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

[fatrab]

Just an update from me, engine replaced and all good. However, I decided to part company with the car. I'd lost interest after 6 months of dealing with this issue.

[Ben_G]

Ben_G - BRZ - 6041XX - 47,000 KM (29,000 mi) - Canada - Scheduled for warranty repair.

CEL/SL light came on. No idle problems, but car felt sluggish for about three days beforehand. Took it in and it was diagnosed immediately as needing a new timing cam sprocket. (we'll see what the work order actually says when I get back into the dealership).

Car is still drivable, but timing seems to be SUPER retarded.

Going in for warranty service next Tuesday.

Dealership reset CEL/SL, but came back on within 10km of driving.

Will post on outcome later next week.

UPDATE - So it was a P0016 code that was thrown. Dealership tried first to replace cam sprocket, but that didn't resolve it. Dealership then replaced ECU, which has seemed to make it better. Car pulls hard again and motor seems to respond better to throttle inputs.

[BAMF86]

I had the same issue as the guy above, threw code P0016 and slip light. Car seemed to run fine, but idle was a little funky.

Brought it in for warranty repair with 26,000 miles, dealer didn't ask much about mods. I took off header/full exhaust and put back stock system and flashed back to stock tune with OFT before I brought it in.

Car fixed four days later. They replaced ECM with an updated one, i'm guessing thats another term for ECU? They also replaced unti-EGI Control module. Car runs great again, seemed to fix the idle dip issue as well.

[Marrk]

@BAMF86: Good to hear. Keep us updated in the coming weeks and months.


P.S. What's an EGI?

[RustyShackleford]

Originally Posted by RustyShackleford

Alright, so I finally got my car to the dealership today for the appointment I scheduled. I was in there for only about a half hour before they came out and told me that the P000B should be fixed with a reflash which they did on the spot. I was only able to drive about 20 miles so far but aside from the throttle relearning the car seems okay for now.

I didn't hear or feel any mechanical issues before the fix aside from the occasional idle hunting so I don't have anything to really judge yet, but the car did not idle hunt at all on my drive home (which it would mostly seem to do only after the car was fully warmed up).

I will update if I run into anymore problems.

Because I'm a dope, I posted the above originally in the TSB / Recall Megathread but it really applies more directly to this thread...

The P000B code is already back on my car, but the car is not idle hunting at all and actually running very smoothly and without any other apparent issues after the updated dealer reflash. It seemed like it was running fine prior to the dealer reflash with the exception of some idle hunting but now that's gone and everything feels even better than before. The slip light is also not staying on it's gone off and stayed off and I drove about 60 miles today with the CEL on and SL off (previously it would go off for a few miles then kick back on for 30-40 miles).

I didn't mention this in the previous update because I didn't think it would be relevant (and probably still isn't) but in addition to the reflash my dealership tried to say there was too much oil in my system and that was causing issues. This of course is total bunk...It was about 5000 miles since an oil change when the CEL originally popped up and only 300 miles after my most recent oil change when I took it to the dealer. I've taken my car to my dad's shop for every oil change and watched him fill the car up every single time (5.8 quarts per the owner's manual and the Alldata system he uses at his shop says the same thing).

The service rep tried to say the car took 4.5 qts (but in his defense he didn't state this for fact and said he would confirm with the tech), but he came back and said the tech was saying that he THOUGHT it was 5.2 qts (says 5.2L/5.8qts WITH filter in the owner's manual so simply could have been a disconnect but that's very unsettling when this is your job and you're passing along info that you aren't 100% sure about). Regardless, the reality is there is not too much oil in the system.

At this point, my dad said he's just gonna take a look at the car at his place and try to figure out what's wrong and we'll go from there.

01/30 Update: My CEL turned off all by itself driving to work this morning and stayed off for the entire ride home. My dad said he would still take a look at it but as long as the light's staying off he wasn't gonna go crazy with things. I'll post another update if it comes back on and I have to do anything else.

[Blackpk34]

2015 frs 100 miles on it chirps like a son of a gun But its not really an issue tb honest

[carma143]

Last week I had the engine light go off. The car started acting a little funny. For the rest of the day, whenever I started the car it would sit at ~1.9k rpm , eventually going down to ~1.1k rpm. The day after there was no engine light and the car seemed to function like before. Could this be the same issue?

[RustyShackleford]

My CEL came back on for P000B, no idle hunting issues anymore and the car seems to be running fine. Since my car seems to be an outlier among many people with this issue in that it happened at almost 40,000 miles (I have just over 40,000 now) I'm past the 3/36K warranty that covers most of these parts that are being replaced (aside from the ECU).

My dad is going to take a look at the car at his shop and try to fix the issue, once I get the CEL issue sorted out I'm getting rid of the car unless it becomes ridiculous in which case I'll just cut bait and run. I just don't want to keep dealing with these headaches and quite honestly I'm planning on relocating over 1000 miles from where I live now so trading down into something cheap and economical (but boring as hell so I'm not looking forward to that) will be a good idea to save me some money down the road. Once my move is complete and I'm established I can look at getting a fun car again but I'm not sure I would consider another Subaru.

I've driven 9 different cars in my life and outside of my BRZ and the Hyundai Accent hatch I owned prior every other car was used and had over 100K miles. I didn't have any major hassles with any car except for this BRZ. I know that this isn't a MAJOR issue because the car runs fine but it's unacceptable to have an ongoing issue like this at just 40K miles that can't seem to get sorted out and while I know that it's just a case of bad luck, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth towards the Subaru brand.

[Squishy]

Update - 25,000 mile later at 30k on the odo I now have the P0017 Exhaust Cam code.

Taking to dealer to see if it can be fixed.

If they can great - I can relax and run it like it is until the Vorshlag v8 swap kit is out and invest in a LS3! There go my worries.

[pepelocuas]

I have a 2013 FR-S. Went to Toyota of Riverside for the Idling Problem a month ago. They tested the car and the Service Manager MIKE BROWN came with an estimate of 750.- to begin and more if it need it.
He said, car in NOT cover by warranty because it was in an accident( HAS ONLY 4100 miles), but they change the oil and filter under warranty. Weird isn't it.
Went back yesterday again to check if the ECU was upgraded, because I call TOYOTA and they told me to do the computer first before touching the engine. His unswer was "COMPUTER UPGRADE WON'T FIX THE PROBLEM, WE NEED TO PERFORMED THE REPAIR".
I took it today to TOYOTA OF CORONA, computer was upgraded and covered by the WARRANTY and the check Engine & VSC lite doesn't light up.
Car runs better and when stop, idle steady at 700 RPM.
Pass the word to people in California, Inland Empire DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR TO TOYOYA OF RIVERSIDE FOR REPAIR

[Sugi]

Mine is having the idle issue @3000 miles, but no CEL. I've taken it to my local dealer (Tracy, CA) several times and at first they thought it was a vacuum line. Now they're stating that they may have to replace the ECU. I will update with results.

[Sugi]

Originally Posted by Sugi

Mine is having the idle issue @3000 miles, but no CEL. I've taken it to my local dealer (Tracy, CA) several times and at first they thought it was a vacuum line. Now they're stating that they may have to replace the ECU. I will update with results.

ECU ordered! Once installed, I will update.

[Vic]

Add me onto the list, 2013 Scion FR-S, 15,620 miles. CEL and Slip light, NY.
Code disappeared after pulling the battery. Going to remove a few parts then taking it into the dealer when the next light comes on.

I demand a protest at Toyota/Subaru Headquarters or a list where we can all sign to tell corporate to do an official recall for this shit instead of going into the dealer and having them "check" what the problem is...

[m3bassman]

Originally Posted by Vic

Add me onto the list, 2013 Scion FR-S, 15,620 miles. CEL and Slip light, NY.
Code disappeared after pulling the battery. Going to remove a few parts then taking it into the dealer when the next light comes on.

I demand a protest at Toyota/Subaru Headquarters or a list where we can all sign to tell corporate to do an official recall for this shit instead of going into the dealer and having them "check" what the problem is...

what do you mean you are going to remove some parts before going to the dealership?