Idle issue?

[R8]

Originally Posted by LaserMon

The code they pulled was P0018...

P0018 TOYOTA - Crankshaft Position Camshaft Position Correlation Bank 2 Sensor 'A'

Possible causes

- Dirty Oil
- Variable Valve Timing (VVT) sensor circuit is open or shorted
- Variable Valve Timing (VVT) sensor poor electrical connection
- Faulty Variable Valve Timing (VVT) sensor
- Damaged ECM

[EsoBOFH]

Originally Posted by whiteout fr-s

They did drive the car, the miles showed it, thing is they didn't drive it long distance, only a bunch of short drives stop and go.

And as of right now they can read the codes but headquarters has to decipher them.

I wouldn't be scared about this, this is more my bad luck than anything. Im sure most of you just need vvtr control valves replaced correctly

Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2

Whiteout - start the lemon law process now!! if you end up getting the car back and are happy with it, you can stop the proceedings. But in case that doesn't happen, it's good to have this process started and happening... I am pretty sure you've ended up with an f*d up car, and you'll never feel right about it (at least, I wouldnt) - get yourself a new one!

[ZmZMWagon]

Someone who can read Japanese should research some of the Japanese forums to see if they are having similar issues.

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by whiteout fr-s

Well, I got the car back this last Monday after they "fixed" the issue. 6 Technicians were flown in from Japan to look at my car and they determined it was the VVTR control valve. They replaced the valve, drove the car "lightly" for 80 miles and told me it was good to go.

I drove the car to my house, about 30 minutes away or 15 miles (In Boston traffic) and decided to pick up my girlfriend and go for a drive through a nice windy mountain road at about 35 mph since this is the first time I have really been able to drive the car in about a month. This is where my problems started. At the first stop sign my car started to get the shakes again and act like it was going to stall out. I tried to ignore it and continue up the road at which time I heard a lawn mower metal on metal sound coming from the engine. It started really gradually and then became extremely loud over a period of about 5 minutes. At this point I started to hear squealing, insanely loud knocking, backfiring and finally it seized on the side of the road. I tried to start it up and it made some metal banging sounds but wouldn't fully turn over.

I ended up having to call Toyota roadside assistance to have the car towed to the nearest service center and was stuck on the side of a dark road for a couple of hours. The next day I was called by the dealership and told that this was a "major" issue and that it would be addressed immediately. It wasn't until today that I was called and told to pick up my lovely Toyota corolla base model rental car and that they where not going to be able to fix the car anytime soon. Scion informed me that I would have to wait for some more techs to arrive AGAIN and that if I didn't want to wait for the car to be fixed I need to start the arbitration process to get a refund which can take over a month once all the paperwork has been received. Needless to say this whole experience has been a nightmare and all I have to show for it is a car payment that I'm still responsible for even though I have only driven the car a total of 3 hours in the month that I have owned it.

Toyota really dropped the ball on this whole launch.

Do you have the specific code of the cel that was thrown? (Example P0440)

[eriktherod]

P1604 is "Startability Malfuction" which is probably just a byproduct of your P0018 Crankshaft Sensor Error.

[JP]

P0018 isn't uncommon on dual or quad avcs subaru boxers. Lots of different causes, oil viscosity, low rpm, dirty sensors, foreign matierial blocking the solenoid filter, etc etc etc.

[Razz]

Originally Posted by whiteout fr-s

Yeah there solution right now is either play the waiting game or fight them to get my money back.

In my experience the sounds coming from the engine sound like a bent rod as this happened on my s-10 about 8 years ago.

As for tracking the car they told me they drove the car "lightly" up and down the RPM range allowing the car to sit and idle afterwards to check for the stalling issue. They said they did not notice the issue anymore and I can honestly say that when I first drove the car off the lot it did not seem to be having the idle issue any longer. I didn't push the car though and it happened again, and quite frankly even if I had pushed the car something this serious shouldn't happen at all. It started with the "chirping" sound a lot of you are referring to but just gradually got worse and finally died. I did have the check engine light on so there are some codes to be analyzed but no one in the US has the right equipment yet to do anything with this.

You do not have to fight them for your money back.

They asked you if you wanted to fill the paper work out.

By law after 30 days the car is considered to be a lemon.

Your choices:
1)Fill out the paper work claiming it is a lemon and get your money back.
2)If you really love the car.. tell them to give you another one in it's place.
3)Tell them to make all the payments until you get the car back.

A) They found the problem but screwed up the installation and blew up your engine
B) They found part of the problem and something else is also wrong with the car
C) They did an educated guess, replaced the part, but are completely wrong as to what the problem really is.


There is nothing special about the FRS/BRZ they do not need special equipment. It uses an OBDII port. They can read the codes to do diagnostics.

I would pick option 1, and if you really love the car... wait for the 2014 model as it will have an improved intake manifold to remove the torque dip plus other enhancements.

[fistpoint]

Originally Posted by phm14

The car was a joint venture, and does exhibit contributions from Toyota. Toyota owns 11% of Subaru, who sold Toyota the stock because of financial difficulties (another reason I went with the Toyota branded product). This car would never have been developed without funding and input from Toyota.

Toyota funded it, provided Subaru with the exterior styling, handed them the direct injection system, and lastly, used the keyfob from a Prius...Toyotas hardware involvement ends there. They might have given thumbs up or down along the process, but it's still completely Subaru engineered and built.

[Hawaiian]

Originally Posted by fistpoint

Toyota funded it, provided Subaru with the exterior styling, handed them the direct injection system, and lastly, used the keyfob from a Prius...Toyotas hardware involvement ends there. They might have given thumbs up or down along the process, but it's still completely Subaru engineered and built.

Sure... if you completely ignore the fact that half of the team included Toyota engineers and designers as per Moto's post.

[jflogerzi]

Wow that sucks. I agree with others and start the lemon process. If you really love the car, get another one. Plenty of perfectly happy people with no issues. Also to those who say wait for 2014, the guy may not be able to if its his only car? I guess he/she could drive a beater around for a year and sell it.

[ahausheer]

I hate to say it but don't cut them any slack for it being a new car/ engine etc etc. I mean, as a community we expect bugs here and there but from a business standpoint I would seriously look into the lemon law. Then I would buy the same car but this time with my fingers crossed. This whole thing can be very intimidating but remember that you have rights as a consumer, I'm sure there are members that could help you with the best approach in terms of legality (or patience because legal process suck). Best of luck.

Edit- We don't know if the torque curve will get better for 2014. Those TVG valves are for cold start emissions only, in their current iteration.

[eriktherod]

I agree that it sucks to have something like this (if it is a problem like the CEL/stalls guys are having) with a new car. The problem with the Lemon Law is that, even while it may work beautifully and you get your money back, what alternative to the FRS/BRZ do you have? There really isn't a car that competes in the same way. It's not like you can get another car and go "damn, this is WAY better than that other piece was." You're more or less left going, "bah, I wish the poor Toyobaru didn't have that problem, I'd have kept it over this."

Not to say someone might not be happy with another car in due time, but I feel like this particular car fills a niche that is otherwise void.

[Bonburner]

Originally Posted by eriktherod

I agree that it sucks to have something like this (if it is a problem like the CEL/stalls guys are having) with a new car. The problem with the Lemon Law is that, even while it may work beautifully and you get your money back, what alternative to the FRS/BRZ do you have? There really isn't a car that competes in the same way. It's not like you can get another car and go "damn, this is WAY better than that other piece was." You're more or less left going, "bah, I wish the poor Toyobaru didn't have that problem, I'd have kept it over this."

Not to say someone might not be happy with another car in due time, but I feel like this particular car fills a niche that is otherwise void.

There really isn't.
I've been looking for a car that I truly liked from the get go since 2008.
Never found anything until the FRS.

[adprokid]

Originally Posted by ZmZMWagon

Someone who can read Japanese should research some of the Japanese forums to see if they are having similar issues.

i was wondering about the same thing