People would sign up that have recalled twins and have NOT had the work done, nor plan on having it done. If and when their twin quits running because a valve spring failed , they would check in.


:iono:


humfrz

Well when I did my rebuild I did a compression test while the engine was still out but only turning by hand and one was way down due to an intake valve leaking. Dropped a little oil down on the valve and it was still leaking. Removed the plug and put compressed air in there in an attempt to seal it better and it came up a lot. I then turned it over a bunch of times and although it was still a little low I wasn’t as concerned. I wanted to do another compression test after getting it back in the car and putting some miles on it but it’s such a bitch to get in there I just haven’t bothered. But after seeing this recall I almost wonder if the leaky valve was due to a weak spring.

I need to get in there and do another compression test before I do the recall and then another after.

My car was at the dealer for all of December 2016 for this issue, it’s interesting to see it as a recall now. May have to look around for the repair slip sometime.

If you mean the valve spring issue then they will have it on record. If you were out of pocket for any expenses you may be able to claim them. Otherwise you just beat the rush.

They break. What happens after that could be extremely variable depending on the circumstances at the time they break.
Best case you "run" on three cylinders.
Worst case you jam a valve someplace it don't belong and snap a rod or punch a hole in the head.

Something I found interesting in the repair docs is they point out that there is not only piston to valve interference on this engine but also valve to valve interference. Seems inevitable that a spring breaking on this engine will not end well.

Or it was "adjusted" (bucketed) too tight - :iono:


humfrz