FR-S After One Year

[Hardway]

Sunday February 15th 2015 marked the one year anniversary of owning and driving my FR-S as a daily driver. In that time I have changed jobs twice, purchased my current '71 240z in which I wrote a comparison post about, and spoken with countless people at work, gas stations, and various events about the FR-S. In addition I have met several FR-S and BRZ owners along the way and most of us share the same opinions of the car.


A quick re-cap of the car and how I acquired it. It is a 2013 6MT with the base Pioneer radio, optional spoiler, trunk mat, and front LED accent lights. The car is a lease and therefore the only modification has been replacing the LED lights with projector style fog lights. As of writing this post I have 5,316 miles on the odometer and since the car had 278 miles on it when I started the lease I have covered 5,038 miles. The biggest reason for the low mileage is that I used to work less than 5 miles from my home and I was unemployed for a few months as well. The car also plays second fiddle to my wife's Ford Escape Titanium as we use it to travel just about everywhere since it carries a lot more cargo, more people, and our two dogs. Back to the topic of miles and mileage, as of today the best real MPG I have calculated at fill up is 27.1. This did not happen until recently as my new job 16 miles away and the majority of my drive is on toll ways with a speed limit of 80mph. Prior to this the best I ever saw was around 24 - 25 MPG.


For a daily driver the FR-S is truly a fun car with a good dose of practicality. A few qualities that make it a great daily driver include, it is a hard top, has a real trunk, rides firm but not harsh, has plenty of useable power for all driving scenarios, great brakes, and handles well on all types of dry pavement. On the last item let me add that living in central TX does not afford many opportunities to drive on wet roads and snow or ice has not been an event I have had to deal with. If it was, I worked from home that day. Back to driving and the rewards the FR-S gives for driving it. When driving to work, to the store, or anywhere there is almost always at least one gratifying moment while behind the wheel. This could be taking a corner at an enthusiastic speed, winding the engine out on entrance ramp, or getting a series of great shifts along the way. More often than not I have enjoyed driving the car far more than the destination I arrived at. I know that statement is rather cliché’ but in the FR-S it is true.


The longest trip I took in the car was to Brenham TX which was around 88 miles each way and during the trip the car never felt uncomfortable. I was able to leave the cruise set at 75mph and pretty much cruise along. I am 5’6” and around 170lbs and the seats were surprisingly comfortable on the trip. In fact, the only time the car ever feels uncomfortable is when I have to wear a suit. Maybe it is just me but the car feels smaller on the days I am wearing a suit and tie.


With a lot of positives to talk about there are a few negatives, some known and some just from my personal experience. One of the biggest and annoying part of owning the FR-S is the well-known squeaky direct injection pump affectionately known by owners as “crickets”. It is so noticeable that I now pick up on an FR-S or BRZ rolling nearby when I hear it. The cold 2nd gear is an annoyance and I am seriously thinking about changing my transmission fluid to see if that really helps. For now I have just been shifting from 1st to 3rd and it has been okay but every once awhile I really need 2nd and the transmission has not warmed up enough yet for a smooth engagement. The only other negative I have to report is the cheap feeling of the HVAC function selector or the rotary knob to the far left. I know this is right out of a Corolla but it honestly feels like junk when you turn it. Sure, it’s a cost saving piece but really, it’s just shameful to have it in the FR-S and even in the Corolla, Toyota could do better. Another cost saving & weight saving issue is the lack of sound deadening. If I knew I was going to keep the car it would already have a few layers of Dynamat or equivalent in it. Some better tires would probably help too. As of right now its livable but it does test my nerves sometimes when I am doing 80+ on the toll way. No matter how loud the radio is you can still hear the howl from the tires.


To conclude, I still very much like the FR-S and enjoy driving it. I still have 2 more years on my lease and 29K miles which I doubt I will reach. I will admit, I have toyed around with the idea of putting it up to see if someone would take over the lease and I would just pay cash for something else. At the same time I do question if I would miss driving it and right now that answer is yes. If I could get in to a position where the FR-S could be a toy car like my 240z, that would be perfect. After all, they do look good sitting in the garage together!


I would love to hear from other owners at the one year mark and beyond and see if my thoughts are in line with yours. Please do not post up any flack about me leasing the car. It has nothing to do with me not being a serious car person, just ask my wife. It was a financial decision and a good one so far.

[N1rve]

My FRS hit the one year mark back on December 2014. I acquired it December 1st 2013.

I agree that this car is practical and that there is enough useable power for daily driving. By the time I hit around 4-5k RPM I'm already breaking the speed limit.

I've only done a few mods to my car, JDM tips, JDM Spoiler, OEM Fogs, drop in filter, and tint. But I think this car looks great stock.

I don't constantly have crickets oddly, but I did recently have my engine rebuild which was the only fault.

Aside from that, this car has been fun to drive and makes my 20 mile (one way) commute fun. It's fun to make sharp turns and hear the Torsen limit the slip and chirp the tires. I've been averaging 25 MPH in some pretty bad LA Traffic.

I've only spent 50 dollars on maintenance for the past year and that was for my drop in filter.

[hanabie]

o.o

[campy]

I took delivery of my FRS on December 28, 2012. It still feels like a new car to me hahah

[8R6]

my 1yr is coming up this sunday i just rolled past 16,000 miles today on my way back home. :/ i was averaging about 900/miles a month until i moved to a new place in december... and now my commute doubled in mileage which sucks, but i finally have a private 2 car garage which is totally worth it lol

[humfrz]

Welp, I've had my FR-S for a bit over a year now.

The granddaughters love the cozy back seat ..... they call it pa-pa's "cool" car!

Mrs humfrz .... not as impressed ..... she does say it "naps" good!

As for me, it gets me up into the mountains ..... for "fun" driving!


humfrz

[2much]

mines been just about 2 years even. I still like mine

[funwheeldrive]

I bought mine on Valentine's Day last year. If anything, I enjoy the car now more than I did in the first couple of months. I've owned plenty of faster cars than the FRS, so initially the torque was pretty disapointing at times. However, the more time I spend behind the wheel, the more I realize just how much this car loves to be pushed. I'm keeping my revs higher, and braking later because I know the car can handle it. I look forward to spending even more time with it and pushing my own limits as a driver.

[ToySub1946]

2015 FRS man trans here. I've owned it just four months.
I'm 68yo and this car just totally rocks !
I've owned over 55 cars in my lifetime...this one rules !
current miles on my FRS 11,280.
Suggest you get in it, put a lot more miles on it...more smiles.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...34#post2128734

[Vincenttam]

Aww man, i had my car for a year and the only thing that happened to me was getting laid... Meh good enough

[billyk]

OP: every time an owner mentions the "shift into 2nd when cold" issue, I feel compelled to offer this fix. Read my post here.

Sure, you can buy new tranny oil (which won't assure a fix btw), or you can just shift your car in a manner that allows it to smoothly shift into 2nd, as it was designed.

In MD right now, we are being "treated" to temps in the single digits with 10-15 degrees below zero wind chill temps. Every single time I start my FRS when it's totally frozen, it shifts flawlessly into 2nd, if I just let that syncro spin-up. Perfect. Simple.

[Dadhawk]

Nice write-up @Hardway thanks for sharing. I'm coming up fast on 3 years with mine and I can say my positive experience is similar to yours, and we could nitpick the negatives, plus I have an AT which doesn't have the 2nd gear issue you mention.

As far as the crickets, well, my car either doesn't have them or they are outside my range of hearing. I can also say I've not been close enough to another one in 3 years "in the wild" to notice if I can hear them. I've passed some but its usually at a distance or the other corner of an intersection.

Not sure I understand the part about the HVAC selector knob, I've never turned it and thought "hmmm, cheap, wonder what Toyota was thinking". I know others have complained about it, but to me its just a selector knob. Straightforward and functional, and I can use it without looking at it. That's my only requirements.

Road noise, yea I guess its there at speed, but I kind of expect that in a sports car.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by billyk

OP: every time an owner mentions the "shift into 2nd when cold" issue, I feel compelled to offer this fix. Read my post here.

Sure, you can buy new tranny oil (which won't assure a fix btw), or you can just shift your car in a manner that allows it to smoothly shift into 2nd, as it was designed.

In MD right now, we are being "treated" to temps in the single digits with 10-15 degrees below zero wind chill temps. Every single time I start my FRS when it's totally frozen, it shifts flawlessly into 2nd, if I just let that syncro spin-up. Perfect. Simple.

Same here. I have never once had an issue with 2nd regardless of temperature just by using the same technique.

[billyk]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Same here. I have never once had an issue with 2nd regardless of temperature just by using the same technique.

I have a growing suspicion that the way syncros work may not be fully understood by all FRS/BRZ owners (I am just a recent convert myself) and that not accommodating for syncro spin-up when cold is really at the root of the dreaded "2nd gear issues" for most, if not all owners.