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?

Hi ya, SGP90 ....... and welcome to the group.......:clap:

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.

Thanks for the update.

Well, you can ask them ...... they may decide to give up and do that anyway .... :iono:


humfrz

OK five weeks is starting to get unreasonable. Have you escalated the issue with Toyota customer service?

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.

Hold off until you hear back from Toyota. They may just say do it and you won't have to worry about it.

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.

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.

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:

Cattle prod to the dogs nuts would work well. Then money shot him in the face while he's still stunned. That will teach him whose the boss.:bellyroll: