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

[sho220]

Originally Posted by Marrk

Okay. But isn't this contradictory to the experience many are having with the HPFP problem, which Toyota seems to be addressing in a conscientious and forthright manner?

Went to my Toyota dealer about 3 weeks ago and they said both the wonky idle and the incessant chirping are "normal"...

[@Art_Mighty]

Originally Posted by Marrk

Okay. But isn't this contradictory to the experience many are having with the HPFP problem, which Toyota seems to be addressing in a conscientious and forthright manner?

Marrk,

The devil is in the details.

Individually, as paying customers, once we have the CEL come on I would say we're being treated very well by both the dealer and by Scion (other than being kept in the dark about this issues root cause; I paid up, I have a right to know). Toyota is very intrested in retaining Scion customers (for reasons I'll explane in a minute) and their going to bend over backwards for us because they need us.

However private citizens intrested in the FR-S are actively being deceived by Toyota's suppression of this issue because of the likely sales catastrophe which would result. After the PR disaster from their unattended acceleration debacle two years ago they went from 1st the 3rd in sales for months in the US. Honda, Hyundai, GM and especially Ford were well positioned to pounce and they did (Toyota is still recovering from the issue).

Mediating on this problem from Toyota's perspective (as well as our own), this is completely a no-win scenario for both of us;

> they can't afford to loose us as customers
> they really can't afford to be truthful with us
> denying our collective exprence with this issue just breeds anger
> everyone effected will always know our cars are less then perfect

...and all of this because everone listed on the first page of this thead (and many others world wide), at random, drew the short straw.

Toyota created Scion brand because demographically the people who buy Toyota's bread and butter products are baby boomers and they are beginning to dieoff. From what I remember reading about this, Toyota believed in attracting younger buyers into the Scion brand who would later trade up their tC's for Camery's as they married and had families. This goes out to all you twenty something's, Toyota needs you!!!

I personally test drove 4 other cars the day I bought this one. The FS-R drove better, but the number 1 reason I buy a different car is for piece of mind. Had I know about this problem at that point, I would have not purchased this FR-S. I had a better deal on the table on two other cars and I had an E46 M3 that was paid for.

Now after driving the my car for 1600 miles I am literally addicted to the FR-S, this sucks...

[Books]

I'm being treated wonderfully and exactly what I expected by Scion/Toyota. Have any of you ever own an Audi/BMW/etc.? I've had worse experiences from them. And Lexus has by far been my favorite, which is also Toyota.

[TanMan]

Originally Posted by OmarGC

Hey guys, just to make you guys feel better or worse.... I've been doing a lot of reading the past hour or so on 2 Japanese 86 forums, actually registered to one out of boredom. In Japan, guys are experiencing the same problem it's probably not going to seem as wide spread over there as it is here in America and other countries as the culture is different and the amount patience there is far greater then the majority of people in the world.

But to the point... Guys having the same erratic idle, check engine lights, some are reporting detonation/engine knock in the low rpm range during load(2000-2500rpm range). Engineers are dishing out the same fixes as they are here in America mainly cam gear/cam shaft, and ecu fixes.

Here's a thread immediately off of the recent post section of a JP forum: http://toyota-86.jp/86society/Lounge...d_id/3876.html

If you guys care to hear anything else interesting I may follow up in the morning(US time zones) as it's already Sunday afternoon in the motherland(Japan) so the forum should be at it's highest point of activity in a few hours before people go out for Sunday evening gatherings/races.

- Omar, the Japanese speaking Puerto Rican

Omar, it'll be awesome if you can help fill us in on the situation in the Land of the Rising Sun! If we are going to hear anything on a possible fix, I'd bet it will come from that side of the world first!

[RossGA]

Originally Posted by Books

I'm being treated wonderfully and exactly what I expected by Scion/Toyota. Have any of you ever own an Audi/BMW/etc.? I've had worse experiences from them. And Lexus has by far been my favorite, which is also Toyota.

I am currently trying to get rid of my nightmare of an Audi S4. Since the warranty ended, everything on that car seems to be going wrong. And Audi is no help, even though the problems are so prevalent there are talks of class action suits. Losing an Audi BHF V8 due to intake VVT timing issues that seem to commonly set in somewhere around 60K is literally a 5 figure repair bill.

[@Art_Mighty]

Originally Posted by Books

I'm being treated wonderfully and exactly what I expected by Scion/Toyota. Have any of you ever own an Audi/BMW/etc.? I've had worse experiences from them. And Lexus has by far been my favorite, which is also Toyota.

My experience with Audi/VW was terrible but honestly I have nothing but good things to say about my BMW ownership experience. Over 4 years I was treated very well by them and I would gladly own another one.

[Alienate]

Just got back from a short 15 mile trip. While stopped at lite, CEL and SL came on again and stayed on till I got home. (2 miles)

After reading this thread, I am wondering if the fact that I used Castrol Edge Full Syn 5W-20 instead of the recommended 0W-20 could be related to this problem.

I got my first CEL with in 30 miles after the oil change.

[Synack]

Looks like 96% of the cars have a 706XXX VIN or higher. This comforts me a little bit and others with 705XXX and lower.

[86'ing]

tbh im really nervous it like if i get my car back then it goes right back then, my choices are stick with tthe same car, swap out into another frs, or just get out of the purchase all together. its a shame i really enjoyed this car.......i wonder if JAY LENO is getting the CEL issue!!! Bwahahahahaha

[OmarGC]

Originally Posted by TanMan

Omar, it'll be awesome if you can help fill us in on the situation in the Land of the Rising Sun! If we are going to hear anything on a possible fix, I'd bet it will come from that side of the world first!

I'm actually living in America now(Illinois, very close to St. Louis). But I try to do what I can when I can, but I'm extrrrremmeeely busy... It's currently 4:45pm Sunday and I've been awake since 4am Saturday morning with no signs of working in time to sleep until well after midnight CST.

[eurospeed]

Originally Posted by Books

I'm being treated wonderfully and exactly what I expected by Scion/Toyota. Have any of you ever own an Audi/BMW/etc.? I've had worse experiences from them. And Lexus has by far been my favorite, which is also Toyota.

From my perspective, customer service from both Scion corporate and the dealerships seems to be hit or miss. For me, both were an absolute disappointment and significant drain on my time. I've owned many VWs and BMWs and both companies were exceptional compared to my experiences from this recent issue.

The biggest concern here, however, is not the quality of service, it is the fact that Toyota have not yet disclosed this issue to the public (recall, TSB, or other means) and continue to sell new FR-S' still affected by the idle problem.

[eurospeed]

Originally Posted by invaliduser

Picked up mine this afternoon after a toyota engineer flashed it this morning. All is well. No more idle or CEL.

Just curious, in which state are you located and how many weeks in shop?

[soconfoozed]

Originally Posted by Synack

Looks like 96% of the cars have a 706XXX VIN or higher. This comforts me a little bit and others with 705XXX and lower.

I'm 6XXXXX. Build date 4/14.

So far, so good on the CEL fix. I was waiting for a little more documentation from my dealer on what was replaced, but maybe I'll start that fix thread...

Edit: misread VIN decoding. I'm a 1XXX.

[invaliduser]

Just curious, in which state are you located and how many weeks in shop?

Louisiana
In shop for total of 10 days. Took delivery of the car and the idle issue started immediately. Dealer called Toyota and was instructed to sit tight as they were removing the previous TSB and were working on a new fix.