On approximately May 27, 2026 I delivered my 2013 Scion FR-S (approx. 105,000 miles) to an authorized Toyota dealer for Safety Recall J02 (NHTSA 18V-772, engine valve spring replacement). I picked it up on June 3, 2026. Immediately the engine ran sluggish and the air conditioning, which had worked, stopped blowing cold. On June 7, 2026 - four days and only a few miles later - the engine spun a rod bearing and began knocking loudly. The vehicle is now inoperable. This recall requires removing and disassembling the engine and is widely documented to cause oil starvation and spun bearings when excess RTV sealant from reassembly clogs the oil pickup screen. My engine ran normally for years and failed within days of the recall repair. The recall repair caused catastrophic engine failure. No crash or injury has occurred; the vehicle is parked to prevent further damage.
NHTSA complaint #11742856 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The car randomly shut off, i started it back up and it has a knock in the engine. Oil is super clean, and changed every 3k miles. I keep up with maintenance on my vehicle. I contacted Toyota and they had a Valve Spring Recall that leads to this very problem but somehow my vehicle isn't covered. I
NHTSA complaint #11703673 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The car randomly shut off, i started it back up and it has a knock in the engine. Oil is super clean, and changed every 3k miles. I contacted Toyota and they had a Valve Spring Recall that leads to this very problem but somehow my vehicle isnt covered.
NHTSA complaint #11653904 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2013 Scion FR-S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V772000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. The dealer and manufacturer informed the contact that the recall could not be performed because the engine in the vehicle was not the OEM part. Parts distribution disconnect.
NHTSA complaint #11644023 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2013 Scion FR-S. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 60 MPH, the engine warning light was flashing. The driver pulled to the side of the road, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that there was a fractured engine valve spring. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V772000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.
NHTSA complaint #11628526 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
sometimes the car randomly stalls out during driving. usually off cold starts if i let it warm up for even 5 minutes it still will stall out sometimes. its not super common id say it does it once every 2 days maybe. the car is also misfiring and ive noticed a large loss of power from the car. it started back in june and i just havent really gotten it fixed yet. usually when im driving itll kind of just buffer and a check engine light is thrown on but it ends up going off after a couple drives.
NHTSA complaint #11619011 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
There was a recall on the power train system for the 2016 Scion frs models and mines just failed. I was never notified about this recall. Can the recall be reopened
NHTSA complaint #11611888 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The engine suffered catastrophic failure 2,988 miles after the J02 Saftey recall was performed by Preston Toyota of New Castle, PA. I was travelling at highway speeds when the engine died and would not turn on. I lost all power brakes and could have wrecked and injured myself, others or worse, caused a fatality. The car was towed to a toyota dealership that confirmed the issue was due to the work performed during the recall on the car. The oil light flashed a few times then shut off and then a few seconds later the engine died.
NHTSA complaint #11524410 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle suffered engine failure in line with previous recalled, and subsequently repaired parts. Both Toyota & Subaru have refused to repair. Vehicle is under 100,000 miles.
NHTSA complaint #11523062 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Engine stalled won't crank over or run anymore. Mechanic said it was a valve spring issue and vehicle had a recall that entitled engine to be replaced by Toyota.
NHTSA complaint #11520958 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2013 Scion FR-S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V772000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it remained awaiting the parts for the recall repair. The contact stated that once the parts for the repair were available, the mechanic informed her that the manufacturer would not be covering the repairs on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
NHTSA complaint #11505208 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Engine failure. My safety is compromised by car leaving me stranded at an unpreditable time. Serviced center fixed vehicle twice unsuccecfully because different engine brand but joint partnership. No warning lamps were present before or after failure of engine.
NHTSA complaint #11502515 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2013 Scion FR-S. The contact stated there was an abnormal clunking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check oil warning light was illuminated while the vehicle was decelerating. The contact drove into a nearby parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the valve spring had fractured. The vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number 18V772000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that 115 miles after the repair there was a knocking noise coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle began to run rough. While driving at highway speeds the vehicle began to feel as if it was decelerating with the accelerator pedal being depressed. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer who diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the failure was coming from the bottom of the engine. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was towed back to the residence. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000.
NHTSA complaint #11496759 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Under normal driving conditions, a well maintained 79k car, the joint that holds up cylinder #2 failed, totalling the engine. Thankfully the rod did not kill me.
NHTSA complaint #11493217 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
It is my belief that the valve spring on the engine broke, even after the recall work had been done. I was getting out of my car and heard, what sounded like, metal under tension popping really loudly. After that the engine made a rattling noise. In hindsight I should have known something was wrong, but I had an oil change at the dealer in 2 days and thought they would hear it. After the oil change they didn't say anything so I felt it was ok. On my way home from work the following day, less than 40 miles after the oil change, the car suddenly completely shut off while I was driving home on the highway. What saved my life was that I was getting off the highway in the right lane and was able to roll the car slightly off the highway. Had this been in any other lane I might have been in an accident. Trying to restart the car on the side of the road it had a terrible knocking noise and sounded like something was spinning freely. I had it towed to the dealer as they had just changed the oil thinking that was it. They "looked" at it a couple days later and said it was a spun bearing and that it was normal wear and tear. The car only has 103,000 miles on it and was driven normally, with regular maintenance. Upon retrieving the car the tow truck driver stated that's not normal to happen, and I noticed the car was in the same place as where I had it towed originally. The dealer never actually inspected or looked at the car and just made the spun bearing assessment without trying to start it, as the battery was dead from trying to restart on the highway. No one has since touched the car, and some research online shows that I am not the only person this has happened to. The recall stated that the valve springs could break while driving and the car would suddenly shut off with no warning. This is exactly what happened, while driving on the highway home. According to the dealer it is a spun bearing but that is not what it sounds like at all. It definitely sounds like a rod.
NHTSA complaint #11492687 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Defective engine/motor failure spark plug popped out of engine along with coil. The service technician and service manager were shocked at the spark plug broken internally. I paid for spark plug replacement totaling approximately $1,200. Upon inspecting other parts of the motor it was determined the engine bay has coolant inside mixed with oil. The tech mention of engine over heating however the temperature gauge never reached overheating readings. If the engine overheated the temperature gauge failed to alert me while I was driving at any point and expressed this to the service advisor. My vehicle motor failed while I was engaged in driving on the freeway and turn off and on in the middle of flight and travelling at freeway speeds. I originally purchased vehicle at Long Toyota USA in El Monte, CA with zero to 15 miles brand new in 2015 it is less that 10 years and I never experienced a defective motor/engine. Today is October 21, 2022 and my vehicle is still at the Culver City Toyota dealership. When: September 25, 2022, towed vehicle to Culver City Toyota a dealer of Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc Where: Engine/Motor failure occurred in the middle of the 10 freeway at Robertson/Venice exit in Los Angeles, CA. I immediately was able to steer the car to the nearest exit there was a loud pop and then a very loud motor noise was heard. I paid the tow company to take the vehicle to the culver city Toyota to get it fixed. How: While driving. Preferred solution Assistance in replacing engine at no cost due to defects and failures and placing my life at risk while the car was in motion. I am not looking for monetary claims or any gains. I just want my car back fixed I already paid for the spark plugs as i mentioned above but this is a defective motor. All my services have been done through Toyota's trained service technicians I asked all the time for spark plug replacement and they always said it isn't due.
NHTSA complaint #11490358 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Timing chain cover oil leak Oil pan cover oil leak Has been a persistent leak since I purchased the car in 2014. I’ve learned it’s an extremely common issue which the dealership won’t warranty. It’s been a documented leak since 2015 and over $2500 to fix. Several members on forums/Facebook claim the exact same leak in same location. It’s due to poor quality sealant used by manufacturer instead of a gasket. New sealant sold by dealership because original sealant is faulty.
NHTSA complaint #11472164 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The day before the incident, took the vehicle for an oil change at dealership. Driving in a Interstate 8 under construction and vehicle had engine malfunction turning off and also turned off power steering creating difficulty steering, could have created accident on freeway jeopardize my safety and of others. The engine malfunction started by making a rattling sound and turning off the engine. Since my vehicle is Standard/Manual transmission, I stepped on the clutch and the rattling stop making me coast with the moment it had. I removed the clutch to turn on the vehicle and the rattling continued so I put it in neutral, waited to slow down to push the vehicle onto an emergency lane (since the freeway was under construction and the lanes had Jersey Barriers). The problem hasn't been able to reproduce because the vehicle cannot restart, contact local dealership and rejected to perform recall unless I put down $2,000 (November 2018). Sent out to a local shop but didn't have workers with Boxer engine knowledge. Contact DMV for guidance about rejection on recall (which happened again on March 2022) and made another appointment at local dealership. They rejected me again without inspecting recall component and commented that "It was suspicious that you haven't had the recall done on it". There wasn't any check engine light nor abs or any message prior to the failure.
NHTSA complaint #11468640 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Was going down the road. To a fast food place. As soon as I turned. A pop happens and the whole car started to shake. All the maintenance was done every 6k miles. Got the car at 32k miles Went to Toyota. And they called and said it was engine failure “mechanical failure” then they called back and said there was no coolant. In my eyes I feel it’s to cover their end to not do a recall.
NHTSA complaint #11464676 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.