Unofficial - CEL/SL/Idle Issue List for FR-S/BRZ Owners

[Grishbok]

Originally Posted by Tricky1980

if i press my gas pedal very slow in nuetral.. i can get to a point about 3/4 of an inch in pedal movement.. before rpms move at all.. i can create a ticking noise...

if i blip gas pedal quickly and lightly .. i can get teh rpms to DROP before they go up...

under WOT from a 5mph roll my car has very low power it feels.. when im moving and rpms are closer to 3kish car pulls great

i have about 120 miles on my cam gear and egi repair... meeting oct 17th with toyota and 3rd party arbitrator.. i just dont like the way the car feels.. even after repair...
hopefully i get what ive requested and that is to walk away from deal. and i woudl cover interest expense on 2 months ive owned the car.. my insurance costs and whatever "usage" fee they wanna throw at me for my 225 miles ive put on the car.

Man, im sorry you arent happy with the car and have had such difficulty. From what you describe, WOT from a 5mph roll would be at very low rpm's, where torque is at its lowest. In order to maximize acceleration, you should keep the engine above 4.5k rpms to utilize its optimal powerband. The engine responds very similar to a rotary in the feel that it needs to spin up, or get to a certain rpm before it really starts dispersing its power to the drive train. This keeps "torque dip" as its being called, helps keep mpg's high, and the car manageable in bad weather conditions.
Best of luck during your negotiations, I hope you get what you want, and for better or worse, you wont have another car like the 8-6.

[Tricky1980]

Originally Posted by Grishbok

Man, im sorry you arent happy with the car and have had such difficulty. From what you describe, WOT from a 5mph roll would be at very low rpm's, where torque is at its lowest. In order to maximize acceleration, you should keep the engine above 4.5k rpms to utilize its optimal powerband. The engine responds very similar to a rotary in the feel that it needs to spin up, or get to a certain rpm before it really starts dispersing its power to the drive train. This keeps "torque dip" as its being called, helps keep mpg's high, and the car manageable in bad weather conditions.
Best of luck during your negotiations, I hope you get what you want, and for better or worse, you wont have another car like the 8-6.

Yeah, i understand its "lower torque" i guess when i mean its doggy is you try to pull out in traffic and im nervous about it.... i had a stock 240sx(same torque) and it could go from a dead stop(withoutdropping the clutch at 4krpms) i dunno... maybe its the car but that seems odd to me... i just feel like its hard to get up to speed sometimes.. it doesnt feel that way every time, which is why i think my car is "covered up" not fixed....or im paranoid and looking for another problem.

[Grishbok]

Originally Posted by Tricky1980

Yeah, i understand its "lower torque" i guess when i mean its doggy is you try to pull out in traffic and im nervous about it.... i had a stock 240sx(same torque) and it could go from a dead stop(withoutdropping the clutch at 4krpms) i dunno... maybe its the car but that seems odd to me... i just feel like its hard to get up to speed sometimes.. it doesnt feel that way every time, which is why i think my car is "covered up" not fixed....or im paranoid and looking for another problem.

How many miles are on your engine? At around 3-5k miles, the engine starts becoming a lot more responsive and sharp. I think you may be referring to a bit of lag or delay as a result of the engine components being brand spanking new. On any new car, there is a definite delay in response until the engine settles in. It takes a few thousand miles for everything to settle in and to really start delivering.

[choi0706]

I wonder why scion has a reflash avail and subaru wants to change the ecu..

[pituala]

So I started a list of complaints for my Rep when I speak to him on Monday;

- A/C smells bad when I turn it on.
- The erratic idle and clunky timing chain slapping sound when the idle drops.
- Engine ticking (I have to listen to this a little closer, it may be the injectors...will check when I get home from work today)
- Was told they put 50 miles on the car, but they actually put 100 miles on the car. I dropped it off with 905 miles and got it back with 1004 miles (yes technically that is 99 miles). I wouldn't really care about this except I dropped the car off with a near full tank of gas and got it back with less than a 1/4 tank, but I was expected to return the rental with the same level of gas. They owe me a tank of gas.

All of this may cause me to reconsider my compensation needs.

[F1point4]

Originally Posted by choi0706

I wonder why scion has a reflash avail and subaru wants to change the ecu..

I think it's because most dealers are not equipped to flash the ECU in these cars...yet

[choi0706]

Originally Posted by F1point4

I think it's because most dealers are not equipped to flash the ECU in these cars...yet

alot of the tsb stuff I've found came through scion first.. Including the HPFP ..

the flow chart says to replace the ecm from subaru.. scion's tsb says to reflash..

[Marrk]

Originally Posted by CMOS

This is not the end.
This is not the beginning.
This is not the beginning of the end.
It is not even the end of the beginning.

Computers make very quick and very precise mistakes, if this was one of those it would come up for everyone by the time they got home. I assume that Subaru in their infinite wisdom has designed one computer and replicated it a few thousand times rather than making each one unique. Either all of us have a failing timer module or that thing is not kidding about the engine problem. Personally I'd like to know the cause of the error and not the symptoms before making repairs that mask the symptoms and lead to valve shaped hood ornaments.

I agree.

On the other hand, if a "work-around" effectively solves the problem, and no parts later come flying through the hood, then I would say it amounts to the same outcome.

Just because we don't know what the problem is doesn't mean that they don't know what the problem is. Also, if they are willing to change hard parts and software in an attempt to fix the problem, then it doesn't sound like they are simply trying to "mask the problem."

But, again, I agree with you. Best to know what's going on in toto.

[rapidcars]

Originally Posted by choi0706

I wonder why scion has a reflash avail and subaru wants to change the ecu..

Reflashing didn't fix mine. Replacing the ECU seems to work better from what I've seen on this thread. I'll find out Tuesday when they hopefully replace mine and fix it for good.

[jesperswe]

Originally Posted by choi0706

I wonder why scion has a reflash avail and subaru wants to change the ecu..

And Toyota Sweden didn't do anything of that. They changed my Cam Sprocket and OCV (P0017 code) and i've had the car back for 3days and so far no CEL

[choi0706]

Originally Posted by jesperswe

And Toyota Sweden didn't do anything of that. They changed my Cam Sprocket and OCV (P0017 code) and i've had the car back for 3days and so far no CEL

I had my parts changed, and still showing a CEL/SL right away.. The dealer ordered a new ECM because a reflash isn't on the flow chart..

[Christina_Marie]

add me to the list as well :

christina_marie, FR-S (Asphalt AT), 7073xx, western MA area - normal break in, never went above 4K and didn't drive her hard until after 1000 miles.

first incident - 8/20 (day of purchase) with 40 miles on her - CEL popped, no SL, no engine shake or anything else noticeable, brought it immediately back, all they did was clear the code and I was good to go for a week.

second incident : 8/27 (830 miles) - CEL/SL/extreme engine shake, RPM hunting, code pulled P0019. Was in servicing for 3 or 4 "business days" and given a loaner. They swapped the OCV sensor, cleared the problem for awhile until the following ...

third incident : currently in for service as of 9/23 with 2200 miles on her - CEL/SL/(CEL was actually blinking this time)/engine shake/RPM hunting - service manager stated new ECU being ordered, 2-3 week wait as most everyone else is hearing. my service rep already talked to a toyota/scion corporate rep who approved compensation of some sort once the problem is "fixed", which I'm happy about at least. I will be well within lemon law rights in MA by the time the ECU even comes in, so that will be worst case scenario if need be. Just miss driving her as everyone else is feeling ! I will post updates as soon as I hear anything ..

[HATED1]

Originally Posted by Christina_Marie

add me to the list as well :

christina_marie, FR-S (Asphalt AT), 7073xx, western MA area - normal break in, never went above 4K and didn't drive her hard until after 1000 miles.

first incident - 8/20 (day of purchase) with 40 miles on her - CEL popped, no SL, no engine shake or anything else noticeable, brought it immediately back, all they did was clear the code and I was good to go for a week.

second incident : 8/27 (830 miles) - CEL/SL/extreme engine shake, RPM hunting, code pulled P0019. Was in servicing for 3 or 4 "business days" and given a loaner. They swapped the OCV sensor, cleared the problem for awhile until the following ...

third incident : currently in for service as of 9/23 with 2200 miles on her - CEL/SL/(CEL was actually blinking this time)/engine shake/RPM hunting - service manager stated new ECU being ordered, 2-3 week wait as most everyone else is hearing. my service rep already talked to a toyota/scion corporate rep who approved compensation of some sort once the problem is "fixed", which I'm happy about at least. I will be well within lemon law rights in MA by the time the ECU even comes in, so that will be worst case scenario if need be. Just miss driving her as everyone else is feeling ! I will post updates as soon as I hear anything ..

looks like you and i have had the same type of symptoms, keep us posted!

[CMOS]

Originally Posted by Marrk

I agree.

On the other hand, if a "work-around" effectively solves the problem, and no parts later come flying through the hood, then I would say it amounts to the same outcome.

Just because we don't know what the problem is doesn't mean that they don't know what the problem is. Also, if they are willing to change hard parts and software in an attempt to fix the problem, then it doesn't sound like they are simply trying to "mask the problem."

But, again, I agree with you. Best to know what's going on in toto.

My concern comes from the inability of replacement engine components to permanently make one engine send as proper of signals as another, this implies that something is different about the way it operates and the computer is not happy with that. Why would a simple rev counter become unhappy with these engines while another 50%+ seem to operate as intended? Additionally, if the computer is at fault, why does the computer seem to pick a specific cause of concern rather then all of the symmetrical parts?