CEL Issue - would you wait to buy?

[Geezer]

Folks, I have put down a deposit and waiting (patiently) for delivery of a Firestorm FR-S. Reading the threads about the check engine light problem has made me a little nervous.

I am trying to gauge how widespread that problem is, and whether anyone would recommend waiting a few more months before buying. (My current car, while not very interesting, is very reliable - so hanging on to it for a few months is not an issue.)

I would appreciate any feedback people would care to provide.

Thanks.

[tnt]

I haven't had any sort of issues - happy camper !

[Stu baru]

It's a matter of percentages. The amount of folks that have had a CEL thrown without having done anything to their cars is probably very, very, very small or you'd be seeing a much higher rate of commentary on it.

Chirping DI is a different story...you can pretty much plan on that.

[neutron256]

Need to find a better name for this then CEL issue. Check engine light can be so many things.

[tnt]

Originally Posted by neutron256

Need to find a better name for this then CEL issue. Check engine light can be so many things.

yup - can have different failure codes

[Books]

Remember that no one really posts when there isn't an issue so on forums you see a concentration of problems. Not saying that people with no issues don't post, just less often.

PS I haven't had any issues with mine. I was wary when mine arrived and of course checked for all the issues that popped up on the forums too!

[tnt]

Check out this post - FYI

Originally Posted by eurospeed
Folks, my goal is document the number of owners, their mileage, status of their cars along with other pertinent info. I was planning on doing this privately in Excel, but would rather keep a running list in this thread. I feel it would be a good snapshot to help understand the severity and broad reach of this problem.

POSTING RULES
While this idle issue may manifest itself as an initial dip, please only add your name if you have experienced a combination of the check engine light (CEL) and slip light (SL) in addition to the RPM hunting at idle (often severe shaking and stalling). The code your ECU should have stored is P0019 (also optional P0017, P0018).

Please post the following:
username, FR-S or BRZ, mileage of occurrence, last six of VIN (use XX for last two), duration of repair [3 weeks, in shop, etc.], location [state, country, etc.], other comments [repeat occurrence, items replaced, etc.]

Please let me know if you would like to see additional information. Also, please keep the postings on topic and for the list only. The "Idle Issue" thread is good for general discussion. Thanks everyone.

Note, if you want your name removed, let me know.

--------------------------

1. eurospeed, FR-S, 140 mi, 7075XX, in shop, CT
2. primo, BRZ, 20 mi, 6027XX, in shop, CA
3. danthedirt, FR-S, 2000 mi, 1 week - repaired, CA
4. Hammer, BRZ, 6026XX, CA
5. LaserMon, FR-S, 22 km, Canada
6. Vracer111, FR-S, TX
7. benzaholic, FR-S, 700 mi, TX
8. Mr.Roboto, FR-S, 30 mi, CA
9. Yruyur, FR-S, 5700 mi, AZ
10. alrashwa, FR-S, 300 mi, 7073XX, in shop, WA
11. tintumz22, FR-S, 10 mi, repaired, CA
12. Scooby_South, BRZ, WI
13. soconfoozed, BRZ, 3500 mi, in shop, CA
14. oxygen, FR-S, 2700 mi, 7008XX, NE
15. siXXtoes, FR-S, 7066XX, SD
16. Shizzaw, FR-S, 200 mi, in shop, CA
17. QFry, FR-S, 230 mi, CO
18. amox, FR-S, 240 mi, CA
19. Vonsamhain, CA
20. 01s0uljah, BRZ, 40 km, Canada
21. STEVEOSTI, BRZ, Canada
22. ShadowSeraph, FR-S, 1000 mi, WI
23. whiteout_fr-s, FR-S, 25 mi, catastrophic engine failure, MA
24. ubersoph, BRZ, WI
25. Stu_L_Tissimus, BRZ, NY
26. mark7s4, FR-S, FL
27. Tricky1980, FR-S, 76 mi, 7077XX, IA
28. Z06tofrs, FR-S, 400 mi, 7067XX, FL
29. number1Tango, FR-S, 63 mi, 7075XX, CA
30.
31.
32.

[whaap]

I understand the concern and am in the same position. However, the advantage I have is I'm retired and an inconvenience with some warranty work being done on my car wouldn't be a big deal. So, I've decided to go forward with buying an FR-S.

[White64Goat]

Same boat. I sent off a messge to Subaru today about all these cars having the cam/VVT problem and told them I was waiting for delivery on 9/10 and that I was really considering not purchasing the car and asked what they were doing to correct the problem. No answer yet.....

[kendalldwhite]

no issues here yet

[paulieblaze]

Add me to the list low idle, rough idle and stall. CEL and Skid light had MAF sensor replaced.

[paulieblaze]

4000 miles in shop for a day.

[Sigh-on-Rice]

I have Rear deck popping noise and tail light condensation.
Passenger's auto window scroll and windows squeaking somehow stopped having problems.
I have cricket noise and AC compressor tweet also, but those don't bother me enough to complain yet.

[ill86]

Buy. Don't stress the technique.

If yours ends up with the issue have it fixed.