A few questions before buying a used BRZ/FRS

[LudwigMiles]

I am considering an FRS/BRZ.

I like to keep my cars bone stock.
If I want a 2013 (premium/base) with about 30k miles, what price range should I expect?

I understand these cars are 2013+ new and few may have been taken to over 80k miles yet. So, not much widespread maintenance has been done yet. That said, how is the DIY resources for this car? Are they nonexistent since there have not been any big repairs for people yet?

I heard that the engine needs to be dropped to replace the rear two spark plugs. Any truth to this?

What is the resolution for the chirping sound fuel pump? Do people just live with it? Just how bad is it? Anyone have an audio recording?

Snow tires. Any weird things I need to know? TPMS? What size wheels and snows do you run? Same as OEM P215/45R17 ?

Heard the head unit is bad. Poor stereo. Bad bluetooth. IS there a common upgrade, or am I stuck with OEM?

[mrhandle]

are you @leevanf ?

[LudwigMiles]

No. I just bought a '13 BRZ tonight and and looking forward to being a member here.

[Is Always Angry]

There's an entire section on DIY under technical topics.

I think most of your other questions were answered on the FRS side.

[slimjoe]

So it sounds like you already bought the car so I'll skip the question regarding price.

Normal maintenance is pretty easy on the car.
Oil change - Filter up top, drain plug at the bottom
Transmission - Two drain bolts with a 10mm? hex socket after you take the black undertray off
Rear diff - Two drain bolts
Brakes/Fluid - Nothing out of the norm

The spark plugs are a different story. I attempted to change mine this past weekend and gave up after starting on the driver-side plugs. I didn't feel like jacking up the engine so the fuel lines and hoses make it a pretty tight squeeze. It also felt like the bolt heads for the coil packs were more shallow than normal so I never had a solid connection between the socket and the bolt. So without being able to swap out the two on that side, I didn't even attempt the passenger-side plugs.

Chirping - Eh, you get used to it. The car's pretty loud (NVH) in general at speed so you're not going to hear it with the stereo on.

Snow tires - You can put additional TPMS units into a second pair of wheels but if you can live with the light being on for a couple of months, don't bother. Just check your tire pressures by hand. I went with the stock size on a set of X-Ice 3.

The head unit isn't great but isn't terrible. I'm still on the fence and waiting for a decent aftermarket unit that supports Android Auto. But until I start to really look, it's not a big deal.

[slipdog]

Originally Posted by LudwigMiles

I am considering an FRS/BRZ.
Snow tires. Any weird things I need to know? TPMS? What size wheels and snows do you run? Same as OEM P215/45R17 ?

As the previous said you don't need TPMS. If you buy new and have them mounted I think whoever does it is required to make sure they're there, though. So buy 3rd party or just buy the wheels and tires separately. You can do like I do and just leave the summers in the garage right next to where you park. The car picks them up and as long as I keep my trips under around 30 mins the light never comes on.

I got 205/55/R16 snow tires for my car. Slightly more compliance. Cheaper wheels.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by LudwigMiles

That said, how is the DIY resources for this car? Are they nonexistent since there have not been any big repairs for people yet?

On the contrary, the DIY resources are fairly extensive for this car because of all the people who bought them and immediately started taking them apart. You can find them by searching, but here's a tip: Don't use the search on this site. Instead, use Google and restrict the search to this site using the "site:" tag, like so:

site:ft86club.com spark plugs DIY


The Google search engine is 1,000 times better than the crap search vBulletin uses.

Originally Posted by LudwigMiles

I heard that the engine needs to be dropped to replace the rear two spark plugs. Any truth to this?

The official 16-page procedure involves raising the engine. It's apparently possible to do it without raising the motor if you have childlike hands. The dealership will charge you $600 to $700 to do it, so you have to decide whether it's worth the money to do it yourself.

Originally Posted by LudwigMiles

What is the resolution for the chirping sound fuel pump? Do people just live with it? Just how bad is it? Anyone have an audio recording?

There is no cure. There was a revised fuel pump that was supposed to fix it. It didn't.

The crickets come and go depending on what brand and blend of gas you select, where in the country you are, and even the time of year (since stations change blends with the seasons). It has to do with the additive packages. No brand is immune to the chirping, but generally you'll get better results from the better top tier brands. Ethanol-free gas is not a cure, although some people have had good results with E0 from specific stations because the additives in the blend they got were good. Mine chirped like hell when I tried E0.

I've gone the whole summer so far without crickets, then filled up at a stupid Wawa station yesterday and can now hear them over my exhaust and stereo. I can't wait to burn this tank out so I can get some Shell or Chevron back in it. If I fill up at Sam's Club, they'll sing like a mofo. You just have to find what works in your area and stick with it.

Originally Posted by LudwigMiles

TPMS?

Yes, it has TPMS.

The car's computer will hold one set of TPMS addresses at a time. However, you can buy a second set of sensors for about $100 to $120 on Ebay, sometimes less, and install those in the snow tires. Then find a deal on an ATEQ Quickset, which holds up to four sets of TPMS addresses. I got mine for $50. Save the old addresses into the Quickset and enter the new ones as the second set, and then you can load the correct addresses each time you change rims. No more annoying tire light. And then you still have space in the Quickset for two more sets of rims if you have another vehicle with TPMS or want to keep some additional sets of rims/tires on hand, like a set of track tires.

Originally Posted by LudwigMiles

Heard the head unit is bad. Poor stereo. Bad bluetooth. IS there a common upgrade, or am I stuck with OEM?

I don't think the BRZ head unit is terrible, but a lot of people have had good things to say about the OEM Audio Plus system. It basically just takes the place of the existing components, using the stock wiring.

[LudwigMiles]

Thanks for all the replies.

If I get snows, I'll just skip the TPMS.
Funny how the car picks up your summer TPMS in the garage.
But, what about when you leave the place you drove to?

My head unit doesn't even seem to work.
No clue how to connect Bluetooth.
I will just replace it.
But, I'm not going to spend $1500 on a head unit.

Just curious, which VIN range was affected by the early ECU flash?

[jubella2]

Originally Posted by LudwigMiles

If I get snows, I'll just skip the TPMS.
Funny how the car picks up your summer TPMS in the garage.
But, what about when you leave the place you drove to?

I did the opposite and put the snows on the stock wheels with TPMS. In summer I don't use tpms but keep my snow tires in the garage. As said it takes about 25 mins of highway speed driving for the car to realize the sensors aren't there. If I drive 45 mins in bad traffic the light doesn't come on. If you drive 20 mins - park and then drive 20 mins home the light doesn't come on. If it does come on then next time you park in the garage and turn the car back on the light is gone (in my experience).

[re-animator]

i just paid $16500 for a '13 limited with 30,000 miles in southern california

[JMon85]

I had crickets after my trip from Seattle WA (where i bought her) to LA. I exchanged all fluids & used royal purple fuel injector cleaner & only shell 91. Don't know if its at all related but it's been 7 months and no crickets.

[02.ACCORD.DUDE]

Originally Posted by re-animator

i just paid $16500 for a '13 limited with 30,000 miles in southern california

OTD (Taxes, Fees)?

Just curious because I was snooping around local Toyota dealership and prices in generally seem to have fallen where I am on the '13's at least compared to when I bought mine two years ago

[re-animator]

Originally Posted by 02.ACCORD.DUDE

OTD (Taxes, Fees)?

Just curious because I was snooping around local Toyota dealership and prices in generally seem to have fallen where I am on the '13's at least compared to when I bought mine two years ago

i bought it private party so there was only the ~1k of DMV taxes and fees on top of that.

[LudwigMiles]

While driving my other car, I pulled up next to an FRS at a stop light.
I heard the crickets! It didn't sounds like such a big deal
I bet after a while, you don't even notice.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-ePHF-2etI"]Consumer Alert: Scion FR-S Chirping Sound (Crickets) Subaru BRZ - YouTube[/ame]