Cons
 

Hey all. New to the group and looking to buy an fr-s in the spring. I'm coming from a decently powered cobalt but looking for an affordable rwd, good handling car. I'm mainly looking at cons right now. So please let me know what you guys hate about these cars and/or any major problems you've had. With my cobalt, I've blown the motor from boosting it, as it was n/a, and i want to make sure these things don't have any common problems while putting down power. I've seen the fa20 is a pretty durable motor but I'd rather hear it from the daily drivers. Full blown motorsports is literally a block away, so any tuning will end up being done by them. Thanks

It's tough to list cons compared to one of the worst cars GM has made recently, but there are a few. Check out the TSB/Problems section and it might just scare you from buying the car completely. That said most issues only affect a small percentage of the cars. Not sure how durable the FA20 is - for a car that is advertised as a great car for tuners, and has a huge aftermarket support, it seems the more you mess with it (or track it), the more things that can break.

If you don't need the back seat, find a used C6 for the same price and you'll have power and performance without requiring you to mod it.

I guess one big con is the FRS doesn't go nearly as fast/quick as it looks.

Cons:
"Low power" in stock form
High Pressure Fuel Pump makes chirping noise
Paint chips/scratches easily

ad.: High compression ratio creates an extra consideration/impediment on forced induction applications


That being said, I love my purchase and don't regret it at all.

Let's hear more about how your Cobalt failed. Because knowing those circumstances might give some clue as to how well the FA20 will work for you.

I enjoy modding and making it unique, so I'd prefer this platform over a v8. I don't mind the slow, that's what I have the cobalt for. All high pressure fuel pumps seem to make noise so that's no biggie. I'll look in the tsb section. The cobalt failed to boosting a naturally aspirated engine that wasn't originally meant to handle more than 200whp. And because superchargers suck and create too much heat lol

Do I win the thread because I delivered 112 pages of answers?

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8629

I'm mainly asking about mechanical problems people are having. I could care less if the car doesn't have a sunroof or a touch screen. Hell, I've never even had power windows in a car til my winter beater this year. Amenities are cool but I'm looking for real problems

Oh are you in for a treat then:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=72

Everything you want is there and beats the hell out of asking like every fifth new member.

Other than the TSB problems (which I'm guessing you've read most if not all of them) some issues you may notice:

*The transmission sometimes fights back under heavy load/acceleration. When shifting from 1st>2nd or 2nd>3rd at WOT, the gear stick sometimes won't go into gear, and you get that bad grinding sound.

*Some parts rust pretty quickly. My exhaust was a PITA to work on.

*If you're considering FI, keep in mind that the rule-of-thumb limit for this car is about 300hp. In that range, you'll need to upgrade the clutch, injectors, and fuel pump at a minimum.

*Maybe because it's a new car, but cost of horsepower is pretty high on this car. I was quoted $10k for a turbo kit install which would get me to the 300whp range. In contrast, a Mitsubishi Evo X can get an additional 100awhp for about $300.

Those are the only mechanical issues I can think of. All around, the car is very solid. When you start modding this car, you have to realize that it's somewhat unrealistic to make it straight-line fast. Remember that this engine isn't a V8. I see lots of people who throw a turbo kit on this car, then sell the car almost immediately because it isn't as fast as they wanted.

Just my $0.02. Your mileage may vary.

The chirping fuel pump noise is unsettling and not to mention embarrassing at red lights

On chilly mornings when condensation is on windows or it just finished raining > the windows make a super loud squeaking sound when coming down or going up



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I love the hate thread...

It took me about a week to read the whole thread in bits and blobs in my free time... BUT that's exactly what needs to be done to properly "research" the twins.

Only if you retype them all into one response!!!!

My cobalt makes so much noise and vibrations so that doesn't really bother me. Shifting under wot in most cars is a pita. Exhaust will be changed right away probably to something stainless so I'm not too concerned about that. I know all about spending money to make something fast and reliable. Like I said, cobalt was n/a and I boosted it and now making 3x the power. I've got the "pay to play" mentality. The car is mainly gonna be for autox and just a fun street car not driven in the winter. In regards to cost to boost it, I'd piece together a kit and source parts rather than spending 5k+ on a basic turbo set up all at once. I'd like an evo but its out of my price range and a lot of my friends have them. I'm not new to the car world by any means, I just wanna know what I'm getting myself into.

Cons:
Absolutely paranoid when parking at Wal-Mart, grocery store or anyplace but my own laneway (had lots of new cars and never bothered me before)

Nervous driving because other drivers are gawking at me instead of the road (at least 3 times saw a near miss rear ender due to that and no less then 4 pedestrians have walked into something)

Increased attention to the Weather Channel just in case hail is forecast (some guys in Toronto took a beating back in the summer)

Water bill has doubled, due to almost daily washes for the last 2 months (other new cars were lucky with once a week for the first month and monthly after that)

Sore neck from looking back every time I walk away, even after two months (and I KNOW I am not alone on that one)

I have not had a single issue after 8000 miles (other then a very brief cricket episode after buying some apparently stale gas) so don't have any input on the mechanical end of things.