Engine failure - Spun rod bearing TWICE

[dinoniel]

Hey guys wondering if anyone dealt with this:

2014 Brz no engine mods 61k miles driving on the highway sudden clanking noise that got louder and louder pulled over and car turned off and would not start. No CEL or anything.

Dealer found rod bearing caused catastrophic damage to short block. Extended warranty covered a short block replacement (also all work including oil changes were done at dealer for most of the cars life). They never figured out why it happened, oil level and oil analysis were perfect per them.

Got my car back on 6/22, three days later on highway same issue. Did not redline or over rev nothing was babying it. Pulled over at 1am driving to Orlando and my car was towed to a dealer in Orlando waiting for Monday.

What would you do? I'm still under warranty but I don't want another short block replacement, I need a reliable DD. Can I convince Subaru to replace my whole engine? Am I outta luck here?

[murdoc]

Make a stink, ask for an engine replacement.

[Rifle]

If your timeline is actually correct, you should be able to get a whole engine replacement. Be stern with the guys on Orlando. You just had zyz replaced at abc dealer on 123 date. 3 days later, something else went wrong. Don't speculate to them what you think it is. Let them try and find out. Press the issue.

[BRZnut]

These engines are known to have oil starvation issues and failures like yours. In my opinion some type of design/build issue since stock engines with regular oil changes have failed. Someone once posted that some engines were coming out of the factory with too much sealant that blocked proper oil flow.

As others said...ask for a new engine.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Ultramaroon]

The second engine likely failed due to some issue with the build. It happens. Just take it in and ask for a do-over. I wouldn't drive anything cross country fresh out of the box. Call it a break-in period or an extended test. A complicated assembly needs to be given a chance to either prove itself, or fail.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Rifle

If your timeline is actually correct, you should be able to get a whole engine replacement. Be stern with the guys on Orlando. You just had zyz replaced at abc dealer on 123 date. 3 days later, something else went wrong. Don't speculate to them what you think it is. Let them try and find out. Press the issue.

If they won't replace the whole engine ....... I'd suggest you sell that car and get a different one. I suspect it's jinxed .......


humfrz

[tofurun]

Originally Posted by dinoniel

Hey guys wondering if anyone dealt with this:

2014 Brz no engine mods 61k miles driving on the highway sudden clanking noise that got louder and louder pulled over and car turned off and would not start. No CEL or anything.

Dealer found rod bearing caused catastrophic damage to short block. Extended warranty covered a short block replacement (also all work including oil changes were done at dealer for most of the cars life). They never figured out why it happened, oil level and oil analysis were perfect per them.

Got my car back on 6/22, three days later on highway same issue. Did not redline or over rev nothing was babying it. Pulled over at 1am driving to Orlando and my car was towed to a dealer in Orlando waiting for Monday.

What would you do? I'm still under warranty but I don't want another short block replacement, I need a reliable DD. Can I convince Subaru to replace my whole engine? Am I outta luck here?

New engine... What are the lemon laws in florida?

Edit: Here are lemon laws in Florida
In order for your car to be considered a lemon, the following must have occurred within 24 months following the date of delivery (the Lemon Law Rights Period):
The vehicle defect or condition must "substantially impair the use, value, or safety" of the vehicle.
The vehicle must have undergone at least 3 attempts to repair the same issue.
The vehicle must have out of service for repair of the defect for 15 days or more.

[dinoniel]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

The second engine likely failed due to some issue with the build. It happens. Just take it in and ask for a do-over. I wouldn't drive anything cross country fresh out of the box. Call it a break-in period or an extended test. A complicated assembly needs to be given a chance to either prove itself, or fail.

I think it's pretty unfair to call a 2 hour drive "cross country." Also I had driven the car about 200 miles commuting to work that week prior to this drive. Also there are a lot of people on this forum who got the car brand new from Heuberger in Colorado and really did drive it cross country to Cali or NY without break-in issues. I appreciate your input though.

Anyway thanks for all the replies guys. The latest update is that the dealer in Orlando found even worse damage than the first time. A cylinder has been destroyed and a spark plug somehow blew altogether.

The dealer is doing a complete engine tear down authorized by Subaru. I am in touch with someone from subaru customer service who helped coordinate sharing of records between the two dealers. They also agreed to cover my car rental for the duration of repairs (to reimburse after repairs completed).

My biggest concern at this point is that I don't trust the car anymore even if the engine is repaired. The BRZ has been one of the best and most memorable cars I've ever driven, but I'm so jaded with two engine failures I'm tempted to drop it. Especially since I only have one car, I need that car to be a really reliable daily driver. We'll see what happens.

Will keep you guys updated in case anyone has similar issues down the line.

[zkv476]

A failure at 61k with no mods is rather unusual and unlucky by itself.

The challenge with a spun bearing is metal shavings get absolutely everywhere and if they replaced just the short block, there's tons of places to catch metal that can cause another failure. Unless someone very experienced does the rebuild and cleaning of remaining parts, it's unfortunately not surprising to have it fail again. Such a short time period means something serious was missed.

Originally Posted by dinoniel

I think it's pretty unfair to call a 2 hour drive "cross country." Also I had driven the car about 200 miles commuting to work that week prior to this drive. Also there are a lot of people on this forum who got the car brand new from Heuberger in Colorado and really did drive it cross country to Cali or NY without break-in issues. I appreciate your input though.

Anyway thanks for all the replies guys. The latest update is that the dealer in Orlando found even worse damage than the first time. A cylinder has been destroyed and a spark plug somehow blew altogether.

The dealer is doing a complete engine tear down authorized by Subaru. I am in touch with someone from subaru customer service who helped coordinate sharing of records between the two dealers. They also agreed to cover my car rental for the duration of repairs (to reimburse after repairs completed).

My biggest concern at this point is that I don't trust the car anymore even if the engine is repaired. The BRZ has been one of the best and most memorable cars I've ever driven, but I'm so jaded with two engine failures I'm tempted to drop it. Especially since I only have one car, I need that car to be a really reliable daily driver. We'll see what happens.

Will keep you guys updated in case anyone has similar issues down the line.

[Silver Cervy]

You could just trade it in and get a WRX. I wouldn't worry too much about reliability though because what happened to you is extremely rare and unfortunate, and there are thousands of users on here who have driven their BRZ's/FR-S's longer than you have and have had no engine issues.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by dinoniel

I think it's pretty unfair to call a 2 hour drive "cross country."

How do you get from New York to Florida in 2 hours?

[dinoniel]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

How do you get from New York to Florida in 2 hours?

Lol I understand your confusion, I never updated my profile. I live in FL now, not NY.

Originally Posted by zkv476

A failure at 61k with no mods is rather unusual and unlucky by itself.

The challenge with a spun bearing is metal shavings get absolutely everywhere and if they replaced just the short block, there's tons of places to catch metal that can cause another failure. Unless someone very experienced does the rebuild and cleaning of remaining parts, it's unfortunately not surprising to have it fail again. Such a short time period means something serious was missed.

Originally Posted by Silver Cervy

You could just trade it in and get a WRX. I wouldn't worry too much about reliability though because what happened to you is extremely rare and unfortunate, and there are thousands of users on here who have driven their BRZ's/FR-S's longer than you have and have had no engine issues.

And I agree that I am in the minority regarding my engine issues. I'm not suggesting all of you should ditch your cars. I'm saying my car specifically, short of a full engine replacement I'd be uncomfortable driving it anymore. As you pointed out, there is the potential for additional failures unless someone extremely experienced and meticulous works on the engine.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by dinoniel

Lol I understand your confusion, I never updated my profile. I live in FL now, not NY.

Well then...

Originally Posted by dinoniel

And I agree that I am in the minority regarding my engine issues. I'm not suggesting all of you should ditch your cars. I'm saying my car specifically, short of a full engine replacement I'd be uncomfortable driving it anymore. As you pointed out, there is the potential for additional failures unless someone extremely experienced and meticulous works on the engine.

This is the problem. You can't pay people enough to take their time or give a shit. Long block is making much more sense now.

[dinoniel]

Hey guys wanted to update here as promised.

BRZ is still at the dealer. It was towed back to the original dealer who did the first repair. Apparently the higher up managers felt that was the best thing to do.

I got a list of what parts were ordered this time compared to the first time the engine blew. I'll list the parts below:

1st Repair:
-Short Block
-Gasket&seal set
-Oil change

2nd repair (parts that were ordered so far)
-camshaft
-pulley crankshaft
-gasket cylinder head
-spark plug
-spring valve/seal/rocker valve
-Oil pan
-cover assembly/chain
-water pump assembly
-thermo & gasket assembly
-Short Block

Obviously more extensive the second time around, but that's expected because the damage was a lot worse. Parts haven't come in to the dealer yet so still no word on when I will get my car back.

I'll put a disclaimer here that I'm not a mechanic and am at most a weekend DIY'er so I don't know much about engine terminology. Nonetheless feel free to share your thoughts!