Valve spring recall required for renewing registration
 

I found out today I cannot renew the registration on my 2013 until the J02 recall is performed. This was a surprise to me.... I thought it wouldn't be a blocking issue until the first smog test is required (a couple yrs from now). PSA in case you didn't know!

Really curious, is J02 recall having done still risky? I'm looking at buying a car and trying to decide if I shouldn't look at 2013 models at all.

Interesting. How were you informed? Did they not issue tags or was it on your reg renewal notice?

Yes, it is. Look 2015+ if possible. Way less issue

My renewal notice looks normal. When I tried to pay on the dmv website it errored saying "the status has changed". So I went to AAA (thankfully instead of the dmv) and they looked it up on their system and said it is due to emissions recall, which I am sure is J02 unless there is another emissions recall active I'm not aware of. I can pay the fee now, but won't get tags until the recall is performed.

I decided to non-op because it's track only and I have a truck for towing. I have intake/exhaust, flashed, and partially stripped interior w/ roll bar+seat so i'm hesitant a dealer would give me support if I had issues post-recall (or even perform the recall at all). Time to get cozy with the local u-haul rental spot....

Thanks. Had a 2013 that I bought new but only kept it for about a year so no idea that they had these issues.

Can anyone with a 2013 confirm if this is J02?

Looks like OP took an educated guess (which I am thankful for,) but if anyone else has experienced this, some kind of confirmation would be extremely helpful.

The paperwork said you'd have to do it to register. Then you can't register when you haven't done it.

What exactly do you have to submit to the DMV for proof? That salmon-coloured proof of recall slip filled out by the dealer? I still haven't had the recall yet, but I guess I'll have to. I'll have to get the supercharger removed and the engine returned to stock before the dealer will accept it, unfortunately. This is turning out to be a big PITA.

I got the J02 recall performed and the servicing dealer will submit a certificate that you have gotten the recall performed to the DMV. I also asked for a physical copy of the certificate stating my vehicle had gotten the recall done.

The recall isn't as bad as it sounds. If you research and find a dealership who has performed a good amount of the J02 recalls and hasn't had any major engine failures as a result you will likely be okay. Trouble comes when you take your car to a subpar dealership and folks who haven't done any or just a few j02 recalls attempt to perform the job without the proper experience or training. It can appear that it is very dangerous to have done by how many people report failures on the forum but know for every major failure following the recall there is a good amount of twins that had the recall done with no problems, folks with no issues mostly don't come on a forum to say, "no issues". Where as we see new members signing up just to post about their J02 issues which can make things seem skewed.

I suggest you research the dealership your bringing it to thoroughly, there are threads on this forum that outline the best way to go about getting it done to ensure the best possible outcome.

I trust my dealership to perform the recall. The PITA part is that they won't perform it unless the engine is returned to stock, so I have to get my edelbrock supercharger removed, and everything back to stock. This is $$$ is wasn't planning on spending. And if I want to re-install the supercharger, it's more $$$ again. Then, if anything happens to the engine, the dealer will blame the supercharger even if it's they're fault. I f I lived in another state, at least I'd have the option of not performing the recall.

So confirmation would be good that the exhaust repair OP referred to was for certain J02.

Also, if the above turns out to be confirmed true, anyone have an idea what kind of proof would the DMV accept if you had the J02 fixed by a non-dealership mechanic?

The point is that this is complete bullshit, because this type of a recall shouldn't be classified as "emissions related". I believe it's some sort of cahoots that the dealers are in with the DMV in order to bring more "business" to both parties.

The fact that this is such a hugely invasive engine out procedure means that it should be up to the discretion of the car owner if they want to have it done or not. I should be able to sign off on a piece of paper that says I choose not to have it done, and therefore if I suffer any engine failure as a result of not doing so I won't hold the dealership accountable.

In no way is this an "emissions related" type of recall. That part if it is complete bullshit and is just a means to attempt to force people to have this fucked up invasive work done to their engine that is completely healthy and in no need of it.

At this point, i think I've seen as many "car is dead from broken valve spring" posts as I've seen "car is dead after dealer repair" posts. I bet that's going to go more and more towards the valve spring side in the future.

I also get your frustration. You don't want anybody fucking up your car.

Meanwhile, go talk to Chase at Toyota One of Oakland. Ask him how many failures they had. Ask him about coverage if there's a failure. Ask him about which mechanic will do the repair, and what their experience is.

In the end, you can run without the fix, just paying your fees, and maybe get nailed for tags. Then again, I ran 1.5 years with expired tags recently, because the DMV never accepted proof of insurance. Idiots. Now I have tags again, though. Yay!