Traded Tacoma for FRS, FRS is a lemon! KARMA SUCKS! What would you do?

Hey guys, so I have not been active on the forum for some time now since I traded my 2013 DCSB TRD "Baja" 55k miles in on a brand new 2015 FRS. I just now hit 12k miles on my FRS. To my awesome luck, it decided to throw a CEL while doing 50 MPH down the highway. As soon as the light came on I lost complete power and the car decided to downshift violently, enough to cause some serious engine breaking and the car behind me had to lock up its brakes. Toyota claims it to be caused by an oil return valve. I however am very leery of their diagnostics. The car has left me stranded twice in 12k miles, which they never did find out why it wouldn't crank over. It has been in twice for a recall that has yet to be fixed under a TSB, and now is sitting at the dealer waiting for a part in order to hopefully fix this CEL. Did I mentioned I traded my perfectly bulletproof Tacoma for this turd? What would you guys do? I got a hold of corporate in hopes of working something out before I get a lawyer involved. Hopefully they will buy back so I can put equity towards a new 4runner or Tacoma. So in case you are thinking of trading in your Tacoma or 4runner, I completely advice against it unless you are just getting a newer one.

 

They'll pry my Tacoma out of my cold dead fingers.

What is this FRS of which you speak?

 

HA! I wish I would have just held on to the Tacoma and resisted the urge for a sports car. Yeah it was fun for the first 2k miles, but after being pulled over for just the way my car looks and sounds, it got old really fast. Not to mention the reliability is a joke. I should have known when I picked it up and even the girlfriend said why in the hell are you getting rid of the Tacoma....

 

Toyota makes a sports car? Ummm... (-:

 

What's the code??

Finally a time when you should've listened to your girlfriend!

 

Go 4Runner. Screw the 3rd gen taco and all its problems.

 

If i get rid of taco its a tubdra or t4r

 

Andrew y in the world u got rid of the taco for the frs???i believe lemon laws applies after the 3rd time of having the same problem... By looking at ur ex trd baja i just dont know how u did it cuz that thing is bad ass.. Good luck man!

 

Yeah I went from a Civic Si to my Taco. Too many speeding tickets and traffic stops. Love my Taco and won't be going back to the sports car for a long while. The FRS was a fun car to test drive and bring back to the dealer smelling burnt but there was way too many issues with them and the BRZ to actually buy one. Again fun to drive but should've gone WRX route.

 

https://www.scion.com/models/FR-S/2016

 

Brand new ? Didn't notice your state but if in CA. lemon laws may apply, check into it wherever you are... It takes some doing but a member here did successfully win his case with a tacoma replacement with lemon law..

 

So, the explosions in the old FSR commercials were from owners blowing up their cars?

 

Yea I have had the vehicle since 6 miles on the odo. It has not even been in my possession for a whole year yet. I managed to get a hold of corporate and they opened up a case and a case manager/representative is suppose to call me tomorrow and figure something out. She was very nice and asked for all my information and records and what happened at the time of the CEL. She said she has worked for the customer service side for many years and in most cases Toyota errors in favor of the customer in order to keep customer retention up. I made it clear that I am in no way looking for a refund or get quick rich scheme, but only to be compensated for my troubles in the form of some credit towards a new vehicle. I was up on my Tacoma on the trade by a few thousands and wanted to make sure I don't lose what I had invested in the Tacoma because of this lemon I got on trade. I do not want to get a lawyer unless all else fails, but I am currently working full time and attending school full time and have no time for repair trips. After my first trip for the TSB I realized how badly I screwed up. Everything after has just been a giant kick in the teeth. My girlfriend was right. (shhhh.... i did not say that on the record) I have found some instances where the engine has had to be completely replaced at 55k miles, I did not pay for a new car that has to be in for repairs or fixes... i paid for a new car so i dont have to worry about that crap. Any way here is a picture of the devil that seduced me into trading in the Tacoma.

 

We did however test drive a 2016 4runner today... If only I had a decent down payment in hand.

 

At least I won't ever have that problem. Where I live, if I had one of those, about the second trip in and out of here, the exhaust system would be gone, as well as a lot of the skirting around the bottom...

 

Nice looking car, rear wheel drive, and it's available with a manual transmission.

Doesn't look like it would do well off the pavement howerver.

 

A little update. I just got off the phone with Corporate case manager, and she basically told me to go F off. She said there is nothing they can do besides what they are doing now. It has been in the shop for over 10 days now (waiting on a part...calling BS). I informed her that I will be seeking a lawyer for claims, and will not be returning to Toyota for business. The dealership is replacing the oil return valve, which is what the paper printed out from auto zone says in bold print. They did not troubleshoot, they did not explore, they are hoping this is the fix. I am extremely frustrated that they would just opt to replace the valve instead of finding the real problem. This same code has been thrown on other engines and has caused them to fail. They basically asked if there was any way they could restore my confidence in my vehicle, and I told her no. It has been in the shop 6 times, and all 6 times they have failed to fix anything. 12,000 miles on this POS and it has been in the shop more than all our other vehicles combined in their lifetime. The lady told me my expectations are to high for my vehicle. I could not resist but asked her if she realized she was working for Toyota. Sorry for the rant, just beyond mad.

O yeah, she said she would transfer the case to be looked at as a lemon by the toyota team.... she assured me that they would not find it as a lemon.

 

That sucks, it might be time to lawyer up if you think you have a lemon law case. I'm not terribly familiar with it in CA but what you're describing here is most certainly not due to "too high of expectations for your vehicle". What a load of bullshit. No one should have to plan on taking a brand new vehicle in for repairs 6 times in the first year of ownership, let alone for something as serious as what happened to you when the CEL was thrown. Toyota Corp is strange...I hear stories where they are extremely helpful in aiding people in these kinds of situations then other times I hear horror stories like this. Sure, everything is (hopefully) covered under warranty now but what about when the warranty is up?

At the very least, I would try and make them extend full warranty coverage through 100k miles so at least you're continually covered through this crapfest. Maybe even look into trading it in on another Tacoma, take the hit and chalk it up to a lesson learned....never get rid of a perfectly good Taco

 

If you want to lemon law it don't call the dealer maybe they'll let it go too long and it'll qualify.