NHTSA Complaint #11229867 — 2013 SCION FR-S

ON FEBRUARY 19, I TAKE MY FR-S TO THE DEALER FOR THE J02 VALVE SPRING RECALL. THE CAR RUNS AS NORMAL UNTIL MARCH 27, AFTER I DROVE IT ACROSS TOWN AT HIGHWAY SPEED FOR THE FIRST TIME. AS I MAKE THE SAME HIGHWAY DRIVE THE NEXT MORNING, MY ENGINE STARTS TO CHATTER AND SHAKE UNTIL IT CUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING AT SPEED ON THE HIGHWAY. I EXITED IN NEUTRAL, COASTED TO A GAS STATION, HIRED AN UBER TO GET ME TO WORK, AND LATER HAD MY CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER THAT DID THE RECALL. OVER THE WEEKS IT SAT, WHEN I CALLED THE DEALER TOLD ME THEIR MECHANICS WERE LOOKING INTO THE NATURE OF THE ENGINE FAILURE AND WERE WAITING ON A RULING BY A TOYOTA ENGINEER. AFTER TWO MONTHS, I WAS TOLD BY A THIRD PARTY TO CALL TOYOTA'S NATIONAL OFFICE TO HAVE A CASE NUMBER ASSIGNED. AFTER A FEW WEEKS WAITING, THE DEALER REQUESTED MY SERVICE RECORDS FOR THE CAR AS I DID NOT TAKE IT TO THE DEALER FOR MAINTENANCE, RATHER DID IT MYSELF: 5000 MILE OIL / FILTER CHANGES, CHANGED AIR AND CABIN FILTERS AT 30000 MI. THE ENGINE ONLY HAS ABOUT 54000 MILES. YESTERDAY THE SERVICE MANAGER FINALLY CALLS ME AND TELLS ME THE ENGINE REPLACEMENT HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN DECLINED BECAUSE MY CAR WASN'T REGULARLY SERVICED AT THE DEALERSHIP. ANY REPLACEMENT ENGINE WOULD HAVE TO BE OUT OF POCKET, FOR WHAT I KNOW WAS WARRANTY WORK ON A RECALL THAT FOULED MY ENGINE WITH SEALANT, SOMETHING TOTALLY UNRELATED TO THE FREQUENCY OR LOCATION OF MY OIL CHANGES. THE CAR HAS SAT FOR OVER THREE MONTHS. THE DEALER WOULD NOT PROVIDE ME WITH ALTERNATE TRANSPORTATION IN THE MEANTIME, NEITHER WOULD MY INSURANCE AS IT WASN'T A COLLISION, BREAK-IN, OR ACT OF NATURE. I PAID $1500 FOR RENTALS AND UBER RIDES FOR TWO MONTHS, THEN FINALLY REALIZED I NEEDED TO BUY ANOTHER VEHICLE. I WILL BE SEEKING LITIGATION IN THIS MATTER. IT IS NOT THE ROLE OF AN ABSENTEE ENGINEER TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO FIX THEIR COMPANY'S MISTAKES.