valve spring recall - dealer experience

[djmodernroq]

Hello everyone,

I received my registration renewal letter and the recall is REQUIRED to renew my registration.


Which dealer do you guys recommend for the repair? I am in Burbank.

[shiumai]

Just got my car back from Subaru Pacific to get the recall done, then went right to AAA to get my registration tag. Dropped my car off 12/11/2019, and got it back today 1/24/2020, so I was not happy at how long they had my car for. I stopped by after 1 month to check in, and they hadn't even gotten to it yet. They should have just scheduled it a few days before they were going to perform the work. This whole experience with the recall sucked.

[innate.ideas]

Originally Posted by DarkSideFRS

for those who had the recall done, where did you go and what was your experience?

Just had the J02 recall work done on my 2013 FRS at Northridge Toyota in SFV.

1. How long did the repair take?

Apparently it took a month+ to get the parts to the dealer, at which point I brought the car in. It took 3 weeks for the work (1 week to set the timing?). I have another car so no rush, told them to take their time and do it right.

2. Was a courtesy car provided for the duration of the repair?

Courtesy car was offered but I had no need for it.

3. What other parts were replaced with no additional labor (spark plug, etc)?

Spark plugs, radiator hoses, oil filter, replaced oil, some gasket ("Gasket, 16x21x2.3") all replaced with no labor costs.

4. What other parts were replaced with additional labor?

none

5. Was the dealer mod-friendly?

I have OpenFlash ECU mod and they didn't mention it or re-flash to stock. They took my OBD2 dongle off the car so they probably plugged in and noticed the ECU mod.

6. Did they know what they were doing?

Nothing seems amiss so far and the car is running great a few hours after getting it back. They didn't do a great job of setting accurate expectations of when the car would be ready but the experience with them in general was good.


Note: Northridge Toyota warranties the J02 recall work for 1 year.

[Payload]

I already have 120k + miles on my vehicle.. I have not had a problem..I own a 2013 frs and I also financed the car the same year it came out, brand new. One of the dealer reps told me that this recall doesn't effect all 2013 models and they have statistical data that provides that only 10% of the vehicles during that year that the cars were shipped out as a 2013 model were effected by this valve spring recall. So you figure if about (50,000 - 70,000 ) units were produced that year modeled as 2013, only 10% of those vehicles had defected valve springs... They can check your vin number to tell if your vehicle was effected by this defect before they even begin to do any work on your car.. So if your vin number doesn't check out to be a part of that 10% subset of vehicles for the year of 2013, Toyota reps may deny services and its likely that Toyota maintenance reps will not even touch your vehicle; which means this was probably an assembly line mechanical error..

[Payload]

I may just have them look at the car anyway and since I live in NYC its pretty common for up tight business minded folks to woefully make any valid excuse to do less work, lol.. SMH

[TommyW]

I'm in So Calif and used Toyota of Irvine and had a great experience. they've don quite a few already. Ron the service manager was awesome and communicated very well via email though the entire process. Dropped it off Tues and Picked it up on Sat.

[shiumai]

1. How long did the repair take? 6 weeks (Subaru Pacific in Hawthorne). Car sat outside for at least 4 weeks in their lot before they got to it.
Communication was a bit lacking. I had asked some technical questions and the service person had promised to get back to me with answers (twice) but never did. Otherwise they've always been courteous.
2. Was a courtesy car provided for the duration of the repair? Yes
3. What other parts were replaced with no additional labor (spark plug, etc)? None
3. What other parts were replaced with additional labor? None
4. Was the dealer mod-friendly? No. I had to get my Edelbrock supercharger removed and the engine returned completely to stock before they'd accept it.
5. Did they know what they were doing? Too soon to tell, but they're a large dealership, and probably have done quite a few BRZ's and Crosstreks.

[DSlayerZX]

between Tustin vs Irvine Toyota, which one should I go to get the recall done?
Wondering which one does better work and more honest in terms of mishap.

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by DSlayerZX

between Tustin vs Irvine Toyota, which one should I go to get the recall done?
Wondering which one does better work and more honest in terms of mishap.

Well Irvine Toyota I couldn’t be happier with so I can’t imagine Tustin being any better. Call a week ahead of time make sure they get parts ordered and take it on Tues AM when Ron gets in and pick up on That Saturday. I had em install a new clutch that I provided along with the new updated TOB and the cost was 230.00 for labor

[DSlayerZX]

I ended up going with Tustin.

The Irvine one only provide 3 days of free rental on the recall repair while not promising the repair can be done in three days.



The tustin location covers rental for the duration of the repair, how ever long that takes.

[shiumai]

Originally Posted by DSlayerZX

The Irvine one only provide 3 days of free rental on the recall repair while not promising the repair can be done in three days.

Good thing my dealer covered the rental because they had my car for six weeks.

[bobbinator]

[QUOTE=DarkSideFRS;3173085]for those who had the recall done, where did you go and what was your experience? A couple things i would like to know would be:

I took my car to South Bay Toyota in Torrance, CA.

1. How long did the repair take?
3 days.

2. Was a courtesy car provided for the duration of the repair?
I didn't ask because i have other car that I use for commute to work

3. What other parts were replaced with no additional labor (spark plug, etc)?
I had spark plug, clutch replaced with no additional labor and 15% off because they had special for cars with 75k miles and more.

4. What other parts were replaced with additional labor?
none.

5. Was the dealer mod-friendly?
I only had TRD intake installed for the engine mod.

6. Did they know what they were doing? lol
I think so. My car had new engine replaced at 97k by Thousand Oaks toyota and this dealership asked me if i knew the history of the car because they noticed that the engine was new. After couple of days after recall was performed, I heard noise coming from engine bay and I kinda over reacted and towed my car back to the dealership. They drained engine oil to check for any debris and performed good inspection for free and topped off with new oil. The noise was nothing... I just over reacted after reading all those failed recall stories on the forum..

[DSlayerZX]

[quote=bobbinator;3294995]

Originally Posted by DarkSideFRS

for those who had the recall done, where did you go and what was your experience? A couple things i would like to know would be:

I took my car to South Bay Toyota in Torrance, CA.

1. How long did the repair take?
3 days.

2. Was a courtesy car provided for the duration of the repair?
I didn't ask because i have other car that I use for commute to work

3. What other parts were replaced with no additional labor (spark plug, etc)?
I had spark plug, clutch replaced with no additional labor and 15% off because they had special for cars with 75k miles and more.

4. What other parts were replaced with additional labor?
none.

5. Was the dealer mod-friendly?
I only had TRD intake installed for the engine mod.

6. Did they know what they were doing? lol
I think so. My car had new engine replaced at 97k by Thousand Oaks toyota and this dealership asked me if i knew the history of the car because they noticed that the engine was new. After couple of days after recall was performed, I heard noise coming from engine bay and I kinda over reacted and towed my car back to the dealership. They drained engine oil to check for any debris and performed good inspection for free and topped off with new oil. The noise was nothing... I just over reacted after reading all those failed recall stories on the forum..

oh man, i can only get the spark plug replace without labor. the TOB and clutch replacement would all cost labor for me at the Tustin location.

[bobbinator]

oh man, i can only get the spark plug replace without labor. the TOB and clutch replacement would all cost labor for me at the Tustin location.[/QUOTE]

Oh that sucks. I didn't even ask for it. The service guy called me after i dropped off the car and asked if i wanted my clutch replaced while the cars there. He offered free labor.