Some recent observations..
 

I've had my 2013 FR-S for about 6 weeks now, and have put about 2k miles on it. Recently, I've noticed that it's really breaking in beautifully; the transmission, which was always good, is getting smoother and faster, the engine sounds smooth as silk and roars when asked to, the handling is increasingly predictable and strong. This car, once driven for a while, really improves. Then, of course, I woke up and remembered that I had bought the car USED... someone ELSE had already put 22K on it. All those swell improvements and "breakins" weren't the car changing, they were ME changing and getting used to the way THIS car drives. Duh... and yet, we're all guilty of that. Audiophiles constantly talk of the need to "break in" flippin' cables, much less speakers and amps. What MOSTLY is happening is that the listener is getting used to the equipment's sound and learning to like it. Same thing with this car. Those who complain about overly stiff transmissions, difficulty getting into gears, etc... just give it time. You WILL adapt to the car, and it's a GREAT car. Love it. I'm embarrassed to admit I fell into the trap of ascribing the improvements to the car adapting, rather than me adapting to it.

Secondly.. my first real gripe about the car, and it's a very minor one. On my other recent cars (two MB and a BMW), the seats were adjustable in many planes, including the tilt of the seat itself and not just the recline angle of the seat back. I always adjusted the seat so that, when driving, the seat bottom support my from my tailbone all the way down my thigh. For me (5' 8" and fairly short-legged), this meant that most of my thigh was supported by the seat too, which spread my weight from my butt to me knee almost. This is VERY comfortable over long hauls. On the FR-S, you can't adjust the seat tilt, so even with my legs fairly extended my thighs are still off the seat when I'm on the pedals, putting all of my weight (150 lbs) on my butt. Not a big deal, but I didn't notice this issue until I'd driven for a while. Just sayin'. Maybe in the future a seat that adjusts not only in height and front-to-back, but in tilt too, dear ToyoBaru Developers?

As you were.... pass me another egg nog...

Barry

Good points about the ........ "driver break in period" .........:thumbsup:

Have you considered using a wedge shaped seat cushion ... ??


humfrz

Doesn't the front of the seat adjust up and down?

The driver's seat on my 2013 FR-S will adjust up and down, but the bottom will not tilt......:)


humfrz

What we get in return are seats that are super well bolstered and feel good when they do sit right. I gotta say I love these seats even without tilt adjustment

I also love the seats in these cars. They are the most comfortable of any vehicle I've owned (which have only been SUV's, except a short stint in a not so great domestic sub-compact). The biggest surprise was that they fit me just fine at 6'5" and a lot of weight :lol:

I like to move the seat up as far as possible so that I'm one with the car. It's a better driving experience and gives you +32 enthusiasm points... Not sure if that's a big deal for you, but it's a big deal for me since I'm 15 EP away from leveling up to Level 3 and earning the de-badge skill.

Always awesome to hear another person having a good time with their FR-S/BRZ, I too have also noticed the gearbox to be quite notchy going from 1st to 2nd but that's pretty much what everyone says, but after driving for a little while that baby becomes as smooth as silk. Have you gone on any long driving sessions/trips? 4+ hours?

No, because I like everything else about the seats and I'm afraid to lose some of the bolster-ed in/cradled feel of the seat by adding something to it. Maybe I'll try it.. thanks for the push.

No, the seat as a whole will adjust up or down, but not the tilt.

I think the difference in height between the two of us is a big factor. Since you undoubtedly have your seat back farther than I do, the angle between the front of your seat bottom to the pedals is less so your legs are straighter than mine are, probably resting on the seat as I wish mine were.

Three 5+ hour jaunts so far, and very enjoyable. I do like the secure, cradled comfort that everyone else mentions of these seats, don't get me wrong, but I feel more weight on my tailbone than I did/do in my other aforementioned cars. Since the seats really don't encourage a lot of shifting around in your seat, there's really no way to change your load-bearing contact points (say, shifting from one cheek to another, or slouching a bit for a minute or two, or sitting more upright.. all things that help keep circulation moving on long trips). When doing long hauls (I've done over 20 hours non-stop except for gas and a quick bathroom break or two on many occasionas), these little in-seat exercises are life savers. Changing the seat position and angle occasionally during a very long drive helps too. With this car, for me anyway, I have to set the ideal driving location and stick with it. Like I said, it IS very comfortable, but there's only ONE comfortable "setting." I wish I could vary it more. As others have mentioned in other posts, I LOVE how well the car is laid out; you can reach every control almost without taking your hand off the shifter or the steering wheel. Beautiful.

Barry

Put a spacer under where the front of the seat attaches. That'll lift the front. Might compromise safety. I suppose you could have a wedge spacer machined if you wanted it all shiny and nice instead of washers

When I first start it the 1 to 2nd gears are a bit stiff due to the fluid being a bit cold but once temp gauge goes up a bit it's all good. I noticed that a small rev when changing gears minimizes that.

I had the pleasure of driving someone else's BMW 113i for a few hours, and it's a good car.
I could not own one though, because with all its seat adjustments I could not find a comfortable position.
I've had this problem in a lot of cars over the years.
Only brand I trust to always make seats I can occupy for 8+ hrs without back pains etc is Mercedes.

- So imagine my surprise when I drop into the GT86 demo car and discovers that the seat fits me perfectly, with no comfort adjustment at all!

I have seat and steering wheel set according to the Porsche method.
Highly recommended, watch video below.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72qpgA7Cr_4[/ame]

I've also adjusted my seat to this video.

When I was buying, I test drove the MT and at first I didn't like the gearbox, but then by the time I was back on the street the dealership was on, I was very happy with it, and found some of the more common "quirks" about it.

Ended up buying the AT (long story about a girl who is no longer part of my life) and I'm still finding I have to modify my driving habits to get the most of it. Though, I think the AT has more quirks than the MT at this point, until Toyota Canada decides to introduce that stupid TSB for the AT that all the 'Mericans get.

I'm not sure what this TSB or whatnot is but can't you just import it and swap it in?

It's a TCM reflash

So for ECU? Swap ecu, or get it tuned right?

No, it's separate from the ECU

Shitty

You're referring to the hard downshift issue? I've never had that. Or any other problems. Haven't even heard any crickets!
My dealer here in Norway says there are no and have never been any TSB's and my car ('13 GT86 A/T) has all the latest software.
And since I have no technical or software problems whatsoever, apart from a minor issue with the satnav (was fixed), I don't feel entitled to complain...
So I don't know. There's something weird going on, for sure. :iono:

From what I've seen, it's all 2015+ who have the issue. My pal, @drewbot has a '13 (I think) AT and he's never had the problem, like yourself.

It's very weird, and sometimes it doesn't happen at all, even when switching from D to M and back again. But the other day, I was driving along, in M and my downshifts were fine. All of a sudden, my stereo stopped playing over USB, I approached a stop light and then I got the hard/rear wheel locking downshift. Weirdest thing ever.

The guys on here who have the TSB done say it fixed their problems. Maybe there was a slight change to the TCM logic for '15 and on, but that also seems weird.

I suggest everyone put their tin-foils hats on and dig up any inconsistencies they find from Toyota and Subaru for differences across model years.

When I first noticed it happening, it made me very mad that my brand new car was having this problem, and none of the techs at my dealership are well-versed enough in the FRS to know how the tranny should behave. Plus the service manager is very, very keen on not helping me out with this problem, so I've just decided to live with it and dump the car as soon as trade-in value can pay off the remainder of my finance.

Aha, that 2015+ thing has eluded my notice, thanks!

Your experience there sounds like an electrical problem in the car, affecting both systems? Something like a voltage surge, perhaps?
I mean, the stereo has nothing to do with the TCM.

Could be, or the stereo thing could have just been an isolated incident. I don't have the patience to chase electrical gremlins, my service manager has told me to go fuck myself and I'm over the car for the transmission woes I'm having. What a wonderful scion experience.

This. Use some washers until you get it where you want it.

Yes, but keep in mind that, if you put very many washers under there, you may need longer bolts ...... but, you figured that ....... ;)


humfrz

I literally had the hard downshift at 400 miles of owning the car and was so damn angry because the service attendants and manager all said it was "normal" even though the mechanic said it wasn't. It was the most aggravating thing instead of them actually trying to contact someone else higher up to get some help for it they just said it was normal. Then the TSB comes out, I print it out and they say oh I guess Toyota figured it out :mad0260: so I go on tech-stream and upload it for the forum and everyone else with the same damn ridiculous TCM problem. The problem is the logic doesn't communicate properly so they update the software in the TCM from AQF5DC70 to AQF5DCB0. Personally, it feels completely better now the shifts in manual mode are slightly quicker, and in drive it's smoother, not only that the low/weird idle is completely gone and no more failure to rev match. I hope canada gets it soon.

At this point for me now, it's slightly less the fact that it's happening, but more about the service I've been provided. The tech who went on a test drive with me said something to the tune of "well, it's normal, plus you can't downshift a manual into first above 15, so that's why it's happening on your auto" the conversation then quickly devolved when he struck my last nerve and I straight up said "you clearly know nothing about this car, can I go for a drive with another tech?"

And since then, whenever it's brought up, the argument where you can't do it in an MT means you can't do it in an auto. They still haven't been able to describe why it won't rev-match and jerky shifts happen during the scenario. Just really waiting for the day when I go for an oil change or something and the owner of the dealership is finally in so that I can get some actual answers for why I'm being treated this way by the service department.

I'm kind of surprised we've had similar experiences, you should explain that on other 2014s and 2013s driven don't have that issue and he's trying to get out of fixing it or flashing a new tcm logic. Also if it was a case of "can't downshift...." it just wouldn't let you downshift in the first place outright, these techs are complete idiots. Also you've probably already done this but print out the attached pdf for next visit and ask them if they could flash it anyway even though it's US related.

Already tried it at my last oil change. They said "lol, fuck you, that's American"

:lol: