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Lauren

Recall issued on cars to have valve springs replaced 2012-2013

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11 minutes ago, Lucas@PartBox said:

Checked online https://www.toyota.co.uk/owners/vehicle-information/recall-checker 

Phoned my local Toyota dealer (Wolverhampton) They confirmed it, and booked me on for Tuesday 6th of November, so I take it they have everything they need.

Are you sure it's this recall and not the one for the Steering harness? Though 2 days does sound unlikely for the harness.

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14 minutes ago, McDude said:

I assume Subarus aren't immune to this issue? Anyone checked with a Subaru dealer?

The issue is a Subaru issue so definitely not immune I'm afraid. 

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1 minute ago, will300 said:

Mine has an outstanding recall, you can check here: https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-recall

Not that I'm going to get it fixed, it can be done when the engine gets forged emoji23.png

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
 

Did you check under the 'safety' recall link? According to that site my car is not affected.

I'd not be too worried if it was, when they have the engine out I'm sure one could negotiate a new belt and plugs at the same time for cheap (as others have suggested).

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1 hour ago, Adam9 said:

Are you sure it's this recall and not the one for the Steering harness? Though 2 days does sound unlikely for the harness.

Yes, they confirmed it's the valve springs.

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2 hours ago, Lucas@PartBox said:

Checked online https://www.toyota.co.uk/owners/vehicle-information/recall-checker 

Phoned my local Toyota dealer (Wolverhampton) They confirmed it, and booked me on for Tuesday 6th of November, so I take it they have everything they need.

I would ring them back and ask where they are getting the parts and the repair instructions because both are not available until December/January????

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11 minutes ago, Riceburner said:

I would ring them back and ask where they are getting the parts and the repair instructions because both are not available until December/January????

That's strange.. maybe it's just your place that will do it later? Is that a possibility? I will ring them, but it's a pain to get to someone clued up

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44 minutes ago, Lucas@PartBox said:

That's strange.. maybe it's just your place that will do it later? Is that a possibility? I will ring them, but it's a pain to get to someone clued up

You're a braver man than me trusting Wolves with it @Lucas@PartBox. They 'did' my cam plate cover leak when I first had the car and before I knew of Richard and RRG. When it started leaking again RRG sorted it for me and Wolves seemed to have used something akin to bathroom sealant to 'solve' the problem. Needless to say I've never used them again! 

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12 hours ago, Leeky said:

So are Toyota saying the valve spring design/part number changed after May 2013?

Would love to know what changed in April 2013 that means all later cars are not at risk from this.

Might be batch number controlled...

A few suspect items in the batch and you recall/write off the whole batch as suspect 😬

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7 minutes ago, Cerastes said:

Thanks for info, I might just miss out then with being a 63 plate. 

It's worth checking though...

If May's the cut-off for build then your car might still be affected. If you think about shipping times, and UK spec additions/modifications carried out at the docks before delivery to dealerships 🤔

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1 hour ago, Cerastes said:

Thanks for info, I might just miss out then with being a 63 plate. 

TRD's were available from March 13. Your's could well have sat around in the dealers etcetera, or perhaps it was one of the  last to have the bodykit fitted. You can check online. 

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So I ask myself, have there been a lot of failures on our cars that led to identification of this problem?  I have not noticed stalling highlighted as a problem on forums.  Do the failures occur as mileage increases?  

I notice that Toyota itself has had at least two recalls on its engines for valve spring fracture going back to 2008, on V6 and V8 engines, I believe.  So this problem seems to affect more than just the flat four engines of Subaru. 

 

 

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52 minutes ago, Subota Boy said:

So I ask myself, have there been a lot of failures on cars that led to identification of this problem?  I have not noticed stalling highlighted as a problem.  Do the failures occur as mileage increases?  If the valve spring fractures, what damage is done internally to the engine?

Having asked myself, and got no intelligent answers, I am now asking someone with technical know-how to explain to me please.

In my limited understanding and own thoughts regarding this, a failure could vary from little impact to quite catasrophic! (I've had some training in early failure detection and oil debris monitoring for Gas Turbine lubrication systems, but only training).

Firstly I imagine there have been some impurities in the metal, or problems with heat treatment, which would instigate a crack and eventual failure. (Ever seen a broken suspension spring? You can normally see where the failure originated when you look at the jagged surfaces of the failure point).

Depending on where the crack/failure is in the spring may mean it just stops holding the valve closed meaning no compression and no push on the piston. This could also lead to valve-piston collision (if the engine is an interference type). If it's just a small part of the spring (half a coil maybe) then this could break free and float around, get jammed in othe moving parts causing significant damage (wedged in other vale springs and mashed, getting jammed under the cam lobes, interfering with variable valve timing/lift parts and jamming those, floating round in the oil system and jamming other moving components).

It's really not a good situation however I think about it 😵

If Toyota/Subaru are going to replace them FOC then I say don't hesitate!! 

Sorry to be alarmist, but I feel it's not something I'd be putting off!

I'd say it's more likely to occur with higher mileage due to the strain (stress over time) of repeated compression-extension cycles.

It quite a complex thing to analyse/predict, which is why I think the recall covers so many vehicles...

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19 minutes ago, TommyC said:

This could also lead to valve-piston collision (if the engine is an interference type).

It is an interference engine.

1 hour ago, Subota Boy said:

So I ask myself, have there been a lot of failures on our cars that led to identification of this problem?  I have not noticed stalling highlighted as a problem on forums.  Do the failures occur as mileage increases?  

I think I've read it's 96 stated failures on the range of vehicles/engines stated as being at risk. "Stalling" is a very blanket way of saying failure. As TommyC said, if a valve spring fails it's likely to cause terminal failure of the engine. There have been a number of reports of the rockers failing on early engines in the states, that tends to blow a hole in head. It could well be that a valve spring failure is the cause.

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38 minutes ago, DGT86R said:

This worries me. What difference will being turbo’d with supporting mods make? Going to be really pee’d if they f anything up :( 

Speak to the dealer but I'll expect some form of payment will be required to remove the turbo and reinstall. Depending on the turbo setup it will range from relatively straightforward to quite costly. I imagine the engine is lifted and not dropped so clearance is required for that. 

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