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

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by TemeCal

Yes. They called to say they flashed my 811 ECU, but that it threw a CEL when they were test driving to confirm the fix. They said they need to check with Toyota, to determine what should be done next. So, my car is sitting at the dealer until they try some other fix.

I'm sorry to hear that. What you guys are going through is just aggravating beyond words...

[TemeCal]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

I'm sorry to hear that. What you guys are going through is just aggravating beyond words...

Luckily this is just my weekend car, so I'm not too frustrated at this point. It is a bit sad though, considering it's been in twice with less than 900 miles on the engine.

Hopefully they'll get to the bottom of all this soon!

[Boost_Junkie]

Mine popped on this morning @ 1115 miles. Had the tech scan when I got to work (I'm a service adviser at a Subaru dealer) P0019. I get to come in on my day off so the rep can flash it lol. Limp mode blows...

[Marrk]

Originally Posted by CharlieChaos

So got my call back today and I was told they would offer me 1 payment and 7 year extended warranty for the 20+ days for the CEL / SL light the condensation in the tail lights and still waiting on a fuel pump. Not that I'm not happy but the rep decided to add in after saying Toyota would do that is "Just remember we didn't have to do any of this it is a good will gesture"

Yes you are doing me a favor by giving me an extended warranty on a vehicle that had to have a VVTI Gear... wait no I mean ECU Flash..... Wait no new ECU done. Oh btw we also need to do

Pump Assembly, Fuel 1
SU003-00342 Same Pipe, Fuel Delivery, No. 2 1
SU003-00347 Same Gasket 1
SU003-00290 Same Gasket, Intake Manifold to Head, No. 1 2

SU003-00316 Same Gasket, Throttle Body

and new tailights!

I don't know more or less aggrivated because I felt like I was spoon fed a bunch of BS and now that they got the car out of the shop just under the lemon law they want to act like they are doing me a favor by crediting me a payment for a car that was off the road 20+ days as well as a extended warranty which cost $0 unless its used.

Maybe Im blowing off steam being aggrivated that I spent another 3.5 hours for them to order parts and then tell me the ETA of the parts is "Who Knows Its An FRS" don't worry drive the car and we will call you whenever it comes in.

So, the make a faint effort at doing the right thing, then they squat down and take a reeking sh*t on top of it. Nice, very nice.

[@Art_Mighty]

Originally Posted by Goodguy889

Ooh btw update today, scion rep left a voicemail stating the part has been pushed back farther..... He wants to speak to talk about options whatever that means. Will update tomorrow if he calls. He's a hard guy to reach

How many days without your car?

[rapidcars]

Major Update: After the reflash today, I'm now sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck cause my engine is making a very loud clanking noise and sounds and feels like its going to blow up. Erratic idling, very delayed throttle response and its feels like it would stall any second if I kept going. Also smell burning after popping the hood. I dont feel safe driving it 3 miles to home. Its that bad. No check engine light yet though oddly. Car made it all of 40 miles after the dealer said it was fixed. Now I want a new car. Either the dealer majorly screwed up the repair or my engine was doomed from the factory.

[@Art_Mighty]

Originally Posted by rapidcars

Major Update: After the reflash today, I'm now sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck cause my engine is making a very loud clanking noise and sounds and feels like its going to blow up. Erratic idling, very delayed throttle response and its feels like it would stall any second if I kept going. Also smell burning after popping the hood. I dont feel safe driving it 3 miles to home. Its that bad. No check engine light yet though oddly. Car made it all of 40 miles after the dealer said it was fixed. Now I want a new car. Either the dealer majorly screwed up the repair or my engine was doomed from the factory.

Was it driving that rought as you were making you're way away from the dealer?

[rapidcars]

Originally Posted by @Art_Mighty

Was it driving that rought as you were making you're way away from the dealer?

No it was fine. I noticed a little bit of a rough idle when I got back to work after about 20 minutes. Drove home and it was fine. Then I noticed the idle getting worse and it almost stalled and caught itself. Then I noticed a minor clanking sound when I accelerated from that light. As I drove it got worse and worse. So bad that I had to pull over because the car was shaking like crazy and felt like it was going to blow up. Tow truck driver thinks the engine is blown. He had trouble getting it up the flatbed.

Sorry to vent but this is ridiculous. Apparently this is not just a software issue and the light is coming on for a reason. I believe I'm the 2nd blown motor and we've had one catch on fire. This could turn into a real mess. My cel code was P00017. The dealer replaced the cam sprocket, reflashed the ecm, and then put back in the original cam sprocket per Subaru corporate (no idea why). Test drove it for 30 miles and said it was fine.


On a side note: he also pointed out that my wheel locks were missing. Apparently the dealer took them off and never put them back on. Or someone attempted to steal them.

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by rapidcars

No it was fine. I noticed a little bit of a rough idle when I got back to work after about 20 minutes. Drove home and it was fine. Then I noticed the idle getting worse and it almost stalled and caught itself. Then I noticed a minor clanking sound when I accelerated from that light. As I drove it got worse and worse. So bad that I had to pull over because the car was shaking like crazy and felt like it was going to blow up. Tow truck driver thinks the engine is blown. He had trouble getting it up the flatbed.

Sorry to vent but this is ridiculous. Apparently this is not just a software issue and the light is coming on for a reason. I believe I'm the 2nd blown motor and we've had one catch on fire. This could turn into a real mess. My cel code was P00017. The dealer replaced the cam sprocket, reflashed the ecm, and then put back in the original cam sprocket per Subaru corporate (no idea why). Test drove it for 30 miles and said it was fine.


On a side note: he also pointed out that my wheel locks were missing. Apparently the dealer took them off and never put them back on. Or someone attempted to steal them.

File a complaint with the NHTSA: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/Vehicl...nt/index.xhtml

...Toyo/Subaru need to get their act together

[Goodguy889]

Originally Posted by @Art_Mighty

How many days without your car?

Since 9/21

[ftc~brz]

Originally Posted by rapidcars

Major Update: After the reflash today, I'm now sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck cause my engine is making a very loud clanking noise and sounds and feels like its going to blow up. Erratic idling, very delayed throttle response and its feels like it would stall any second if I kept going. Also smell burning after popping the hood. I dont feel safe driving it 3 miles to home. Its that bad. No check engine light yet though oddly. Car made it all of 40 miles after the dealer said it was fixed. Now I want a new car. Either the dealer majorly screwed up the repair or my engine was doomed from the factory.

That's just insane....I really hope none of us get friggin killed by this issue. This is just not cool

[STEVEOSTI]

Just wanted to share my thoughts... I am Steve Nairn, and joined this FB group. I'd like to keep the forum up to date.

Steve Nairn
Got some more info today... Looks like the fix is not going to be a simple reflash, or cam gear issue. These were attempts to fix a bigger issue. The reason the cam gear is not in the correct position is because it is controlled by oil pressure. The casting of the heads is the real cause I'm being told. I have had oil control valves swapped, cam sensors swapped, ecu swapped and problem sill exists. The BRZ they have been swapping parts from has not had the cam related codes pop at all... Even when my "faulty parts" were installed on it to see if it was a non mechanical part. Looks like this is going to be a real major issue which is why there is no simple "fix".
Like · · Unfollow Post · Sunday at 9:21pm near Huntsville
Seen by 46
Arthur Nascimento likes this.

Kenneth Loo Steve, any more detail on the real issue? My interpretation is the cam timing is off because the gearing is controlled by oil pressure? Why is the oil pressure off?
Monday at 3:26am · Like

Charles Ball Steve, is there anything official we can take to the dealership on this yet?
Monday at 11:40am · Like

Steve Nairn I'm told the oil pressure is off due to improper castings of the heads. The oil journals are not flowing properly to keep correct oil pressure on the cam adjustment at idle. The i...See More
Monday at 12:51pm via mobile · Edited · Like

Charles Ball So the fix would be new heads, yes?
Monday at 12:52pm · Like

Steve Nairn Source says likely entire motor, but don't quote me on this... There is far too many un knowns still.
Monday at 12:53pm via mobile · Like

Charles Ball Hmmmm....wonder if that would mean a replacement of the car? Which would be cheaper for ToyBaru? shipping the engine and the time to replace, or simply replacing the car altogether?
Monday at 12:54pm · Like

Steve Nairn In Canada we don't have the option of getting a new car. I know that I want a numbers matching low production Brz.
Monday at 1:16pm via mobile · Like

Charles Ball Sure, they could give you a new car. I would think that would be easier than replacing the engine, legally...
Monday at 1:45pm · Like

Thomas Heilman My understanding is that the boxer engine is not a new design. Why would this all the sudden change when they have been using this engine previously. Keeping the tooling and production lines the same is one of the great benefits of not changing design.
Monday at 1:53pm · Like

Thomas Heilman Was this simply a bad run of the castings?
Monday at 1:53pm · Like

Steve Nairn This is a completely new boxer engine. Heads especially. Direct port fuel injection. These have never been used in any Subaru until the BRZ. They are using similar designs in other cars, but this is the first direct injected boxer motor Subaru or Toyota has ever used.
Monday at 1:56pm via mobile · Like

Steve Nairn Tooling is all different as are the casts.
Monday at 1:57pm via mobile · Like

Thomas Heilman good to know. funny, at my dealership that was one of the seeling points they used, the "reliable boxer engine." Shame on me for not doing more investigation. Not that I wouldn't have bought it anyhow,,, the car is hot when you actually get to drive it!! : )
Yesterday at 6:41am · Like

Marco Palmeri Looks like the journals which feed the VVTi are in the timing cover though... straight from the oil pump.
22 hours ago · Edited · Like

Arthur Nascimento Steve, does your source have any ideas as to why this is affecting only some engines and not others?
about an hour ago via mobile · Like

Steve Nairn Could be a certain lot number affected... Parts are produced in batches (lots). If all the bad parts were installed and cars were shipped, Japan has been trying to simulate the same issue without having an entire car to work on. In the early stages they were taking parts back and trying to make the code re occur on good engines with the "bad cam gears"...Well the gears were never the issue. Neither is the ECU. But if the only bad engines are all installed in cars shipped to Canada and the USA it may make it tough to work on them in Japan.
19 minutes ago · Like

Arthur Nascimento So why don't they bring a whole car back? There's enough people who have left their cars behind after getting a CLE and then waiting months for parts.
17 minutes ago via mobile · Like

Arthur Nascimento So, without revealing your source. What your degree of confidence about this info?
14 minutes ago via mobile · Like

Steve Nairn I wish we could look at japanese forums to see if they have people experiencing the same things...It would be pretty far fetched for the only cars effected to be in Canada and the USA. But could simply be a "batch of 120 parts, or 140...150 parts" and one employee who over machined something. Some cars will never have the issue. Those that do, won't have a simple fix.
14 minutes ago · Like

Steve Nairn Aside from talking to someone in Japan, I've got more confidence in my source and reasoning than any info I've been given by Subaru Tech line or Subaru Canada.
12 minutes ago · Like

Arthur Nascimento Those your source know what the ECU fix is doing to work around the pressure problem?
8 minutes ago via mobile · Like

Arthur Nascimento First word was supposed to be "does"
8 minutes ago via mobile · Like

Steve Nairn We did not really elaborate on the re flash because when my ecu was swapped into a car without the issue, along with my other parts, the problem did not follow. Also, when a new ecu was installed in my car, CEL was still there. Cam gears are not fixing the issue. Flash is not fixing ALL cars... Cam gears are controlled by oil pressure. When oil control valves don't "control" you gotta look up stream.
4 minutes ago · Like

[einzlr]

^^Hi Steve, welcome to this thread! We've already quoted your fb a few times

[STEVEOSTI]

Originally Posted by einzlr

^^Hi Steve, welcome to this thread! We've already quoted your fb a few times

I noticed! And thank you. I really hope I can shed some light as I get more info and help people out. I've had my car since August 17th and have put all miles on between the dealership, my home, and Subaru Canada Headquarters.