Three month report on driving the FRS
 

I originally posted this on the Grassroots board, however it seems more applicable to this crowd so I will re-post:

I have another report of what it is to actually live with the FRS as an early adopter 3000 miles down the road and three months later.


The good news is that you just never get tired of driving the car. The road manners and way it comports itself on the road do not stop being fun the entire time you are in the car. It is a good long distance touring car and if I can keep my foot out of it, the mileage is better than the Protege.



The bad news is that either the early adoption or the built down to a price factor is starting to show.

• Known and reported tailight issue where it condenses has cropped up. Won't stay condensed long enough to show dealer, so no fix.

• Radio has a static issue whenever I stop. Go figure. Not high on priorities, but annoying.

• Synchros are slow in second. Klunks a lot especially when cold.Miata box this is not.

• I have not developed any love for six speed boxes. In any car. Wish it was a five speed.

• LOTS of drivetrain lash.

• Noisy AC condenser cut-in and out.

• The car is light. This lightness had to come from giving up something like sound insulation. Hard rain and gravel roads will let you know about that. NOISY!

• The traction control has a bad habit of re-engaging itself from full OFF to full ON when making abrupt entries into a trafic stream. The sudden loss of power is un-nerving when you have fast moving traffic arriving on your tail. Need to learn more about this and how to replicate consistently so I can show dealer service department. Most consistemly done (but not always) when exiting a gravel road intending to hang the ass end out on a right hand turn.

• Scion is not clear on whether or not the lack of TPS will default the tracton control to ON all the time or not. This in relation to a thread I started about running snows without TPS.

• Sounds like a bleeping tractor. Subie guys like this. Me, not so much. Maybe if I get rid of the retarded ricer/fanboi noisemaker into the cabin it will be better. I am an ld guy, so this might be subjective.

• Never heard a car crinkle and ping as much as this thing when you put it away hot. It is a literal symphony of cooling noises. No idea what the hell that is about. Disconcerting to some extent.

• Needs real tires.

• No steel wheels available for winter rims. Not sure why? Going to have to run alloys and run the risk of snow packing in rims that makes for unbalanced ride.

I have an issue with the traction control scheme. It might be a personal character flaw, but every time I turn the system off, I feel that I am taking the girlfriend out dancing knowing she left her panties at home; it puts me of a mind to do bad things .




While the above might seem like foder for the FRS haters, and sure to be quoted out of context, let me assure you that I still much prefer driving the FRS to the bloated pigs that present themselves as competition. Heavy cars can most certainly be made to go fast and a go around corner, but they can't be make to handle well. If that last sentence goes over your head, so be it.



Much the same as I would forgive a Lotus for shedding its parts en-route to just about anywere, the FRS has that charm.


I'll give you another report once I have some winter driving on the thing. Should be interesting.

Thanks for the update Sir!

Can't you bring a big bottle of water and get it condensed there? Mine starts to get condensed just in a few minutes. I didn't get mine fixed yet thought. Waiting for the first oil change to get it done at the same time.

it's a good thing you didn't throw a CEL. i enjoyed your honest review, thanks!

Hahaha the cooling noise point is so true. I had to sit in my car for a few minutes the other day, so I turned it off and every second there's some new pop noise as the car cools down.

Excellent post. As an owner for about the same time I can agree with you on almost everything.

Seriously, why does this car sound like a tractor? I don't really mind it, in fact I find it a bit comical but I'm a Subaru (and 90's Toyota) guy yet this sound is unlike any other Subaru I've encountered.

Could you explain what you mean by "lots of drivetrain lash" ?

There are steelies that fit this car. Anything that fits an '08+ WRX will fit this car, wheel wise.

me too interested in the winter thing! where YOU are it most definitely can
be interesting! where i am? not so much! the latest builds are being shod with bridgestone "all seasons" and i am about to take the plunge and grab a raven mt comin' in next week! i am hopin' the "issues" have been caught with
the september build,but will find out soon. just about all your concerns can be addressed under warranty,and i believe toyota would respond "faster" and more thoroughly than subaru,i can already see this happening with recently released (t.s.b's) at the dealers! subaru is subaru,and for what it's worth,i am NOT seeing simultaneous release of (t.s.b's).this is another good reason in my view for going with the scion,that and the lower cost. just sayin'

or you can use a camera and then show the picture to the dealership

most of the "issues" with this car seem to be in your head... you dont like six speed manuals and would rather it be 5 spd?

how about not bothering to use top gear?

Thanks for the kind comments. As mentioned, most of this is small stuff.
I am sure the tailight will be repaired.
I am sure the second gear issue will be ignored!
The drivetrain lash, being the sum total of clearances and play in the drivetrain is maybe accentuated by a dual mass flywheel; it is what it is.
The six speed issue, that is just something I discovered about myself; always been a manual driver, but I find that with 6 speed boxes my hand never leaves the shifter because maybe it could be in a better gear. Plus I am forever into the limiter.
Not expecting any real issues with winter driving on Blizzack tires. Ran a Miata year round with a 120 mile commute and it was not a problem.

The only serious issue that I need to resolve is the propensity for the traction control to switch from full OFF to full ON when the car is launched sideways from a gravel road on to a paved highway. It will be hard to replicate this stunt at the dealers service department! It may or may not involve hitting the reve limiter as part of the equation. With winter comming, I will get a better chance to explore the cars sideways dynamics and how the electronics respond.

are you sure it's in FULL OFF? not that i doubt you as you seen quite knowledgeable, but i'm sure one of the other members would have brought this important issue up.

I notice this every morning when I go to work. Jerky!

I see the Traction control re-engage all the time. I pretty much always drive the car in VSC Sport, that only leaves me with 2 options:

1. Push the TC button to disable it
2. Hold the TC button for 5 secs to disable it AND the VSC.

Option 1 will turn the TC off, let you spin the tires, then engage it again after a short period of time. You can replicate the TC re-engaging by pushing it just once, launching the car or sliding around a bit on a U-turn, and you'll see it re-engage itself. I believe that is intentional.