Valve spring recall - advice please
 

Afternoon all, new member with a question if I may.

I’m in the market for an 86/BRZ and have done quite a bit of research re the valve spring recall as a car I’m keen to purchase has had it done.

Reading all the posts it sounds like people have had some horrific experiences. Mostly within quite quick succession of the recall work being carried out.

This car had the recall done in 2019, but has barely been driven since (owned by a little old lady believe it or not). My concern is that if anything happens after purchase it is likely too far down the track to go back to the dealer (time wise, not km).

My question is: how common are the engine failures after the recall? I couldn’t seem to find a rough percentage. Is it most fail? Half or only a small amount?

I just don’t want to end up with a car that I have to baby and worry about enjoying etc.

Thanks in advance for your advice and I look forward to contributing to this forum once I have one in my garage!!

Ben

I would say most blow up between 1-5k miles after the recall with most within the first 1-2k, now these are not exact numbers but just roughly . I would feel ok buying it if it has 6k post recall miles , doesn’t mean it still can’t have issues ......... again .....these are all rough quotes


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Thanks mate. Yes, it has mostly been garaged since the recall due to ill health, so hardly any ks at all. That was my main concern.

Is there actually a good portion of them that don’t fail post recall, or are the failures pretty common?

The issue can show up later. I’d get a 14 or later. I replaced my engine on my own dime after it went south.

Find out who did the recall work. Problems with Frs and 86 warranty work done by Toyota techs seems to be a reoccurring theme. BRZ recalls are done by subaru techs who may be better trained to work on the Subbie engine.

It's only a small amount that have any kind of failure after the recall. Just like reviews on yelp, you hear the most from those that had problems. The ones where everything went normally just carry on with their lives and don't swarm to message boards to post about their factory recall work. That's going to make the problem sound way worse than it really is.

I'd have no problem buying one that's had the work done.

If I had sold you mine 2,000 miles after the recall work in another 1,000 miles you would not be a happy camper.

If I had sold you mine 10k after the work was done you'd still be a happy camper to this day.

Its Russian Roulette

Why risk it? I implore you to walk away. I normally would be more neutral, but these cars are no picnic to glue back together, even without a time limit. The amount of places you can go wrong is nuts.

Looking at my old stuff from when mine was done (and failed twice) there are gouges from screwdriver on flat surfaces, gasket edges that were worn down significantly from overuse of a grinding wheel (because who cares, it's not their car).

I'm biased, but I vote hell no

I'd buy it unless it literally hasn't been driven post recall.

Owners with heavily modded cars with FI will typically not bring it in due to potential dealer incompetence and a big added fee for a small inconvenience to them. That is an unmodded car that had a factory authorized warranty repair. So have thousands of cars. What percentage of them imploded after the repair? Everything gets exaggerated when it comes to online complaints. The suggestion that most engines are a write off after a recall repair is absurd to say the least. There were most likely some failures, and not all dealer service techs are perfect. I've heard stories of wheels falling off cars from the dealer but that wouldn't deter me from getting service at a dealer.

My issue is that mine didn't have a problem the first time until I requested high oil pressure. Idling and driving slowly, it probably would've lasted a lot longer. The very first rip I gave the car is when it couldn't supply flow and pressure.
Second engine didn't last long because I let it drive normal a few times, then gave it the beans. Same thing happened. It was only under high pressure/flow requirements that it started the chain reaction

All my nopes. Damn shame but I would have zero trust.

If it happened to you you'd have a different perspective.

Factory authorized warranty repair means pretty much nothing

It breaks then they try to blame it on something else or they try to fix it again and possibly still F it up. They don't allow enough time for these tech's to do it right. Anyone that buys a post recall 13 knowing of the issue is taking a big chance. Easier to buy a post 13 or a 13 that wasn't on the recall list and not worry about it

No, but I might have a strong opinion bias.

Pedant

Thanks heaps for all your feedback guys. Greatly appreciated.

I’ll confirm with the seller exactly how far it has travelled since recall. My understanding is (due to ill health) it hasn’t been driven much the last few years, so likely a few hundred ks since recall work, which doesn’t bode well.

Will let you know how I go. I’m sure it’s a brilliant car (and is immaculately presented), but not sure whether I want to carry the risk. I also noticed if I drop my requirement for a GTS, I could get a 2017 GT for not much more...

you buy it and every time you drive it you’ll be wondering if it’s gonna blow or not. This is not the way to enjoy a car.

Just pass. It can't be that good of a deal. Complete engine meltdown is too possible and that will be the minimum expense....

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Really appreciate the advice guys. Actually worked out brilliantly timing wise by giving this car a miss. Picked up a 2017 GTS this afternoon for not considerably more.

Stoked!