Fuel Cut/Stalling
 

Vehicle Mileage: 30,000
Make: Subaru BRZ
Miles After Recall: >1
Problems After Fix:
Brought the car in because it was having a fuel cut issue when driving over 5,000 rpm's.
Car drove great when normal driving, but when getting on it it would simply lose all power but the car would stay on and no CEL's, after a second it would work fine again. Cleaned air filter (Takeda) and gave it Chevron Techron fuel cleaner. Car still did it so I brought it in to dealer since I still have warranty. Dealer says it could be the recall so I say fix it. 5 days later I get a call that car is ready, been test driven, no stalling but needs several hundred dollars in maintentance (tires, brake fluid, ac charge etc.). I so, OK, but first I want to test drive car. I go test drive it with mechanic, first acceleration the car does the same thing bust worse than ever. Was on the gas, only about 35 mph but accelerating, then the whole things stops moving and the gas pedal doesn't work. This time the car dies, never used to, and I pull over. Try to start car but it won't. Wait a few seconds, try again and car starts. It drives normal as I head back to dealer but I don't drive it hard again. Mechanic who was driving with me says it's a fuel starvation issue, he'll diagnose and call me the next day. Three days later I get a call that I need to bring them a stock airbox and pay for fuel injector service. Dealer says mechanic is confused, he called Subaru Tech and they told him this is how to proceed.
Im bringing stock airbox to them tomorrow and told them to proceed with the injectors.
I don't have confidence that this will fix the problem, super worried. Any thoughts?

P.S.-Dealer said that the issue only seems to happen when the the car is below 200 degrees operating temperature, that it doesn't do it once it hits 200 degrees. (not sure what this means, the car does the fuel cut/stall after it's been driven for a while and plenty warm but the dealer says "that doesn't have anything to to with the operating temperature which is between 190-215 degrees")

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

Do you have any power mods?

Have you ever had it tuned?

Yep, sounds like a fuel issue.

I'd suggest you just leave it with the dealer and let them sort it out and fix it.


humfrz

No power mods, just Takeda intake ant CatB exhaust.
Never had it tuned, either.
I'll post any updates

I got a call today that the car war ready. They said they put the stock air box back on and did a top end fuel system clean and could not replicate the issue. I picked it up and test drove it, it did not do the issue through first gear and I was sooo happy! Then I'm in second gear and at about 6k rpms the car stopped accelerating completely, car won't go over 51 mph. I let go of the gas, after a second or two the car starts responding again, just like before. I do a couple more runs and same thing, at about 50mph and 5-6k rpm's it just stops accelerating completely. Again, this is only when getting on the gas enough to get to 5-6k rpm's. Brought the car back to dealer, waiting to hear back.....

P.S. Nervous because dealer says that Subaru told them they could not try to replicate the problem if it occurs near redline. I told them the redline for this car is 7k rpm's, and the problem occurs at 5-6k rpm's. I'm worried Subaru is gonna come at me with some B.S. about how the car only does it when driven hard, so they won't fix it. ALMOST ANYONE WHO BOUGHT THIS CAR DID SO TO DRIVE IT SPIRITED, A BRZ THAT CAN'T GO ABOVE 5-6K RPM'S IS WORTHLESS!

Oh, jest set the shift light for 5,000 rpms - Problem solved!

Seriously, it sounds like the folks at that dealership don't know what they are doing.

Maybe take it to a different dealership or a tuner in your area - :iono:


humfrz

Agree with the tech; that sounds like fuel starvation. Failing tank pump?

Bingo that would be my money as well. As you increase the RPMs you need more fuel. So Fuel pump or Injectors. Confused did you get them to replace the injectors? Was it replaced under warranty?

You would be right. They replaced the fuel pump, which was the first thing I told them to check over a month ago. Did test run and....SAME PROBLEM. Dealer said they would be bringing in another more experienced tech and a few days later I got a call that they had identified what may be the problem. Pump in the tank was malfunctioning, they also said my fuel filter had what looked like "girls makeup, like foundation powder or something". Asked me what kind of gas and additives I use, told them premium and none. They replaced this fuel pump as well, also some hoses and other sensor that broke in the process. Finally get the car back, and.......2 days later I get a CEL. Car feels and sounds fine but OBD says all kinds of codes (multiple misfires, 02 problem, fuel starvation problem, stalling). Bring it back to dealer and....a few days later I'm told it's the catalytic converter. Been 2 weeks since I got it back, dealer covered all costs because of extended warranty. So far, it runs and feels great and NO CEL's (knock on wood). From the moment I took my car in it took about 6 weeks to get it fixed right, including the recall that got done. Now I get to put my mods back on :) I asked the mechanic if he's ever seen another BRZ with this issue, he said this was a one-off.