Engine Failure (#4 Rod Bearing + Short Block)

[Assphalt]

I dont understand why the manual suggests to keep it under 4k for break in, yet I keep hearing from some trusted people that you should be having a lot of fun during the break in. I just bought my frs 2 weeks ago and I havent been babying it, hard to control myself! What did everyone else do?

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[JP]

you shouldn't have oil burning issues if you're loading the engine up

[eriktherod]

Originally Posted by Porsche

Yeah. Interesting.

Do I understand correctly that Toyota paid for these repairs?

Yes, I never paid a dime for any of these repairs thus far, all covered under warranty. I was also provided a courtesy car (2014 Corolla S) for the duration of the repairs, free of charge.

[Porsche]

Originally Posted by eriktherod

Yes, I never paid a dime for any of these repairs thus far, all covered under warranty. I was also provided a courtesy car (2014 Corolla S) for the duration of the repairs, free of charge.

That may be the most important clue, indirect as it is.

If Toyota had reason to believe the proximate cause of this engine failure was user negligence, I have to believe they'd balk at paying for this.

If Toyota uncomplainingly paid for this major malfunction, it leads me to suspect that they know something they're not admitting to you.

I wonder what that might be?

I would certainly be interested in hearing how this plays out. Perhaps you might press them for an explanation. You're certainly entitled to one, especially if you have any intention of keeping this car.

At this juncture, were I in your shoes, I would not want that car any longer; I'd want them to buy it back from me.

Whatever happens, I'm sorry to hear of these problems you're experiencing. You seem remarkably calm about it all.

I wish you the best of luck, and I'll keep an eye out for further reports from you.

[humfrz]

Well, DANG, eriktherod ......that's a nasty series of events .....

So, I figure if the engine was "burning" oil at the rate of 4 quarts for 2,000 miles ...... it would be leaving a visible smoke screen behind it.

I would wonder if the proper amount of oil was put in it at the last oil change .. ??

I figure the bearing spun because it was thirsty for oil .... not that bearing went bad and caused the massive oil loss.

Well, let's hope the next engine holds up better ....

humfrz

[husker741]

I wonder if you have a cam plate leak like others have had.

[CSG Mike]

You know what's scary?

You can have rod knock from a spun bearing, and STILL not have a check engine light.

[suaveflooder]

This is crazy! WOW!

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by eriktherod

I am fairly sure I only had about 2,000 miles on that oil change, so I can't imagine it would be low unless there was an issue.

Did you check the oil after the dealership (I assume since you mentioned a care package) changed it? Nothing wrong if you didn't, just curious as to root cause.

I'd gamble the greasemonkey screwed up, 4 quarts don't disappear overnight, considering capacity is nearly 6 quarts.

Originally Posted by Porsche

If Toyota had reason to believe the proximate cause of this engine failure was user negligence, I have to believe they'd balk at paying for this.

If Toyota uncomplainingly paid for this major malfunction, it leads me to suspect that they know something they're not admitting to you.

I wonder what that might be?

At this juncture, were I in your shoes, I would not want that car any longer; I'd want them to buy it back from me.

I agree, I think his saving grace was the dealership maintenance record. How can you point the finger saying the owner neglected it when all evidence says the owner followed the book to a T? Agreed I would be hesitant to give the car a third chance, you bet your ass I'd be going to a different service department.

Originally Posted by Assphalt

I dont understand why the manual suggests to keep it under 4k for break in, yet I keep hearing from some trusted people that you should be having a lot of fun during the break in.

This topic has had gigabytes of speculation from enthusiasts. The bottom line is do you trust the engineers who designed the car or the aftermarket community. Two sides are 'you need to be hard on the engine to get everything seated properly' or 'you need to be easy on the powertrain to wear in the friction surfaces'.

One of the big arguments is that the cars are all 'broken in' from the factory so you don't have to do any break in when you take ownership, to me that just doubles down on the idea of following OEM recommendation of taking it easy. You likely won't harm anything either way.

Hope everything goes well OP, you're definitely taking it in stride.

[ZZT86]

As above, there's no way 4 quarts of oil is burning away that quickly ! What's more amazing is that the engine sensors never noticed it ? Not even an oil light ? Odd :/ Always a great idea to double / triple check the oil level after service when you get home as dealers are always moving at a rate of knots that even the best of them screw up occasionally - I recently had mine done 1st service & immediately smelt an oil/grease burning odour upon start up when I picked it up. When I got home I checked the oil, then I checked a second & third time to confirm the $hit I was seeing - overfill by 1.25L = 1.3Q ! !

I reckon you either had little oil in it to begin with or a faulty bearing/block. Wish you the best.

[DarkSunrise]

Sorry to hear about your car issues. That'd be very odd if you spun another bearing in such a short time. What kind of oil were you using?

[Wepeel]

At least it seems they are covering it without question. This is very interesting... maybe suggest that they do an entire long block replacement. It's obvious the swapping the shortblock just led to the same failure... which reduces the chances that the issue was with either of the shortblocks themselves.

And on the STI, I was running low (half) compression in 1 or 2 cylinders, no check engine light, and still not a noticeable hit in mpg.

[Mikem53]

Originally Posted by Assphalt

I dont understand why the manual suggests to keep it under 4k for break in, yet I keep hearing from some trusted people that you should be having a lot of fun during the break in. I just bought my frs 2 weeks ago and I havent been babying it, hard to control myself! What did everyone else do?

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Today's engines are manufactured to handle just about any abuse you can throw at them. There was just an article in car and driver where they talked about the durability test used for modern day production engines. They are designed to handle abuse and neglect from the get-go. I followed the manufacturers suggestions for break-in. Just makes sense to me that all these new components and surfaces need to be broken in and form wear patterns that will last their entire service life. I've done this with all my cars and have had good experiences over the last 45 years of ownership. I don't think these practices and break in procedures are as important as they used to be in the past. But I feel it can't hurt to drive it easy for the first thousand miles or so..

[P5yk0t1c]

I had almost the same thing happen to me. Your description of the noise was identical. Although when I heard the noise, I knew and drove straight to the dealership...it stalled out right when I parked (no CEL or any warning lights as well). This was a 2013 FR-S at 7,000kms (4,300miles) only mods were catback EVO 3 exhaust. Found out the next day motor was shot...new shortblock...etc. After that, it never had the same power it did before and kept have multiple CEL lights. I had the car for 6 months.... 3 of those months it was in the shop. After the 12th time taking it in I wrote an email to Toyota Canada and fought with them to take the car back. They wanted to keep repairing it, so I filled out all the paper work to take them to court on a Thursday, protested with a few signs in front of one of their dealerships on Saturday. Had a brand new 2014 FR-S on Monday.

This car has been great! I do understand the standpoint of Toyota as well, as they can't just give everyone a new car because they have a few problems.

My story: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...light=p5yk0t1c