Has anyone had a warranty claim denied? Seized engine! Pics of teardown added 6/5

[BRZnut]

Originally Posted by sierra

According to the TSB all cars from Jan 21 this year have the patch they are using in S. Africa. Could a dealer copy the later ECU program and use it to update the earlier cars?

What TSB? Are you saying you have a TSB that shows all cars now have the timing patch to prevent DI seal damage??? Can you post it??

[jjaisli]

Originally Posted by BRZnut

What TSB? Are you saying you have a TSB that shows all cars now have the timing patch to prevent DI seal damage??? Can you post it??

No, I think sierra is referring to the infamous TSB from Toyota of South Africa. That notice seems to indicate that a change was made for VIN numbers, effective for cars produced after January 21st. But it's not exactly clear if this really was a change for ALL cars. At least, it's not clear to me.

[sierra]

Originally Posted by BRZnut

What TSB? Are you saying you have a TSB that shows all cars now have the timing patch to prevent DI seal damage??? Can you post it??

If you read this post you will know as much as I know.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...9&postcount=51

[sierra]

Originally Posted by jjaisli

My car has a February 2013 build date, so that would make sense. But I was a bit confused by the document posted:

But does this really refer to ALL GT86 models produced worldwide, or is referring specifically to cars under the jurisdiction of Toyota S.A.? I haven't actually seen anything official to confirm it one way or the other. But if Toyota HAS made this change for all production cars, and already back in January, why would they not have issued a TSB for all existing cars? Would it not be easier and more cost effective to issue a TSB/recall now, rather than replacing, potentially, hundreds of engines under warranty, a year or two down the road?

I'll give the dealer I purchased the car from a call on Monday. The service manager seemed to be pretty knowledge. He himself used to drive an FR-S and even had a Perrin short-shift kit installed.

I agree that part is confusing but I think it's just badly worded and refers to retarding the ignition in the transitional tables only.

The VIN numbers quoted are the same as my manual change VIN number and starting at 10733 and 10735 for the auto. So if it's reasonable that 21,500 cars were built up to 21 Jan 2013 in total from the factory then it seems reasonable that all the cars after that date are updated. It's worded that way rather than a patch on landing in S. Africa.

I don't know why they wont patch our earlier cars. It makes no sense?

Could you ask him if they have anything showing a change in the ECU software from those VIN numbers at that time specifically?

[thill]

Hs anyone with a recent build date had DI issues? Or are all the reported issues coming from car that were build before February of this year?

Might help if people who have injector issues and/or had their engine seize post their build date.

[jjaisli]

Originally Posted by sierra

I agree that part is confusing but I think it's just badly worded and refers to retarding the ignition in the transitional tables only.

The VIN numbers quoted are the same as my manual change VIN number and starting at 10733 and 10735 for the auto. So if it's reasonable that 21,500 cars were built up to 21 Jan 2013 in total from the factory then it seems reasonable that all the cars after that date are updated. It's worded that way rather than a patch on landing in S. Africa.

I don't know why they wont patch our earlier cars. It makes no sense?

Could you ask him if they have anything showing a change in the ECU software from those VIN numbers at that time specifically?

I would LIKE to think this is correct. And it would seem logical. But I don't want to just assume it is either. I'll ask my dealer when I call next week (I have to call them to check on the plates anyway) but if the ECU on post January build cars, comes with different coding from the factory, and there was no official notice (internally) from Toyota to it's North American dealer network, I'm not sure if the service adviser at my dealer would be able to tell me one way or the other.

Originally Posted by thill

Hs anyone with a recent build date had DI issues? Or are all the reported issues coming from car that were build before February of this year?

Might help if people who have injector issues and/or had their engine seize post their build date.

Indeed. Not that I'd be happy to "step over" the misery of early purchasers, but I would feel MUCH better in the knowledge that cars built after January 21st already have this issue addressed. And I'm sure a lot of others would sleep better with this knowledge as well.

[AyJay]

I just looked at my car's door jamb. I have a 1/13 build date and my MT has a VIN of 19xxx.

Is the end of the VIN number really a sequential count of manufactured cars? If so, it seems like 9000ish cars since the break point discovered in Jan seems unlikely.

[sierra]

Originally Posted by AyJay

I just looked at my car's door jamb. I have a 1/13 build date and my MT has a VIN of 19xxx.

Is the end of the VIN number really a sequential count of manufactured cars? If so, it seems like 9000ish cars since the break point discovered in Jan seems unlikely.

Mine is Nov 2012 build date and the VIN number is 08xxx which fits with the S. African VIN numbers being 10xxx in Jan 2013.
A 1/13[Jan 2013?] build date with it ending 19xxx makes no sense if it's a build sequence. Is the rest of the VIN number/letter sequence the same as the TSB?

[AyJay]

Originally Posted by sierra

Mine is Nov 2012 build date and the VIN number is 08xxx which fits with the S. African VIN numbers being 10xxx in Jan 2013.
A 1/13[Jan 2013?] build date with it ending 19xxx makes no sense if it's a build sequence. Is the rest of the VIN number/letter sequence the same as the TSB?

No. The entire sequence of the VIN is very different. Perhaps it is apples and oranges to compare with SA VIN numbers.

[sierra]

Originally Posted by AyJay

No. The entire sequence of the VIN is very different. Perhaps it is apples and oranges to compare with SA VIN numbers.

The S. African VIN is exactly the same as the Australian one.
They also drive on the correct side of the road so maybe the difference is for LHD?

[pascalbrax]

Originally Posted by Chee-Hu

I do, in fact, own a BRZ. I've never dealt with Subaru before as far as warranty claims go as this is my first Subaru. Hearing/reading stories like this makes me want to avoid them as much as I can.

Voiding warranty because "the car was raced" is utterly bullshit!

Just to rub it in, Toyota Italy did a track day and gave racing lessons to every customer who bought the GT86 1st edition "with black racing stripes".

[regal]

Originally Posted by pascalbrax

Voiding warranty because "the car was raced" is utterly bullshit!

Just to rub it in, Toyota Italy did a track day and gave racing lessons to every customer who bought the GT86 1st edition "with black racing stripes".

Notice Toyota in Bold, they have an entirely different philosophy to warranty and defects than Subaru. So there is hope.

[ft_sjo]

Toyota have also recently hosted track days in the UK for GT86 owners.

[CSG Mike]

This is Subaru's official stance.

We appreciate the additional information that you have sent to Subaru of America which we have reviewed. Unfortunately our position in this matter remains unchanged. The concern with your Subaru BRZ is not a matter for warranty and we are not offering any financial assistance towards the repairs. The repairs are a customer pay issue. The recall that you reference in your email cannot be completed until those necessary repairs are completed.

We appreciate the opportunity to explain our position again.

Sincerely,

Bill Hendrickson

Subaru of America, Inc.