Picked up a 2017 MT 86 that has been tracked. Help?

[bazzookatooth]

Originally Posted by MCTeeJ

CEL *with* a pro tune is a big red flag to me. Maybe confirm the code? You said "I think". FYI cruise control doesn't work if there's any CEL. Most if not all pro tunes eliminate the cat code first thing, so it almost sounds like the guy removed the tune before trading the car in.

It has the tune. The shop that installed it showed me, they have their sticker and shop signatures of everyone who worked on it in the boot lid.

AFAIK it has the standard adjustable launch control, FFS, BS, and some weird setting when I click down on the cruise control the tach goes up to 10, then 9.5, 9, etc and the shift light stays on. No idea what that does. I have verified the tune is installed and working.

The sales rep said that they notified the PO it will have a CEL with the tune (he blamed the headers) but research suggests EcuTek can mask this. I will use my obd scanner and torque tonight and update everyone. It goes away after 20-40 miles.

[bazzookatooth]

Originally Posted by dhuang

Sounds like he removed the tune if you're still getting a P0420 with an aftermarket header.

I had the same issue with my previous FR-S. Previous owner didn't bother tuning it and it would throw a P0420 for cat efficiency, which made it no fun to road trip back to GA from NJ since cruise control wouldn't work when the CEL was on.

Once I tuned it and disabled the cat codes, everything was good again.


Oil cooler suggests that the previous owner wanted to preserve the engine on track. I did a light track day in my stock BRZ w/ PP and even driving 3/10ths the oil temps were too high to be comfortable with.

Still has the tune. CEL is intermittent. LC still works.

[bazzookatooth]

Originally Posted by Atmo

For a few reasons, I'd return the car for a full refund of the purchase price, fees, and service contract. I realize this is contrary to everyone else's advice because:


--In order to qualify for a Toyota Extra Care Extended Warranty, the used vehicle must be certified. There's no way a Toyota flagged for warranty cancellation can be certified. Is it an Extra Care Warranty or 3rd party? If 3rd party, I honestly wouldn't count on their help if needed.



--There's no way to disprove a negative so you'll always be wondering "what if" and with your clinical OCD diagnosis, every unusual sound (and thin skinned 86's have plenty) may become stressful.


--Look up the vehicle sales and service history to verify if it's ever been dealer serviced. Independents or owner services aren't logged but it's a start since you'd think with two free services from new that the owner has returned to a dealer for service and maybe that's when it was flagged for some reason you need to know.


Start here, enter your VIN and let us know what you found:


https://www.toyota.com/owners/


--Depending on your state of residence, can you even get it through DEQ? In my state it would fail with a CEL making registration impossible until the car is fixed.


Good luck, just wanted to offer a contrary opinion based on sketchy available information.

I appreciate your input.

With the OCD, you're absolutely right. Nuff said.

It was their platinum vehicle service agreement - Toyota direct. I agree that this application would likely be rejected.

It has been dealer serviced, the 7.5k and 15k maintenance was done early. Quite early. The car actually went to dealer auction at one point while changing hands.

I can register in a non emissions county for DEQ - I do this for my Miata.

The only other option is a '19 for 25k or an auto '17-18 for 19k.

I only make enough to justify affording 18-19, but the peace of mind may be worth it. I'm still very much in the fence.

The 2019 is Halo white though, and white is my color of choice on any sports car.

[Atmo]

Originally Posted by bazzookatooth

I appreciate your input.

With the OCD, you're absolutely right. Nuff said.

It was their platinum vehicle service agreement - Toyota direct. I agree that this application would likely be rejected.

It has been dealer serviced, the 7.5k and 15k maintenance was done early. Quite early. The car actually went to dealer auction at one point while changing hands.

I can register in a non emissions county for DEQ - I do this for my Miata.

The only other option is a '19 for 25k or an auto '17-18 for 19k.

I only make enough to justify affording 18-19, but the peace of mind may be worth it. I'm still very much in the fence.

The 2019 is Halo white though, and white is my color of choice on any sports car.

For negotiating ammo, CarGurus can help. I plugged in a new 2019 in my area and found the asking prices in the low $20K range but there's strong regional incentives here that may be better or worse where you are.


https://www.cargurus.com/


Either way, the dealer made a big error, unforced or not, in selling you a service contract on an ineligible vehicle. For that reason alone, I'd be out.

[soundman98]

way too many personal questions for a 'dream car'. i agree with the assessment to return it while you can. but not for any particular issue with the car.

psychologically, if anything goes wrong, i don't get the feeling you'll ever be able to see it as a routine or age-related breakdown. i think anything that goes wrong for you will be blamed as a direct result of (mis)handling by the previous owner(s), regardless of the reality.

the car is used. cars purchased second hand are all going to be used. some are eaten in, some are smoked in, some are--nevermind--, and some are driven hard.

for me, a vehicle that was used hard isn't really a problem, it's always more how it was used hard, and what they did to take care of it. if i see evidence of hard use, i look for more extreme maintenance routines. i look at the wheels to see if they were meticulous enough to clean the brake dust off. i look in the cracks and crevices that no one really looks at for dirt/debris. i look for tool marks on parts that should have been replaced.

[TommyW]

Some kid doing donuts and burnouts will put 10X the stress on a car that was tracked with respect

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Atmo

For a few reasons, I'd return the car for a full refund of the purchase price, fees, and service contract. I realize this is contrary to everyone else's advice because:


--In order to qualify for a Toyota Extra Care Extended Warranty, the used vehicle must be certified. There's no way a Toyota flagged for warranty cancellation can be certified. Is it an Extra Care Warranty or 3rd party? If 3rd party, I honestly wouldn't count on their help if needed.



--There's no way to disprove a negative so you'll always be wondering "what if" and with your clinical OCD diagnosis, every unusual sound (and thin skinned 86's have plenty) may become stressful.


--Look up the vehicle sales and service history to verify if it's ever been dealer serviced. Independents or owner services aren't logged but it's a start since you'd think with two free services from new that the owner has returned to a dealer for service and maybe that's when it was flagged for some reason you need to know.


Start here, enter your VIN and let us know what you found:


https://www.toyota.com/owners/


--Depending on your state of residence, can you even get it through DEQ? In my state it would fail with a CEL making registration impossible until the car is fixed.


Good luck, just wanted to offer a contrary opinion based on sketchy available information.

These are valid points based upon his EDITED first post.

[Atmo]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

These are valid points based upon his EDITED first post.

What changed?

[Kiske]

Originally Posted by bazzookatooth

It has the tune. The shop that installed it showed me, they have their sticker and shop signatures of everyone who worked on it in the boot lid.

AFAIK it has the standard adjustable launch control, FFS, BS, and some weird setting when I click down on the cruise control the tach goes up to 10, then 9.5, 9, etc and the shift light stays on. No idea what that does. I have verified the tune is installed and working.

The sales rep said that they notified the PO it will have a CEL with the tune (he blamed the headers) but research suggests EcuTek can mask this. I will use my obd scanner and torque tonight and update everyone. It goes away after 20-40 miles.

STOP!


When you pull back on the cruise control and the move it up and down (as displayed by the rpms moving like an dial indicator) you are changing through maps or different tunes. If you do not know the tune then dont change it. Many of us tuned with ecutek have diferent tunes for different setting, timings and fuel types (91, 93, 105, ethanol....)


If you run the car hard in a map without the correct fuel to support it you may damage or blow the engine due to knock.


https://www.ecutek.com/Products/Reta.../map-switching


Yes,you can disable 420cel with ecutek. The car is reporting the cat isn't working between the a/f and o2 sensors. Most catless/hi flow cat headers will do this.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Atmo

What changed?

Added the whole line about the CEL. Originally no mention at all and only the 4 points I answered. If there are already issues with the car it changes my whole answer.

[sneaky_pete]

Originally Posted by Impureclient

In my opinion just the full clear wrap alone is a good indication it wasn't thrashed by the previous owner.

^ +1 to this. IMHO you've bought a car that was the pride and joy of the previous owner. If it was a track weapon it wouldn't have a clear wrap and it would be more heavily modded for track use and would show signs of obvious abuse.

my car: TRD lowering springs, TRD sway bars, Whiteline Strut bar, Intima SR Brake pads, whiteline steering bush kit, MTEC clutch and shifter springs, Whiteline positive shift kit and whiteline differential mount bushings. Screams light track use doesn't it??

My car has never been tracked, used on weekends only in the twisties and it's driven the way it was designed to be driven. it's maintained within an inch of its life, and over serviced by me. I effing love my car.

just enjoy your new car and STOP worrying!

[MCTeeJ]

I'm in the camp of get rid of it because of the psychological aspect of it. You're going to find it difficult to keep yourself from blaming PO for anything that happens....even worse if you're bad OCD then you'll probably be thinking not "if" but "when is it going to break on me?". It sounds to me like you need a stock car that you can then modify to your tastes yourself.

[mrg666]

I would still not return the car. P0420 is most probably due to catless header and a bad tune. Just get a used stock header from ebay and return back to stock tune. You will be much happier.

[Sasquachulator]

I'd return it.
But then again personally i'd want a car that hasnt been molested by someone else.