[Stillwaiting]

I have an order in for a 2023 BRZ 6 speed manual with estimated delivery in December. A few days after placing my order I now see all the news on the RTV gasket issue destroying engines. I realize not too many engines have failed so far, but everything I have seen shows RTV in the oil pickup tube when someone removes the oil pan.

I am debating canceling my order. I am curious about how quickly issues like this get sorted out? I assume it is likely my car coming in December wouldn’t have this issue worked out yet?

I also saw somewhere that this is the same issue as when the original Frs/brz came out. I am not too familiar with the history of these cars and issues, but was this a proir issue and how quick was it fixed and did it affect a lot of engines?

 

[Ritter]

As a condition of sale ask the dealer to drop the pan for a pre-delivery inspection & cleanout of excessive sealant, and proper re-seal. Save original oil in clean container and re-fill. Ask to be present for the inspection.

 

[david]

I have an order in for a 2023 BRZ 6 speed manual with estimated delivery in December. A few days after placing my order I now see all the news on the RTV gasket issue destroying engines. I realize not too many engines have failed so far, but everything I have seen shows RTV in the oil pickup tube when someone removes the oil pan.

I am debating canceling my order. I am curious about how quickly issues like this get sorted out? I assume it is likely my car coming in December wouldn’t have this issue worked out yet?

I also saw somewhere that this is the same issue as when the original Frs/brz came out. I am not too familiar with the history of these cars and issues, but was this a proir issue and how quick was it fixed and did it affect a lot of engines?

im in the same boat. Really dont know what to do

 

[Golddog]

I have an order in for a December delivery also. I am not letting this news sway my decision. I will break it in properly, drive it aggressively (but not crazy). I am not planning on tracking it. If something happens at some point, Subaru can replace the engine. Let’s hope this is getting addressed by them and corrected. Plus, Subaru seems a lot easier to deal with regarding this issue than Toyota.

 

[Bluenyte]

As a condition of sale ask the dealer to drop the pan for a pre-delivery inspection & cleanout of excessive sealant, and proper re-seal. Save original oil in clean container and re-fill. Ask to be present for the inspection.

thats what I did and they said sure. I have to admit I’m still worried. I thought I read that Subaru was a lot more reliable than it used to be 🤞

 

[AlchemistTree]

For what it's worth, you get a 5 year/60,000 mi warranty with the new car. I think that if there were an issue with the specific engine and the oil pickup were to get clogged with RTV sealant that it would happen within that timeframe and replaced/rebuilt under warranty. Subaru seems pretty good about warranty repairs from what I've read. I might ask the dealer to put a borescope up through the drain plug when I take it in for the 6,000 mi oil change in a bit but I'm doubting they'll want to do it.

I bet Subaru/Toyota are trying to gather enough data to see if it's confined to a certain manufacturing run before issuing a recall, but I would hope they would do the right thing and issue a recall if needed.

Edit: Maybe the one thing preventing them from issuing a recall is whether or not to just inspect and re-seal the engine or replace the engine and what the indicators should be for engine replacement vs. just re-sealing. From what I've seen it's not just the RTV from the oil pan that can potentially be an issue, they would also need to inspect the timing cover and maybe other parts. Would be pretty extensive.

 

[Stillwaiting]

I have an order in for a December delivery also. I am not letting this news sway my decision. I will break it in properly, drive it aggressively (but not crazy). I am not planning on tracking it. If something happens at some point, Subaru can replace the engine. Let’s hope this is getting addressed by them and corrected. Plus, Subaru seems a lot easier to deal with regarding this issue than Toyota.

I am starting to think the same. I will at least let the car come in and see what news is in December. I am not going to be tracking the car and it is a second vehicle that I probably will put only few thousand miles on a year. Also, I will have warranty for the 5 years if something does go wrong.

Just hoping Subaru/Toyota address this soon. Or hopefully it was only a limited production run with this problem.

 

[Subito]

My car is also scheduled for December delivery; I suspect Subaru is working right now to get the silicone application process corrected, so by the time they actually build my car the problem will have become moot...

Or not, in which case the 5 year, 60;000 mile powertrain warranty should have me covered. Life is too short to obsess over this kind of stuff, I know because I’ve done that way too often!

 

[dracokev]

If something happens at some point, Subaru can replace the engine.

My concern is that I am already experiencing accelerated wear on my engine due to inadequate lubrication, and that this would result in issues down the line outside of the engine warranty period.

 

[Golddog]

My concern is that I am already experiencing accelerated wear on my engine due to inadequate lubrication, and that this would result in issues down the line outside of the engine warranty period.

They obviously know there is an issue. If they were smart, any current owner should have their powertrain warranty extended to 10 year, 100k.

 

[YsoBlue316]

I haven’t ordered yet and joined a few forums trying to decide between the BRZ and the MX-5. This concern may be enough for me to go with the Mazda. Even with a new car warranty who would want to deal with having it pulled apart to be checked or worst case scenario possibly needing an engine replacement.

 

[dracokev]

They obviously know there is an issue. If they were smart, any current owner should have their powertrain warranty extended to 10 year, 100k.

I was planning on boosting my BRZ eventually which would void the warranty. This means that I'll have to drop the oil pan now either at the dealer or on my own to check the pick-up.

 

[Ritter]

I haven’t ordered yet and joined a few forums trying to decide between the BRZ and the MX-5. This concern may be enough for me to go with the Mazda. Even with a new car warranty who would want to deal with having it pulled apart to be checked or worst case scenario possibly needing an engine replacement.

If your interest is purely driving dynamics, I would not make this decision without driving both. I thought the BRZ would be a little less engaging than my MX-5-based 124 Spider. But to my surprise, it is more engaging. I think it just handles better. The chassis is so stiff, it's like it was milled from a solid chunk of metal. The MX-5 chassis feels like a Flexible Flyer in comparison. The main reason to swing toward MX-5 would be for the roadster driving experience.

 

[Subito]

I haven’t ordered yet and joined a few forums trying to decide between the BRZ and the MX-5. This concern may be enough for me to go with the Mazda. Even with a new car warranty who would want to deal with having it pulled apart to be checked or worst case scenario possibly needing an engine replacement.

You better make darn sure you fit—comfortably—in an MX-5 before you buy one. I was in the exact same state of mind as you after the RTV kerfluffle erupted, and I came within a gnat’s ass of buying an MX-5. But before I pulled the trigger I found a local used RF (I had already test-driven a soft top and convinced myself the tight fit was tolerable), and I realized it was just ridiculous to pay $35K+ for a car that feels like wearing a straitjacket (I’m 6’2” tall).

If you’re well under 6 feet tall you’re probably fine, but even then the lack of storage space is kind of dopey. The MX-5 is a laser-focused design (and I admire Mazda for that), but a design that’s admirable in theory can be a major PITA in reality.

 

[YsoBlue316]

If your interest is purely driving dynamics, I would not make this decision without driving both. I thought the BRZ would be a little less engaging than my MX-5-based 124 Spider. But to my surprise, it is more engaging. I think it just handles better. The chassis is so stiff, it's like it was milled from a solid chunk of metal. The MX-5 chassis feels like a Flexible Flyer in comparison. The main reason to swing toward MX-5 would be for the roadster driving experience.

I haven’t been able to test drive a BRZ, they are just very difficult to find in the Pittsburgh area. I haven’t driven the new MX-5 but did I own a 2007 power retractable hardtop. Whatever I purchase will be used as a nice day/weekend car to help balance out the miles of my daily driver. I have a 60 mile round trip drive to work which is mostly nice scenic two lane roads.

 

[YsoBlue316]

You better make darn sure you fit—comfortably—in an MX-5 before you buy one. I was in the exact same state of mind as you after the RTV kerfluffle erupted, and I came within a gnat’s ass of buying an MX-5. But before I pulled the trigger I found a local used RF (I had already test-driven a soft top and convinced myself the tight fit was tolerable), and I realized it was just ridiculous to pay $35K+ for a car that feels like wearing a straitjacket (I’m 6’2” tall).

If you’re well under 6 feet tall you’re probably fine, but even then the lack of storage space is kind of dopey. The MX-5 is a laser-focused design (and I admire Mazda for that), but a design that’s admirable in theory can be a major PITA in reality.

I had a 2007 power retractable hardtop. I’m only 5’10”, but a little heavier than I was in 2007. 😂. I was able to sit in the new RF (couldn’t drive as it was sold) but I seem to fit fine. It would just be a nice day/weekend car. My daily driver is a Tesla Model Y with acceleration boost, and lowered with coilover suspension, which is also fun to drive.

 

[s2mikey]

So, this sealant thing.... is this a real widespread concern or potentially just an internet-blowing-things-out-of-proportion issue? Im only at like 2300 miles and already did my 1,000 mile break-in oil change. My next planned oil change is 5K miles. Do I need to bring to this sealant thing to the service managers attention? Seems to me like should you have a problem that they have no choice but to honor a warranty claim. And, we do have 5 years and 60K drivetrain coverage.

I'd think by then, probably way before then, we'd know if our cars were affected by this. Or, they will get a service bulletin out. Guess we'll see. Im not panicking yet though. No reason to.

 

[Ritter]

I’m not panicking. I’m going to bore scope it myself at next oil change to look for excess squeeze-out and any areas that look broken off.

 

[Subito]

Well, the problem is you could have more subtle engine damage (e.g., scored bearings) due to inadequate lubrication that won’t make itself immediately apparent like an outright engine failure would. So you could make it through the 5 year/60k mile powertrain warranty seemingly OK, but the engine might actually have suffered some damage from RTV remnants.

My hope is Subaru proactively issues a TSB that has dealers pull the oil pan and check the oil screen for RTV and then reseal the pan properly. And I hope all cars in the process of being built now will have corrected RTV application procedures put in place, so a TSB for those cars will be unnecessary.

But I’m a dreamer…

In the long run, I’m not going to worry about it and just enjoy the car.

 

[EmperorJJ1]

In the long run, I’m not going to worry about it and just enjoy the car.

Bingo. sub not warrantying the car could be possible in any regard, they may say anyone who drops the oil pan isnt covered because you cant confirm if the RTV is from the factory or DIY or dealer. just gotta control what we can and see what happens