Valve spring recall is ridiculous

[Summerwolf]

Sell it while the value is up!!!! GET OUT NOW!!!!








Value, lol. Seriously....sell.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by bfrank1972

Hmmm - I see what you're saying regarding heightened fear due to only seeing posts from people who have problems (vs. people who do not), but you also have to consider this forum is a very small % of the overall FR-S/BRZ/86 owners. And out of that small % of active posters, there are a pretty high number of people with issues.

I.E. yes there could be a large number of success stories out there we're not hearing, but I'd bet there's a larger number of fail stories we're not even hearing about either.

And it's not generalized issues - it's exactly the same issue, every time. Rod knock from oil starvation, being consistently tied to mis-application of sealant (whether it be incorrect bead placement, overuse, or just not letting it cure). And strongly correlated to Toyota, who just doesn't have the experience with putting Subaru boxer engines together like experienced Subaru mechanics.

There could be a large # of success stories, but based on this forum sample, I feel there's a solid chance of my engine going south if I took it to my dealer - solid chance meaning more than I'm willing to risk at the moment.

I'd rather 'fight the fight' with a dealer to fix my motor post valve spring failure rather than 'fight the fight' after a dealer gums up my oil passages. JMHO

Agree with all points with one clarification. The biggest problem is we really have no clue how many successful repairs there have been. The number of people that have joined this forum just to say they had a failure is around 10 so far. None have joined to say all is good and I doubt they will. On the surface you would think that this forum (or FB and others) would give a good sample but the data is horribly skewed by only receiving the negative reviews. It is like having somebody point at an auto wreckers, and saying "look all the cars are rusty and crashed" while ignoring the new car lot across the street.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Summerwolf

Sell it while the value is up!!!! GET OUT NOW!!!!








Value, lol. Seriously....sell.

Pretty sure it is already too late for that!

[venturaII]

Fuck it - I'll run it...there's no good answer. I totally have zero confidence in my local Toyota dealership (or ANY Toyota dealership in the area...) to take the time to do the work correctly, so there doesn't seem like there would be much satisfaction in having them do the work. Even if it ran fine afterwards, I'd always be waiting for the shoe to drop.

I think at this point I have a greater chance of failure due to the recall being performed sloppily than I do of a spring breaking. I'd still have to potentially fight with Toyota to have them fix the engine if I DID have a spring failure, but that's a low chance inside of an even lower chance to begin with. Of course now that I said that, I'm doomed...lol.

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

It is like having somebody point at an auto wreckers, and saying "look all the cars are rusty and crashed" while ignoring the new car lot across the street.

True, but if all the rusty crashed cars were missing the same wheel because the lugnuts sheared off, it'd be an entirely different situation. Where there's smoke, there's not necessarily fire, but there's still something bad going on...lol

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by venturaII

True, but if all the rusty crashed cars were missing the same wheel because the lugnuts sheared off, it'd be an entirely different situation.

Depends on how many are still driving around with perfectly good lug nuts as well. If that yard full of missing wheeled cars is 1% of the total it is still skewed data.

[venturaII]

I disagree on it being skewed; it'd still clearly indicate a known failure mode. It might not be a statistically significant portion of total production, but of known failure modes, it'd be a predictable candidate.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by venturaII

I disagree on it being skewed; it'd still clearly indicate a known failure mode. It might not be a statistically significant portion of total production, but of known failure modes, it'd be a predictable candidate.

No disputing it is a know failure and a serious one at that. The perception of the rate is what is skewed. We just have to biased a data pool and need to recognize that.

[Gunman]

I bet I'm one of the few, with a post recall issue affected car (not on the spreadsheet), that is watching the part out threads of panicked 2013 owners looking to pick up deals. lol

[DandoX]

Originally Posted by jaseow

It really depends on the mechanic really. I probably got lucky and got a mechanic that knew what he was doing. Im in Perth, Western Australia

I did my recall about 3 weeks ago now and I have no issues (so far). Ive only done about 600-700km on it since then. Im waiting till at least 1000kms before i post in the thread on NO ISSUES after recall.

Same here, got my recall taken care of a couple weeks ago. I'm at about 400+ miles since the recall and so far everything seems to be working properly and sounding normal.

From all my research you won't be fully out of the woods until you get about 1,200 - 1,500 miles after the service. There is a report of someone who got engine knock following the recall at 1000 miles after the service. However the more miles you pile on after the recall presumably the lower the chances of catastrophic failure due to the recall service.

Also most folks who have nothing go wrong don't speak up, so looking at threads here is a very skewed view of the chances of something happening. Best bet is travel if you have to to find the best dealer service dept you can find. It could be worse. I'm in Ca where they FORCE you to get it done or they do not allow you to renew your registration.

Or think of it as a positive, drive your car as is. When you eventually start to see a leak from the timing cover or what have you. Take it in for the recall get those leaks fixed. The recall does not expire, so take it as a discount on future work in fixing leaks or avoiding labor costs with replacing the clutch or TOB. It is all about perspective, and its not end of the world. I'm told Toyota HQ is aware of issues occurring with the recall so things can only improve as time goes on. Hope you find some solace in what I said and good luck buddy.

[DandoX]

I'll add a few tips to those planning on getting the recall done.

#1 talk to the service rep, get to know them. Ask them how many recalls on FRS's they have done? How many came back with problems? (If they can't give you the info, call BS and tell them you are not taking your car there). They should be able to tell you roughly how many they or that mechanic have done, what has gone wrong and if any catastrophic failures have occurred. It is up to the dealership to tell you that info, if they refuse to tell you. It isn't the best dealership or get another service rep. They should also have all the parts stocked that may break during the service, that way your not waiting for parts to arrive and prolonging the recall service

#2 Speak directly to the mechanic doing the service, ask them questions. Ask them the same questions you asked the service rep. Also ask to check their credentials.

#3 Do your research on all the possible issues that can occur from the recall, have the info to back you up and show the dealership you know whats up and what can go wrong so they should do the best to take care of you.

#4 Make them do a test drive before the service and confirm everything is working properly, have them document it if you can.

#5 Ask how long this recall work will take them. If they don't have cars lined up it should take a day or two at most of actual work from the mechanic. If it takes a dealership longer than that its a red flag. All the issues that occur from this recall are from mechanics that are not familiar with the engine or not trained fully. It should only take someone fully qualified a day or two.

#6 Research the hell out of the dealership, time spent doing this will be worth it. Travel far if you have to to get to the best dealership you can.

#7 Lastly, when you get your car back obviously inspect the hell out of the engine bay, and exterior and call out anything that isn't perfect. Also get a physical piece of paper as extra proof you got the recall performed. Then give the car a solid shake down before driving home, in case something happens you will be close to the dealership for them to fix it.

hope this helps someone.

[wbradley]

My dealer said they'd charge me $500 to do the recall work due to my supercharger. They haven't seen my car and I am guessing that the way my engine bay is de-cluttered of the factory intake and sound tube that they'd actually finish the job quicker than usual.

I am going to hold off for a number of reasons. I only have 65K km, but if I was at 100K I'd probably do it just to get them to do the spark plugs.
Instead, I will pay myself to change the spark plugs when the time comes. There are advantages to having small hands.

[gravitylover]

@DandoX Subaru dealers order the parts per vehicle, they don't have them in stock ready to go. If a problem arises while the recall work is being done it gets documented and sent in to SOA and then they order the parts to solve that issue. My dealer told me the other day when I called to get the process started that it will be 1-2 months for the parts to arrive and when they get the parts they will call me to schedule the time to bring the car in. At that point I will be leaving the car for 10-15 days and it will go into the queue. They leave 5 days for the work to be done even though it's only supposed to be 12 hours of labor because they test drive the car a few times after they've done the work to ensure that there isn't a problem. I said I'd rather they didn't spend so much time driving my car and was told I could take it somewhere else if that was a problem. They don't want cars brought back and they're being pretty thorough. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it but considering that I do 1500 miles or more a week and end up in some pretty remote places I'd rather not be stranded with a blown motor so I guess it's good that they want to catch it first.

[Open Loop]

Originally Posted by DandoX

I'll add a few tips to those planning on getting the recall done.

#1 talk to the service rep, get to know them. Ask them how many recalls on FRS's they have done? How many came back with problems? (If they can't give you the info, call BS and tell them you are not taking your car there). They should be able to tell you roughly how many they or that mechanic have done, what has gone wrong and if any catastrophic failures have occurred. It is up to the dealership to tell you that info, if they refuse to tell you. It isn't the best dealership or get another service rep. They should also have all the parts stocked that may break during the service, that way your not waiting for parts to arrive and prolonging the recall service

#2 Speak directly to the mechanic doing the service, ask them questions. Ask them the same questions you asked the service rep. Also ask to check their credentials.

#3 Do your research on all the possible issues that can occur from the recall, have the info to back you up and show the dealership you know whats up and what can go wrong so they should do the best to take care of you.

#4 Make them do a test drive before the service and confirm everything is working properly, have them document it if you can.

#5 Ask how long this recall work will take them. If they don't have cars lined up it should take a day or two at most of actual work from the mechanic. If it takes a dealership longer than that its a red flag. All the issues that occur from this recall are from mechanics that are not familiar with the engine or not trained fully. It should only take someone fully qualified a day or two.

#6 Research the hell out of the dealership, time spent doing this will be worth it. Travel far if you have to to get to the best dealership you can.

#7 Lastly, when you get your car back obviously inspect the hell out of the engine bay, and exterior and call out anything that isn't perfect. Also get a physical piece of paper as extra proof you got the recall performed. Then give the car a solid shake down before driving home, in case something happens you will be close to the dealership for them to fix it.

hope this helps someone.

I would add to this one point: Take lots of photographs of your engine compartment before the repair is done - many photos with details of all pulleys, etc. After you get it back you may want to have them to make comparisons.