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

[mhigham]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

Has your state switched to winter blend gasoline yet?

...that can cause a loss in mpg.

Winter fuel will definitely affect MPG's; additives and alcohol reduce caloric content of the fuel. Official MPG's are done with indolene fuel; no additives and 93 octane. It is also performed at STP which is around 77*F and sea level pressure.

With the denser air, you make more power resulting in more WOT runs!

Mike

[Wcmarshall]

Talked to the Director of Service yesterday and supposedly the ECU has shipped and should be at dealer hopefully this week. Now on day 25 without the car. Hope to be driving it next week with any luck.

[KrzysFR]

Originally Posted by Le86

A CEL clear and a reflash are 2 completely different things. If your dealership is just clearing the code without looking further into it, they're not taking you seriously. Basically all they're doing is just clearing the CEL but the DTC (diagnostic trouble code) still exists and is apparent with you feeling power loss and such.

Drive long enough and the CEL will re-appear. Drop it off and ask them to reflash your vehicle instead of just clearing the code, which does absolutely nothing to fix the issue at hand. Did they even give you the DTC number? Good luck with your dealer...

Ahaha, yeah but this is exactly the problem currently in France: the first few weeks they were denying any problem at all existed (even after the announcements of ECM swap/reflash in several countries), then last week they told me that the reflash WILL NOT fix the problem. Also, the new firmware is currently not available AT ALL here, either because it is awaiting certification, or because they haven't received it yet, or because they tested it and it borked some cars, and they are panicking... Zero communication.

I specifically asked them to clear the CEL and to not do anything on my car until they got the official fix that was supposed to be the ECM reflash. Rumor has it that it'll be available in the next couple of weeks max. Fingers crossed, but I'm not holding my breath.

Even, I'm glad it is delayed a bit, because I'll be able to see the effect of the reflash on US and UK cars

That reminds me that the dealer promised that he'd call today with some news, but it's already past 6pm and this weekend is a holiday. *sigh*

P.S.: Si vous lisez ceci et que vous bossez chez Toyota France, retirez-vous les doigts du cul, et donnez donc des infos a votre réseau de concessionaires ! On a payé un bras pour cette bagnole, et on aimerait avoir des informations. Même si c'est pour nous dire "désolé on sait pas, patientez qq semaine", on est assez grand pour comprendre que ce problème est ardu à résoudre. C'est mieux que de nous prendre pour des cons. grmbl

[mhigham]

ECU replaced. Car running great. Smooth idle and good power. Only about 20 miles under my belt so far though.

Repair ticket stated after talking with tech support, they found open circuit in ECU. So in my case, this seems to be a ECU hardware issue with unknown cause - could still have been software driving a device too hard, thus burning it up. Just speculating on that. So maybe if the circuit is not open, a flash is all that's needed in some cases.

13 days without car, time to have some fun!

Mike

[SpeedmasterBRZ]

Add me to the list. On the drive home the car starting idling rough and almost died. Got it home and let it sit idling for a few seconds and check engine light starting flashing. I shut it down and will be contacting the dealership tomorrow.

Mileage: 15XX
Vin:602XX
Codes: P0300, P0171, P0019, P0017
Location: SLC, UT

Will call dealer tomorrow for tow.

[Cade01]

Originally Posted by SpeedmasterBRZ

Add me to the list. On the drive home the car starting idling rough and almost died. Got it home and let it sit idling for a few seconds and check engine light starting flashing. I shut it down and will be contacting the dealership tomorrow.

Make sure you add all your information for the list(mileage, VIN, etc.)

[Rob_g]

Almost 1,000kms after ecu replacement (now 5,600kms) and my FR-S idle was really acting up again tonight. With the engine already warmed up, when I turned on the rear defrost or fan, the engine struggled, the idle dropped to 400 and then climbed back up erratically. It would start going up to 900 and then down to 600. These are all symptoms it had before and quite frankly I was almost expecting another CEL tonight or even a stall in the parking lot.

I am trading in the car tomorrow, the deal is approved, but this experience leaves a VERY bitter tasted in my mouth. As a customer I feel like I'm letting Toyota off the hook for selling me a lemon car by trading it back and losing money in the process. I don't feel like letting them off on this, I feel like they owe me something for all this trouble and financial loss to get a vehicle that actually runs properly and is reliable.

I am pissed off!

Rob

[alan.chalkley]

Originally Posted by Rob_g

Almost 1,000kms after ecu replacement (now 5,600kms) and my FR-S idle was really acting up again tonight. With the engine already warmed up, when I turned on the rear defrost or fan, the engine struggled, the idle dropped to 400 and then climbed back up erratically. It would start going up to 900 and then down to 600. These are all symptoms it had before and quite frankly I was almost expecting another CEL tonight or even a stall in the parking lot.

I am trading in the car tomorrow, the deal is approved, but this experience leaves a VERY bitter tasted in my mouth. As a customer I feel like I'm letting Toyota off the hook for selling me a lemon car by trading it back and losing money in the process. I don't feel like letting them off on this, I feel like they owe me something for all this trouble and financial loss to get a vehicle that actually runs properly and is reliable.

I am pissed off!

Rob

Sorry about that Rob
The rear demister draws heaps of current and loads up the alternator , which would account for the drop in idle and the ecu responds by raising the idle.
My 99 gen 7 celica does the same thing.
Here in aus there is a 13 month wait for brz , so it will be a while to see if there are problems.
Mine will be built in Munmo Japan.
Are the usa ones built in the usa?

[alan.chalkley]

One thing has me puzzled over the c.e.l. issue.
If the ecu learns how I drive in the first 100 miles , what if I share driving with my wife and three sons?
Would this not , be one confused ecu?

[atledreier]

It's not learning your habits, it's figuring out the operating ranges of the sensors, and adapting fuel trim factors and such. I find it VERY strange that these are written firmly in the first 100 miles of operation. I think that must be a misunderstanding by someone who got a technical answer they didn't understand to address the issue.

[mhigham]

Originally Posted by atledreier

It's not learning your habits, it's figuring out the operating ranges of the sensors, and adapting fuel trim factors and such. I find it VERY strange that these are written firmly in the first 100 miles of operation. I think that must be a misunderstanding by someone who got a technical answer they didn't understand to address the issue.

There is nothing written that is an adaption of driver inputs during the first 100, 1000, or even 100,000 miles. There are certain parameters that are learned right away (like PPS, MAP, etc), others leave room for adjustment for wear (like O2 sensors). You car does not know the difference between you and a 16 year old girl that cant drive a stick.

I still feel there are multiple issues that lead to the same code.

Mike

[ftc~brz]

Dyno done this am, thanks to all that contributed. I am happy to announce full faith restored in my car.






end result, no hp/tq loss where it counts. It dips a tad lower than stock frs but is over a tad in places that matter. (minute differences)

Over all I am happy to see the car performs where it should and am excited to get the ball rolling on upgrades in due time.

I am always glad to contribute to the useful information we can provide to better inform or 86ers community.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mhigham]

Originally Posted by ftc~brz

Dyno done this am, thanks to all that contributed. I am happy to announce full faith restored in my car.

Attachment 19467
Attachment 19468
Attachment 19469


end result, no hp/tq loss where it counts. It dips a tad lower than stock frs but is over a tad in places that matter. (minute differences)

Over all I am happy to see the car performs where it should and am excited to get the ball rolling on upgrades in due time.

I am always glad to contribute to the useful information we can provide to better inform or 86ers community.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks well within run-to-run variances.

[Alienate]

Originally Posted by mhigham

Looks well within run-to-run variances.

Do we have a Dyno run of someone who only had a Reflash?
I had the reflash only, and it seems a tad less powerful than before.