2013 Subaru BRZ Engine Problems

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  512%
• 25k–50k
  820%
• 50k–75k
  1537%
• 75k–100k
  717%
• 100k–150k
  615%
• 150k+
  00%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Subaru BRZ owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact owns a 2013 Subaru BRZ. The contact stated while driving 70 mph, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The vehicle loss motive power and stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 18V772000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the Vin was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 81,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Subaru BRZ. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with maintenance failure. The contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V772000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 58,498.

We took the car into the dealership due to an engine light being on and the recall was something they informed us about and we decided to take care of it all at the same time. We have never recieved safety recall information from Subaru. My Son owned the car prior to us and purchased from Subaru dealership. After several weeks of the car being at the dealership and a very large bill we picked up the car and drove 14 miles and the engine light went on again. We returned the car to dealership and they had it another week at least and we picked it up again with no further engine light coming back on. The engine light never turned back on even when the car stalled out and heard a banging sound. We had car towed to Subaru dealership. The car has been there for several weeks and now they are telling us we need to pay 8000.00 to fix. …

Took my 2013 BRZ Limited in for the Valve Spring recall. After work completed I was unable to get my car home before I had severe knocking, CEL, and power failure. Car was at dealership for over a month. After I got it back it's been driven 10k miles and has a rod bearing failure and all the same symptoms - power loss, grinding/knocking, and dash lights lit up.

2013 Subaru BRZ 2.0 limited. I am the original owner. Factory recall relating to fa20 valve spring replacement completed by sherman oaks (california) Subaru in April 2019. (dropped car off for repair Monday, 4/15/2019, received car from dealership on Wednesday 4/24/2019) after receiving car, following valve spring replacement, noted significant decrease in avg mpg as reported by car (average was 25-26 mpg before recall repairs. This had been stable for years. Immediately after repair average mpg as reported by car was around 14mpg.) dealer advised leaving car with them for diagnosis & repair. Returned car to sherman oaks Subaru Monday 5/5/2019; received car from dealership Saturday 5/11/2019. Dealership's diagnosis failed to identify a cause, several systems checked with no remarkable findings, "reset of trip meters" reported to produce avg mpg "27-30" on dealership's test drive. …

I dropped my car off for the valve spring recall on 3/26/2019 for work to be done that week. NHTSA campaign number: 18V772000. I was returned the car 10 days later, far longer than told. On Wednesday, 6/5/2019, the engine started making a loud clunking sound especially at idle and when the A/C was on. I noticed the sound when I pulled into my garage and it was unable to be missed. The car still drove so I immediately brought it to my local Subaru dealer who did the recall. They claimed they had no idea what it was and would diagnose on 6/6 and I would receive a call. Call never came but doing more research online about the issues with the recall I found videos that sound just like the noise I have. Approximate mileages since work done is 1750 miles, exact unknown since the car is at the dealership. …

I took my 2013 Subaru BRZ to the Subaru dealership for the wty84 fa20 valve spring recall on December 24, 2019. The dealership kept my car for three months and I picked up my car on March 31, 2020 after the repairs were completed. Two and a half months later, and only 1,600 miles since the repairs, on June 19, 2020 my car started losing power while I was driving on the freeway and stalled. I pulled to the side of the road and was not able to restart the car. Stranded, I had no choice but to call a tow truck to tow my car to the dealership. The tow truck driver checked the battery, which was in good health, and tried to jump-start the engine but the engine would not turn over. He checked the oil level and immediately saw metal shavings in the oil adhering to the dipstick. …

This is a complaint about the work performed on my vehicle for the wty-84 recall. I brought my vehicle into the dealership (annapolis Subaru). After multiple issues with the workmanship my car's engine is blown. Annapolis Subaru has stated that they have worked on my vehicle long enough and will not fix the blown engine. The work that was performed was done due to negilence while performing the recall, requiring thousands of dollars of repair, before the recall was resolved. This included replacing my head due to a valve rocker becoming dislodged in the engine during a test drive, body work that needed to be fixed, replacement of a cam sprocket, and replacement of my ECU. Now that my engine is blown, a common issue due to this recall, annapolis Subaru is stating that the engine failure is not their fault. The recall service was performed at 140,000 miles. …

I brought my 2013 Subaru BRZ on 01/19/2018 from a private owner. I received a recall letter on 01/23/2019, so I went to the closest dealer in my area which is the camelback Subaru at phoenix, az. I made an appointment with sheldon v pinto, he told me that there are 50 cars are waiting for the recall fix, so they put me in the waiting list and said will contact me in March. I waited for their phone calls for the whole month, they seem to forget my appointment. I went there the second time on March 22th, robert eby the service advisor told me that they still do not have the availability and will contact me next week. I waited another week for their phone calls, got no response. So I called robert on April 1st, he still uses the excuse that they can not fix the recall issues for now and will contact me later. As the time I write this complaint, still got no phone calls from them. …

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Subaru BRZ. The contact bought the vehicle used from an independent mechanic. Prior to the contact taking possession of the vehicle, it was serviced at wilsonville Subaru, 9200 sw bailey st, wilsonville, or 97070, [phone]) per NHTSA campaign number: 18V772000 (engine and engine cooling). Upon taking possession of the vehicle, the contact heard a loud ticking noise coming from the engine. There were no warning indicators illuminated; however, an unknown warning indicator later illuminated as the contact continued driving. The contact called the dealer and they did not assist. The vehicle was then taken to bud clary Subaru (961 commerce ave, longview, wa 98632, [phone]) for diagnostic testing. The contact was informed that if the failure was linked to the recall, the dealer would service the vehicle free of charge. …

Related recalls

Engine complaints in other BRZ years