Lloyd

@Lauren It is my car that Gary at RRG Macclesfield has been providing tech support and assistance for the last three weeks... The one in Northern Ireland. Understandably I'm not going to say too much on here but the car has came back with a few issues but I'm confident that they will be resolved soon. I just want to be in possession of the full information so could you ask Gary to confirm that it was a misalignment of the crankshaft position disc was responsible for the misfire? Any other information would be greatly appreciated. Also, is the bonnet removed? Or does he know if it was removed when the recall work was performed? Thanks Lauren

I don't think I'll bother with the recall. I just get the impression that the dealers in my area are just not interested - as soon as they hear its the valve spring recall it's always a case of " Well check and see... We'll call you back... " they never do. Reading here and on the other GT86/FRS forums it does seem that some people are coming away with problems with their cars that were never there before, some minor but some complete failures too and the dealers are walking away from them. I found this article from the states where a customer has launched a class action lawsuit against Toyota as they've ruined so many cars performing the recall “repair”. Read it here: https://www.thedrive.com/news/26848/scion-fr-s-subaru-brz-owners-say-valve-spring-recall-fix-is-destroying-their-engines There's one PDF document I've uploaded that shows the complexity of the work and the potential problems that can occur, something as simple as a few crumbs of RTV sealant getting into an oil galley can cause oil starvation and destroy the engine. Toyota are only paying for 14 hours as far as I am aware so it doesn't incentivise the technician to do a thorough and careful job. The process in a very simplified nutshell is something like this - Strip down and remove entire engine, front timing chain cover off, remove every trace of old sealant ensuring none falls inside engine, replace sixteen valves, reseal timing cover with a very very precise bead in the exact places, reinstall and rebuild engine bay... All on a boxer engine that you're not very familiar with and you only get paid 14 hours warranty rate, any longer and your working for free. From what I've gathered from reading online, there has only been 70 documented failures of the actual valve springs. I think I'll take my chances for now as the chances of getting my car back in perfect working order without some future issues, niggles or a blown engine at this moment seem to be pretty low. RCRIT-18V772-6522.pdf

I had my car booked in for the recall back in May but it was cancelled due to the Covid lockdown. I just received my letter from Toyota on Saturday to say my car was due the recall so I contacted Charles Hurst Toyota Belfast who wanted to charge me £20 a day for a rental car as they do not offer loan cars (due to covid) anymore. No thank you. Phoned Curtis Toyota Ballymena, happy to provide loan car but was unsure if the recall campaign was still suspended or not. I'm awaiting a phone call to confirm. I then contacted the Toyota Recall administration line, the 0800 044 3723 number. She wasn't sure if the campaign was active or not but more concerning was a little piece of information she gave about the length of time they allow for the recall. Two days. Two days warranty time is apparently what Toyota are giving their Techs to remove and replace an entire engine that most are not very familiar with. In a previous life I was a Service Advisor so knowing warranty job times I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was cut to the bone. I'm guessing that giving them such a short turnaround time is probably a contributing factor in the worrying amount of engine failures and other associated issues that I've just been reading about here and the FRS forum. I could fully understand if it was an engine that they were familiar with and comfortable working around but as it's such a departure from every other engine there would be a certain learning curve to working on these, never mind a full R&R job. I'm seriously considering leaving the recall procedure as it seems to have a higher failure rate than the actual springs that they're supposed to fix. What is the general consensus about the recall? Go ahead or leave it? It seems the dealers are happy to walk away from engine failures and issues as unconnected to the recall procedure when it does go Pete Tong. I guess they don't want to eat the cost of a new engine if it can't be 100% proved they were at fault.

Hi Kaltorak, If you car is gently following the natural camber in the road that is perfectly normal I'd imagine? After all the car is following the path of least resistance and gravity. It's another thing if the car is pulling sharply then you might have a problem. The best thing to check is on a perfectly flat section of road that has no apparent camber and see if the car pulls in any direction. As Church has also correctly advised, check wheel nut torque, pressures and an alignment check. It may be that you have fitted directional or asymmetric tyres and I've found that they are more sensitive to tramlining where the car will follow grooves and ruts in the road. Tyres that have a continuous band of rubber are more prone to this issue. Hope this helps.

Hi Delirious You can get them swapped into your new wheels quite easily. If the fitter is careful they can be removed and fitted into your new wheels quite easily. The good tyre shops have service kits for TPMS sensors. The other option is buy 4 new ones and get the dealer or any good independent to code the new sensors to the car. It's quite a simple process and doesn't involve looking at your engine ECU at all and not something that you need the dealership for. All that needs to be done is the serial number on the sensor inputted into the system and the tyres deflated and reinflated to 'wake up' the new sensors. Press the reset button to calibrate and you should be good to go. The Toyota are the Pacific type. Something like this. Usually about £40-50 for one.

Winter wheels fitted: Calibre Motion 2 Gunmetal 7x17 ET43 (8.2kgs) Nexen Winguard Sport XL 215/45/R17 (Winter Tyres) Asymmetric E rating fuel C rating Wet 70db Stock wheels pictured just for comparison. I wanted something that didn't look a million miles different from the OEM spec wheels as I'm one of the very few who likes the stock wheels. I think these winter wheels look good but not far away from still looking OEM spec and they'll see me through the winter and the diamond cut wheels won't get destroyed by salt and grit.

Thanks for the warm welcomes everyone! No plans for the car just yet, Lauren. Tada-san has done a really good job im my opinion and it's hard to find room for any significant improvement. It's my driving that really needs the improvement as this car really responds and rewards being driven well, perfect rev matching on the gear changes, getting the throttle and braking right, perfect balance through the corners and it really comes alive and each and every journey it gets me really thinking about how I'm actually driving and soaking up all the feedback the car communicates. I've never enjoyed my morning commute so much and I'm now working later in the evenings just so I can drive home on the quieter roads and enjoy the drive even more!

Hi everyone! My name's Lloyd. I'm 39 from Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland. I'm very recently become the proud and happy owner of this 1 owner, June 2013 GT86 with only 28,000 miles on the clock. Car is totally immaculate and totally stock, which I hope to keep it that way apart from the winter wheels due to go on this weekend. The car is a total hoot to drive and it makes me smile every time I get into it! I've always loved Toyota's and grew up in an area that that a big following of the AE86. I've previously owned a Supercharged Lexus IS200 and it was always an ambition of mine that I'd own a GT86 so it was just a matter of waiting for the price to drop and the right one to come along...