Unofficial - CEL/SL/Idle Issue List for FR-S/BRZ Owners

[Hawaiian]

Originally Posted by JNovo79

I think my mistake was assuming that they wouldn't want to piss off a lawyer (I am one).

I'm going to take video of the RPM drop at idle with my phone and have e-mailed Scion directly. I see why Northside Toyota/Scion has a 2 star Yelp & 2.5 Google Reviews rating now...

I took my frs in for a repair there and they bricked my ecm. My car was down for over a week while they ordered a new one. They also scratched my cars front end. When i complained they only buffed it. The scratch was clearly visible. I never went back.

[Nothing]

Originally Posted by shiro

Update 10:
6 Dec 2013

I have to say that I don't believe that because Toyota told me they knew my ECU was flashed and running other firmware and even told me details they should have otherwise known.

[shiro]

Originally Posted by Nothing

I have to say that I don't believe that because Toyota told me they knew my ECU was flashed and running other firmware and even told me details they should have otherwise known.

I'd be curious to know what they see when they do their scans.

[FR-S Trev]

Originally Posted by FR-S Trev

So 3 and 1/2 months later and my new dealership built FA-20 should be dropped into my empty engine bay tomorrow. God I hope this thing works.

Just in time for snow tires. Oh well getting it back is going to be amazing. I miss my car so much

I'll be sure to update the performance of the new engine.

So I have my car back now! And I'm 5700 kms into the new engine. So far it seems normal. No CEL lights returned yet and it seems like the FR-S I was used too.

I Still get a thick sulphur smell when I go up hill about 130-140 with my window open a crack? as soon as I get to the top of the hill it goes away? Never really notice that smell any other time? Had the same smell with the original engine too.

I hope the new shop built FA-20 holds up longer than the original engine did. Or I am going to be really disappointed.

[Turkish]

So it has been a while since I mentioned my car's status. Either today, tomorrow, or Monday I will be picking a brand new '14 BRZ.

[shiro]

Update 11:
21 Dec 2013

The Journey Continues:
Since my last update on 6 Dec 2013 there have been some interesting events. No major changes or fixed; more so, an angry service manager at Toyota and continued phone-tag with corporate. I dropped my car off on 13 Dec 2013 to have it looked at. I made sure I called the dealership twice that week on two separate days out of respect and to not blind-side them with a car that has a seized motor. That ended up happening anyways since the dealership has two different service buildings and the manager looking at my car was never updated by the other two service managers. That sounds like poor communication skills to me.

On 16 Dec 2013 I ended up calling the service manager since they left a message. He wanted to know the history of the car and what modifications I did to it. Since I put the car back to stock I only talked about the current modifications since I was only dropping the car off to get a diagnostics ran, as per what corporate Toyota told me to do. I also figured the dealership would have contacted corporate since I told the other service managers I had a claim started. Little to my knowledge the service manager continued to pry to information that was already presented upfront with corporate.

(This is where is get interesting)
The service manager said they did their research and contacted the other dealership my car was bought from. That is how he found out about the original modifications and turbo kit. He then accused me of dropping off my car at another dealership (his) just to try to get around the warranty troubles. At this point I am confused since I'm just doing what corporate told me to do. The service manager gets into a heated conversation making false actualization's. He accused my tuner and myself of making modifications to the Variable Valve Timing (VVT), the Active Valve Control System (AVCS) and the timing chain, which did not occur. I know exactly what was modified on that car and was willing to share (corporate already knows too) but he blew me off and said he has already done his research and know exactly what was done with the car and doesn't care (wow, true customer service there).

He basically said, "you know what you did." Well, yeah I do since I made or authorized the modifications to this car...but I didn't modify the components you are referring to. He continued to say, "well someone did and it had to have been you or your tuner." He talked about the timing chain cover being on backwards and he could tell the timing was off. I found it interesting that the regional manager never authorized him to touch the car and he also said he did NOT touch the car, yet how can he point out by looking at the car that those modifications were made? Everything he pointed were never adjusted, touched, tampered, etc. I did not have a chance to talk with the regional manager but they came out to see the car.

Hopefully more to come on that when I talk with corporate.

You can read more about this topic on this post:
Dealership Accuses Variable Valve Timing (VVT) Ajustment

Overall, that dealership has lost it's integrity in my eyes for me to authorize them pulling out my engine and diagnosing the issue. I will be continuing to talk with corporate but will be picking up my car this week. Even with adding the turbo I actually have more than enough information to put together for "other avenues of approach." My next update might take a while for legal means but I will be sure to keep you posted on the successes/fails I've made.

[Turkish]

Best of luck, its so weird that corporate is on your side but not the dealers.

Originally Posted by shiro

Update 11:
21 Dec 2013

The Journey Continues:
Since my last update on 6 Dec 2013 there have been some interesting events. No major changes or fixed; more so, an angry service manager at Toyota and continued phone-tag with corporate. I dropped my car off on 13 Dec 2013 to have it looked at. I made sure I called the dealership twice that week on two separate days out of respect and to not blind-side them with a car that has a seized motor. That ended up happening anyways since the dealership has two different service buildings and the manager looking at my car was never updated by the other two service managers. That sounds like poor communication skills to me.

On 16 Dec 2013 I ended up calling the service manager since they left a message. He wanted to know the history of the car and what modifications I did to it. Since I put the car back to stock I only talked about the current modifications since I was only dropping the car off to get a diagnostics ran, as per what corporate Toyota told me to do. I also figured the dealership would have contacted corporate since I told the other service managers I had a claim started. Little to my knowledge the service manager continued to pry to information that was already presented upfront with corporate.

(This is where is get interesting)
The service manager said they did their research and contacted the other dealership my car was bought from. That is how he found out about the original modifications and turbo kit. He then accused me of dropping off my car at another dealership (his) just to try to get around the warranty troubles. At this point I am confused since I'm just doing what corporate told me to do. The service manager gets into a heated conversation making false actualization's. He accused my tuner and myself of making modifications to the Variable Valve Timing (VVT), the Active Valve Control System (AVCS) and the timing chain, which did not occur. I know exactly what was modified on that car and was willing to share (corporate already knows too) but he blew me off and said he has already done his research and know exactly what was done with the car and doesn't care (wow, true customer service there).

He basically said, "you know what you did." Well, yeah I do since I made or authorized the modifications to this car...but I didn't modify the components you are referring to. He continued to say, "well someone did and it had to have been you or your tuner." He talked about the timing chain cover being on backwards and he could tell the timing was off. I found it interesting that the regional manager never authorized him to touch the car and he also said he did NOT touch the car, yet how can he point out by looking at the car that those modifications were made? Everything he pointed were never adjusted, touched, tampered, etc. I did not have a chance to talk with the regional manager but they came out to see the car.

Hopefully more to come on that when I talk with corporate.

You can read more about this topic on this post:
Dealership Accuses Variable Valve Timing (VVT) Ajustment

Overall, that dealership has lost it's integrity in my eyes for me to authorize them pulling out my engine and diagnosing the issue. I will be continuing to talk with corporate but will be picking up my car this week. Even with adding the turbo I actually have more than enough information to put together for "other avenues of approach." My next update might take a while for legal means but I will be sure to keep you posted and the successes/fails I've made.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[Marrk]

If you haven't already, please out these *ssh*l*s and give us names and addresses, so we don't have to go there.

Good luck.

[Vis101]

Under the lemon law, do they have to also pay for any upgrades you've done to the car, such as window tint and clear bra? I ask because I just took my BRZ in to the shop after experiencing the idle hunting, flashing CEL, and rough idle issue on my way to work. Thankfully my dealership in Tucson is F*ing awesome and really takes care of their customers, so I hope they can get the problem fixed quickly without issues.

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by Vis101

Under the lemon law, do they have to also pay for any upgrades you've done to the car, such as window tint and clear bra? I ask because I just took my BRZ in to the shop after experiencing the idle hunting, flashing CEL, and rough idle issue on my way to work. Thankfully my dealership in Tucson is F*ing awesome and really takes care of their customers, so I hope they can get the problem fixed quickly without issues.

Lemon Law does not cover any aftermarket parts like rims tint, clear bra, lights, etc.

Only the amount out of your pocket that was paid to for the car and registrations minus a usage fee.

I just got out of a lemon Nissan LOL

[Vis101]

Yikes. How much was the usage fee? Aka, how much did they account for depreciation?

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

[Turkish]

Picked up my replacement on Monday, too early to tell anything, but it was built in September so that is in my favor!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[shiro]

Update 12:
26 Dec 2013

The Tides Have Changed:
Today, I finally was in touch with Corporate Toyota after two weeks of playing phone tag. I took the whole day off and have my phone strapped to me to hear to get this phone call since they don't seem to call after 4:30 p.m. CST (2:30 p.m. PST). I was pretty respectful and so was the case manager; however, Toyota continues to disappoint me from the dealership to corporate level. You can be as resourceful, knowledgeable and respectful as you want but the corporate representatives never seem to stray from their "cookie-cutter" script. They repeat the same sentences over and over again reading from a play book and once you've reached the manager level they claim there is no one higher to talk to. (enough of my ranting, time for the facts and courses of action).

Aside from my opinion, so far I had:

• Three different corporate case managers,
• Case was closed over a month or two ago by corporate without my knowledge,
• Reverted the car back to stock by case manager request (second case manager),
• Dropped off the car at a Toyota dealership to get the engine diagnosed (request by second case manager),
• Dealership (service manager) does a quick look at the car and claims the variable valve timing was adjusted, the bellhouse cover for the timing chain was on backwards, and the timing chain was adjusted by the consumer/tuner. None of these were altered by the consumer or tuner.
• Corporate Toyota only notes customer's dissatisfaction does not get involved with concerns about a dealership's knowledge, integrity, and quality of work. These are to be filed internally with the dealership.
• Regional managers have the overall authority to accept or decline a repair. Toyota/Scion case managers and dealerships support the regional managers (source is third case manager--second case manager's manager).

Overall, as of today I have a few other courses of action I will be taking on this issue. It's time to get out of Toyota's realm and into an unbiased playing field. When looking deeper into law there are still many avenues a consumer can take. Understanding the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act can help consumers on aftermarket modifications to a car that dealerships may still be required to cover parts but note labor. That was just a side not but I still have other actions to pursue.

Edit: I wanted to repost this link to a site that was posted by a fellow forum member. It talks about SEMA and the Magnuson-Moss Act
http://www.sema.org/sema-enews/2011/...ermarket-parts

[irvin1958]

irvin1958, FFR-S, 1751 mi., 7013XX, just occurred- unable to put in shop on Sunday, Daytona Beach, FL