Weird Mishaps on your FRS/86

[michaelosx]

First mishap was taking a steep driveway just a little too fast, scraping underneath the front bumper.

Second mishap involved backing into garage. I was so focused on lining up properly that I didn't notice the door was only halfway up. Scraped the spoiler a bit, but the noise made me want to vomit.

Now, I always sit halfway up the driveway waiting for the door to raise COMPLETELY before continuing to back in. Touch up paint sort of healed the spoiler scrapes (looks like smudged paint now instead of scrapes), but I think I'll eventually replace it with a TRD spoiler.

[Where'sReverse?]

Originally Posted by mkiisupra

Last week at autocross, I finished my last run (5 for our group, the run group was small enough to keep the car running through the wait), parked and packed up my stuff. Since this was the final run group of the morning, I got in the car to leave. Started the car up and it blew a cloud of smoke rivaling those of a Grateful Dead concert. I didn't know what it was, or if it was me, or if there was just some dirt blown up by the cooling fans. I hesitated for a moment, put in reverse and got a whiff of what I remember as catalytic converter material. (I've replaced cats before and new ones seem to 'burn' a bit with hot temps)

MKII- That happened to me at the autocross today, and yesterday, both times after my runs, big cloud of blue-black smoke, then gone. Hasn't happend at any other cold start....any ideas on this? Everything seems to be running fine otherwise...

[mkiisupra]

Originally Posted by Where'sReverse?

MKII- That happened to me at the autocross today, and yesterday, both times after my runs, big cloud of blue-black smoke, then gone. Hasn't happend at any other cold start....any ideas on this? Everything seems to be running fine otherwise...

Ditto. Not sweet smelling like coolant. Seemed to be more white/grey than oil smoke. Could be from extra hot cat, waiting for 5 to 10 min to start, and perhaps an extra fuel dump at startup?? My schnozz tells me it smelled like hot catalytic converter rather than oil or coolant (very chemical, similar to cat smells from other cars). Maybe a shutdown would be prudent after a quick run, rather than leaving it running. I ran through the forums and couldn't get the any hits/posts that were identical/close. However, your description fits the bill exactly, especially with the hot runs of the enduro. Never on cold start, and this is the only time its happened. 8300 miles on the odo.

Eric G

[frs10]

i was up around 7k rpm and went to upshift (AT) and down shifted instead the car rpm meter and flashing lights starting going crazy... i hope i didnt do any damage!

[lickitysplit]

Originally Posted by frs10

i was up around 7k rpm and went to upshift (AT) and down shifted instead the car rpm meter and flashing lights starting going crazy... i hope i didnt do any damage!

You downshifted at 7k

[ZionsWrath]

Originally Posted by lickitysplit

You downshifted at 7k

It's an auto, it won't down if it will over rev lol

[hur1ey02]

Here's mine:

Some idiot (I'm guessing it was a friend of mine that had put some stuff in the trunk) pushed the little button in the trunk area. The trunk wouldn't using the key fob or the interior button. He did not let me know that he had pushed the button, so I had a mini-rage fit that the trunk wouldn't open. I had to crawl through the back seat and fumble around to find the button. Works perfectly, though. I'm assuming it is a valet option or something. It's helpful in ways I guess but also a super pain in the arse.

[frs10]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

It's an auto, it won't down if it will over rev lol

but it did go down and the engine was going nuts for a few seconds

[Braces]

My mishap occurred when I 1st picked the car up from the dealership. They had completed all of the new car pre-info stuff and I was ready to drive off. But I needed to back up 1st. The car is a manual. I did not know that I needed to pull up on the shifter knob to engage reverse. I sat there for 4-5 embarrassing minutes attemping to find reverse. I finally asked. As a side note: when I test drove the car .... I never needed to put the car in reverse.

[ravenblackfrs]

Was washing my car. I was parked next the the side of the house. There is a side entry with a screen door with a broke latch. Wind blew and screen blew open and scratched the piss out of the passenger door and left a slight barely noticeable ding...

Had some McGuire's Scratch X 2.0... buffed the scratch right out and cant even see where it hit! Whew....

[D.Scrye]

I left the vertiginous driveway of Advanced Auto Parts, where i was buying paint care products, and planted the front pretty well in the pavement- straight up gouged the lip. I wound up having to get a professional repair job to sort that bit out.

[amg]

Originally Posted by hur1ey02

Here's mine:

Some idiot (I'm guessing it was a friend of mine that had put some stuff in the trunk) pushed the little button in the trunk area. The trunk wouldn't using the key fob or the interior button. He did not let me know that he had pushed the button, so I had a mini-rage fit that the trunk wouldn't open. I had to crawl through the back seat and fumble around to find the button. Works perfectly, though. I'm assuming it is a valet option or something. It's helpful in ways I guess but also a super pain in the arse.

The second day I had my car, I saw the button and had the urge to push it thinking I can open it from the inside, but I couldn't find a way to open the back seat easily.

I read the manual and discovered that there was a hidden key hole.

[mitosis]

About a week into ownership I was going into town to say hi to my wife at her work, tried to park in a diagonal spot and pull as far forward as I normally would in my Fit... got the right corner of the bumper hooked up onto the curb real good. Proceeded to freak out and pull the car off of it, got out and examined the damage and decided that you couldn't see it unless you were crouched down in front of the car.

Needless to say after I was leaving I drove past the front of my wife's work and like 20 seconds later she calls me all pissed off...
Her: "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BUMPER!"
Me: "OHSNAPSOSORRYI'llPAYFORITINBACKRUBSISWEAR!!!"
Silly girl... she thinks its her car!

Meanwhile I'm shocked that she managed to notice something I had determined was unnoticeable unless you were almost at ground level and she noticed it from inside the building 50 feet away during the brief moment of my passing.

The next week I was being tired and forgetful and I tried to park in a compact spot like I normally would with my Fit... long story short the nose on this car is like 3x longer so I hooked the entire bottom edge of the bumper up onto the curb again. She hasn't noticed this one yet so I guess it's not as noticeable since it goes the whole width of the bumper?

Then on the same day, right after I was done with that errand, I was once again heading into town to say hi to the wife but this time I decided to park parallel and ONCE AGAIN, deceived by the amazing maneuverability of the Fit, I swooped in too close to the curb and curbed my back right wheel a tiny bit.

That was the day I finally decided to stop driving the Fit for a while and DD the FR-S so I could really get used to the larger turning radius and the longer, wider stance that it has.

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by Braces

My mishap occurred when I 1st picked the car up from the dealership. They had completed all of the new car pre-info stuff and I was ready to drive off. But I needed to back up 1st. The car is a manual. I did not know that I needed to pull up on the shifter knob to engage reverse. I sat there for 4-5 embarrassing minutes attemping to find reverse. I finally asked. As a side note: when I test drove the car .... I never needed to put the car in reverse.

This happened to me when I bought my previous car (STI, which has the same lockout ring). Could not figure out how to get it into reverse. Had to ask to figure it out.

It's also a good habit whenever someone has to drive your car to let them know how to engage R.