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

[ALTEZZA]

...when it abruptly stalls and then restarts in limp mode. After several tense minutes, it returns to full operation but still presents a check-engine light. Nelson volunteers to crawl back to the suburbs for an emergency appointment at Toyota of Cool Springs, where he'll give the technician a first-ever chance to diagnose a Subaru boxer engine.
The Scion's issue -- tentatively diagnosed because the car is so new and unfamiliar to dealers -- is a cam gear that occasionally slips out of alignment, tripping the check-engine light. Rather than sitting around and waiting for it to happen again, we set off through the park...

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews...13_scion_fr_s/

[Marrk]

Originally Posted by rapidcars

"Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said that when the engine control unit (ECU) is installed, it adapts to the car's powertrain and owner's driving patterns, a process known as adaptive learning. Within 100 miles, those settings are basically frozen in the ECU."

Where did this come from and why weren't we told this? I babied mine as per the manual and to think of it, the problems started as I got closer to 1k miles and started being a little more loose with keeping the rpms under 4k.

It also supports the numbers in this thread:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18613

If I am not mistaken, you can, at any time, reset the learning process on most cars to begin again if you want to. In some cars, all you have to do is disconnect the battery for 10-20 mins. This wipes the appropriate part of the ECU memory.

The ECU and programmer nerds among us might have better, more accurate info on this . . . .

[ftc~brz]

Originally Posted by Yruyur

Are they rolling back the odometer on these things?:confused:

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

wtf??

photos....always take photos of the odo, before and after service

[tbertran]

Originally Posted by jduffy

It's intriguing how nebulous this issue is

The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the apparently unpredictable patterns we see (different VINs, different issues, some get fixed with ECU flash, some don't, some run in limp mode, some can't run at all, etc...) are due to non-generic factors.
In other words, it might be due in big part to how we drive the cars. I suspect a lot of the participants of this forum drive their FR-S/BRZ like a sports car should be driven exposing problems early on, maybe even aggravating them.

I'll admit that I never really babied mine (the whole "under 4,000 RPM" felt more like a guideline) so maybe I'm paying for it now. Or maybe that's why the ECU flash worked for me (fingers crossed).

Bottom line is I have no freaking clue but the fact that similar symptoms seem to present in so many different ways and get fixed in so many different ways indicate that it can't be due to anything coming out of an assembly line where every part/software is identical.

[Plxdjake89]

Originally Posted by ftc~brz

wtf??

photos....always take photos of the odo, before and after service

Lol I had written the wrong mileage, pretty much mind f***** that guy lol!

[ftc~brz]

Originally Posted by Plxdjake89

Lol I had written the wrong mileage, pretty much mind f***** that guy lol!

hey it got me too....lol

[Plxdjake89]

Originally Posted by ftc~brz

hey it got me too....lol

Any word on your whip?

[Iixii]

Originally Posted by tbertran

The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the apparently unpredictable patterns we see (different VINs, different issues, some get fixed with ECU flash, some don't, some run in limp mode, some can't run at all, etc...) are due to non-generic factors.
In other words, it might be due in big part to how we drive the cars. I suspect a lot of the participants of this forum drive their FR-S/BRZ like a sports car should be driven exposing problems early on, maybe even aggravating them.

I'll admit that I never really babied mine (the whole "under 4,000 RPM" felt more like a guideline) so maybe I'm paying for it now. Or maybe that's why the ECU flash worked for me (fingers crossed).

Bottom line is I have no freaking clue but the fact that similar symptoms seem to present in so many different ways and get fixed in so many different ways indicate that it can't be due to anything coming out of an assembly line where every part/software is identical.

I'm getting to this same conclusion too since the ECU is learning the first 100 miles and if the inputs are off from tolerances then hell breaks loose. The question is, is it the hard or normal break-in gets the gremlin?

[einzlr]

Originally Posted by Grishbok

im sorry man, driving a yaris is like riding a scooter wrapped in tin-foil.

and a hybrid no less. They should've at least given him a corolla s or something. or an sti

[ftc~brz]

Originally Posted by Plxdjake89

Any word on your whip?

I have her till monday when I can bring her back, got her back wed. I was disappointed when she stalled herself durring cel/idle all of 15 miles later, but I was already late for work so I just called and said I'd bring her back monday when I'm off. (It's my only car and I only drove it for a week the whole month I owned it)
It is what it is...I got her back with 580 miles, and I'm gonna shoot for 1k by monday when I slide her back in the shop for the next undetermined amount of time.

They are sending a field rep to help my dealership, that's all I can add as an update until she's diagnosed.

[einzlr]

Originally Posted by jduffy

I'm at 2,000 miles and I have an earlier number so I'm wondering if I'll miss out on all the fun.

It's intriguing how nebulous this issue is, people are looking for concrete facts but they just don't seem to exist which is creating all the angst.

I like switchlanez' tolerances theory for this; it fits the observables the best so far. But it also makes me wonder if even the unproblematic engines will start sprouting issues as they get a little older and metal parts wear and fall out of those oh-so-tight tolerances. So much for simple, reliable Japanese engines :P If we want finicky we could all get something with, say, a v-12 and at least get the sweet engine note and gobs of power

[einzlr]

Originally Posted by Iixii

I'm getting to this same conclusion too since the ECU is learning the first 100 miles and if the inputs are off from tolerances then hell breaks loose. The question is, is it the hard or normal break-in gets the gremlin?

Good question and I would love to know in detail how Automobile magazine's BRZ is faring. They got a long-termer and said they planned on using it extensively for performance driving events.

[Plxdjake89]

Originally Posted by ftc~brz

I have her till monday when I can bring her back, got her back wed. I was disappointed when she stalled herself durring cel/idle all of 15 miles later, but I was already late for work so I just called and said I'd bring her back monday when I'm off. (It's my only car and I only drove it for a week the whole month I owned it)
It is what it is...I got her back with 580 miles, and I'm gonna shoot for 1k by monday when I slide her back in the shop for the next undetermined amount of time.

They are sending a field rep to help my dealership, that's all I can add as an update until she's diagnosed.

That's a bummer, but don't trip everything will work itself out. Mine has been running just fine since I left the dealership last night. I've logged at least 75 miles, and it actually feels a little more aggressive. But that could all be in my head seeing as how I've been dippin a Yaris for the past 19 days

[ftc~brz]

Originally Posted by Plxdjake89

That's a bummer, but don't trip everything will work itself out. Mine has been running just fine since I left the dealership last night. I've logged at least 75 miles, and it actually feels a little more aggressive. But that could all be in my head seeing as how I've been dippin a Yaris for the past 19 days

werd! I'm not upset. I expected it in a way. Either way as bad as I was jonesin' to drive her the first time she was locked up for 17 days, I'll be able to contain myself for at least that long again. Got a few 86ers meeting up for a nice 100 mile ride sunday. I'll log this run in my "spank bank" until this issue is resolved.