Problems · by component

2013 Subaru BRZ engine problems

47 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2013 Subaru BRZ cite engine, 72% of all 65 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
47
72% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the engine

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“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. The car seemed to have lost power after we had recall and feel that the our safety was at risk and my Sons safety as well due to not receiving safety recall notification and service of the recall not resolving the issue with the motor in fact making it worse. Subaru of America has let us know they have no responsibility and will not…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 9, 2022Unknown or other, EngineODI 11478397
“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.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 18, 2022EngineODI 11447920
“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.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 15, 2021EngineODI 11425002
“I HAD MY BRZ RECALL REPAIR IN THE SPRING OF 2019. IT TOOK ABOUT 3 WEEKS FOR THE SUBARU DEALER TO FIX THE SPRING VALVE. WHEN I RECEIVED IT BACK, MY ENGINE FELT A LITTLE ROUGH AND HAD A HIGH IDLE AND MADE SOME NOISE. DUE TO THE PANDEMIC I HAVE NOT DRIVEN MUCH SINCE THE REPAIR, SO I DIDN'T NOTICE TOO MUCH OF AN ISSUE, BUT WAS PLANNING TO GO BACK TO THE DEALER WHEN COVID WAS LESS OF A RISK. TODAY, I DROVE MY CAR MAYBE 500 MILES SINCE THE REPAIR, AND AS I ACCELERATED ON TO THE HIGHWAY MY CAR STARTED REVVING REALLY HIGH, CHECK ENGINE LINE FLASHED ON AND THE CAR LOSE POWER AND STOPPED. IF I PRESSED ON THE GAS, IT STARTED TO DECLINE IN SPEED AND ULTIMATELY STOPPED. I MADE MY WAY TO THE RIGHT LANE, HIT THE HAZARDS AND WAITED STRESSFULLY FOR A TOW TRUCK AS CARS SPED BY ME ON THE HIGHWAY. I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE ISSUES LIKE I JUST EXPERIENCED SINCE THE RECALL FIX AND WANTED TO ADVISE YOU OF MY ISSUE. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT I CAN DO TO GET THE CAR BACK UP TO SAFETY STANDARDS.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 17, 2021Unknown or other, EngineODI 11388616
“MY CAR WAS RUNNING WITH ANY ISSUE UNTIL RIGHT AFTER THE RECALL REPAIR. THE RECALL (VALVE SPRINGS) REPAIR WAS PERFORMED DURING THE WEEK OF MAY 6TH, 2019. I PICKED UP THE CAR ON MAY 11, 2019 AND THE ENGINE STALLED A FEW TIMES ON THE ROAD ON THE SAME DAY WHEN I DROVE THE CAR BACK HOME. I CALLED THE DEALER THE SAME DAY I PICKED UP THE CAR AND LEFT THEM A MESSAGE ABOUT THE ENGINE STALL. THEN, ON MONDAY, MAY 13TH, I HAD MY CAR TOWED TO LOU FUSZ SUBARU ST. LOUIS. THE DEALER HAD MY CAR FOR A WEEK AND THEY DROVE THE CAR A FEW TIMES BUT DID NOTHING TO FIX THE ENGINE STALL ISSUE.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 28, 2020EngineODI 11376871
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU BRZ. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V772000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SUBARU OF EL CAJON (900 ARNELE AVE, EL CAJON, CA 92020) TO HAVE THE RECALL REPAIR PERFORMED. APPROXIMATELY 3,000 MILES AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER THE RECALL, THE CONTACT'S SON WAS DRIVING AT 40 MPH AND HEARD AN ABNORMAL KNOCKING SOUND COMING FROM ENGINE PRIOR TO THE VEHICLE STALLING WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE STALLED AGAIN WITHOUT WARNING. DUE TO FAILURE, THE CONTACT HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED BACK TO THE SAME DEALER TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE ENGINE FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED OR REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE, BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,233.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 18, 2020EngineODI 11375242

Showing 6 of 47 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.