Problems · by component
2013 Scion FR-S engine problems
141 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2013 Scion FR-S cite engine, 78% of all 180 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
141
78% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“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.”
“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”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Showing 6 of 141 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 6, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.