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

[zberz]

Wait, you didn't get the CEL-free drift button? ;-)

sent from my phone using black magic

[Higher Being]

Originally Posted by zberz

Wait, you didn't get the CEL-free drift button? ;-)

sent from my phone using black magic

lol right?


This experience has completely turned me off on our cars. Im reading so much bad shit about this situation and they havent really pin pointed any of the issues yet. I took my car in this morning and they said basically the same things as Thursday. Except more codes are present then their were originally. They of course need my car for the day but are refusing to give me a loaner car till further diagnostics.....

Im really irritated. As soon as this car is paid off im going back to modding hondas.

[Morphus1]

I'm going through these issues at the moment but its only happened after going FI.

I've had the lights come up, Idle issues since buying it, stopped after I flashed with OFT.

Now the idle issues causes it to stall, flutter, bunnyhop.

My previous mechanic turned off all the errors for P0017 but my new mechanic found them and now we are trying to solve the problem.

Car is pretty modded, 2015 86 GCC spec.

Edelbrock SC, full exhaust, Fuel Pump and injectors, oil cooler, etc..

Hes tried all sorts to get it running right next on the list is a flush before we go the cam sprocket route...

[Varrik]

I did a search in this thread before posting, but I followed the diagnostic tree and am replacing a Cam Sprocket due to a P0011 code on the 21st at a local place.


I am boosted with an SBD Turbo Kit. Tune is by Shiv on OFT.


My LTFT and STFT sit at 20+ at all times. I originally thought it was an intake/vac/exhaust leak but a smoke test said otherwise. No leaks.


Could a faulty Cam Sprocket cause my fuel trim issues or is this likely a symptom of something else that caused the Sprocket to fail?


Thanks for any info!

[armstrom]

Let me apologize as I'm sure this information is somewhere deep in this 212 page long thread but I was hoping someone could summarize this problem. How common is it? Does it mostly occur with forced induction? I just picked up a certified used 2013 BRZ with 22k miles on it. I have the standard 7yr/100k powertrain warranty but I'm curious if these issues are covered outside the 3/36 bumper to bumper. It's strange sometimes the things that are claimed to be "not part of the powertrain"
-Matt

[snidd111]

I have rev hunting between 2k and 2.5k RPM and will always get the CEL(s) thrown at 3100 RPM.

CELs thrown:
P0021 (always)
P0011 (rare, but sometimes)

I'm having my ECU flashed to stock by my tuner on Friday. The issue has been going on a while, but it was extremely rare at first. I'm at 28k miles now and it's pretty frequent. The dealership has the issue documented, but refused to look at it (despite holding my car for 2 days) without me paying diagnostic fees. Seems like they're trying to reverse the blame to me.

They also dinged the roof of my car and told me to prove it.

I filled a survey out with Scion but never heard back. Also called the dealership when I found that they had left my hood unlatched, my trunk unlatched (lets figure out why they had that open), and repeatedly gave me the car back with more error codes than when I brought it in. I was told a manager couldn't be found and that I'd be contacted immediately. Again, I never heard back.

It's a shame to see such mistreatment of customers once they've bought the car. Till you sign the paperwork, they'd get down on their knees to lick your boots. After that, they just want you out the door so that your issues don't affect their future sales.

[andlee28]

Thought I'd add my experience so far:

The car is a 2013 10 Series MT

Getting repairs at Toyota dealership:

1. CEL and Slip light both illuminated close to 21k miles.
2. Dealership receives car 3/23/2016 shortly after 7am.
3. Dealership is clueless, Toyota Corporate takes over.
4. ECU replaced, now there is a knock from the engine.
5. Toyota will send technician this week for replacing short block.

Time without car: 13+ days

[armstrom]

It looks like the OP no longer maintains the list on the first post of this thread. I'm guessing the number of failures is much higher now. Many of the reports seem to indicate the dealers just throw parts at this issue without much understanding of what's going on or how to fix it. Has anyone tried to do a detailed root cause analysis themselves? As an owner without a bumper-to-bumper warranty this particular issue worries me. It's one thing for the dealer to try throwing a mess of parts at the problem to try to fix it when Toyota/Subaru are footing the bill. When it's my dime I would prefer to have a solid understanding of the problem and apply the correct fix.

Anyone up for a thread to discuss this problem from a technical standpoint?
-Matt

[andlee28]

Originally Posted by armstrom

It looks like the OP no longer maintains the list on the first post of this thread. I'm guessing the number of failures is much higher now. Many of the reports seem to indicate the dealers just throw parts at this issue without much understanding of what's going on or how to fix it. Has anyone tried to do a detailed root cause analysis themselves? As an owner without a bumper-to-bumper warranty this particular issue worries me. It's one thing for the dealer to try throwing a mess of parts at the problem to try to fix it when Toyota/Subaru are footing the bill. When it's my dime I would prefer to have a solid understanding of the problem and apply the correct fix.

Anyone up for a thread to discuss this problem from a technical standpoint?
-Matt

I'd also love to hear a detailed technical explanation.

Armstrom - to try to help put you more at ease, it seems this cause is from the ECU which might result in damage to the engine. If this is in fact the case, the ECU is part of the powertrain warranty and should be covered for you (and I assume damaged engine parts as well since it was caused by the ECU).

[armstrom]

My understanding was that the ecu was not covered by the powertrain warranty on Subarus...
-Matt

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[HotLavaFRS]

I caught mine doing it on video, its difficult to catch it in traffic but it usually does this a couple times on my way home from work. It hasn't thrown a light or anything yet and this was one of the more mild events.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5Vl5RQd1qg"]Rpm hunt issue - YouTube[/ame]

[jeffchap]

Originally Posted by HotLavaFRS

I caught mine doing it on video, its difficult to catch it in traffic but it usually does this a couple times on my way home from work. It hasn't thrown a light or anything yet and this was one of the more mild events.

That looks pretty normal, and if you haven't thrown a CEL yet, I wouldn't worry about it at all. I've never had a car that didn't hunt around a little bit at idle.

[andlee28]

armstrom - I'm not sure about Subarus in general, I may have been assuming. For the FR-S at least, it is covered by the Scion powertrain warranty https://www.scion.com/cm-pdf/warranty/2013/fr-s.pdf (page 12 - engine control computer) so I assumed it would be the same for the BRZ. I could not find a Subaru version, maybe it has it in your manual.

[armstrom]

Here's a similar listing for subaru... http://www.subaru.com/owners/vehicle...ties-2013.html
You'll note the engine control computer is not listed in the covered items.. but the electronic transmission control unit is (for AT cars). I'll have to talk to my dealer to be sure. Would be a major let-down if Scion covered the ECU but Subaru didn't
-Matt