Toyota GR86 Warranty Claim DENIED Over Social Media Photos: Engine Blew Up During AUTOCROSS 

I think the lesson we can learn from this experience is, only go street racing without a license plate and wear a Halloween mask while you're driving.

"UPDATE: Toyota has decided to honor the warranty claim on my engine. I'm very happy that my situation is finally on a path to resolution. I'd like to personally thank my motorsports family as well as the internet at large for supporting my situation. The public response ultimately brought to light the elephant in the room that is marketing vs warranty policy. This is something that won't get solved overnight, but I would like to see Toyota regain the trust of the enthusiast market it intends to capture with their GR brand. A step toward this would be reaffirming that track days and similar events should NOT void a valid warranty claim for a manufacturer defect. I still love the car as it's one of the most engaging and fun-to-drive vehicles currently on the market. I'd love to see Toyota and the GR brand take more involvement in supporting amateur motorsports and the enthusiasts who buy these cars."

Toyota is exceptionally inconsistent. This is the same crap they pulled with the whole "we don't want our cars in racing games" thing

This isn't a Toyota corporate thing, its a scummy dealership thing. Gulf States Toyota isn't corporate. Once Toyota in japan catches wind, I bet he will be taken care of. My coworkers Tacoma clutch failed in 5k miles and they wouldn't fix it until Toyota corporate was called.

This is a common Subaru engine failure. Oil starvation issues related to oil consumption issues have been going on for ever. Do not buy a Subaru engine vehicle.

This reminds me of when the glovebox latch broke on my 2019 86 after 1 year of ownership. The local Toyota dealership technician that was handling my car tried to deny my warranty and charge me a $100 "diagnostic fee" and blamed my dashcam cable. Which was ridiculous because that dashcam cable had already been there for a year with no issue. I escalated it to the dealership's service manager and he rolled his eyes at the technician and said "Just fix it, the damn things break all the time." I cannot imagine trying to warranty a serious issue like an engine failure.

This is so fucked up. Im starting to notice a trend now. It appears that it really depends on the dealership, and if its a Subaru BRZ or Toyota GR86. Subaru dealers seem to be more willing to support BRZ owners when they have mechanical failures, as opposed to Toyota dealers. Toyota dealers will do everything they can to NOT cover under warranty, and will look for any and every little reason to deny warranty repair. I just dont understand how they can sit there and say "hey, thanks for buying the new track tested GR86. Have fun with it at the track, however if your stock engine blows up and mechanically fails, that voids your warranty. Your bill is $11k" like how can the dealer and Toyota review this and think its okay to shaft the owner? Like youre not gonna even make any effort? Definitely hope the owner Lawyer's up, because he will win. This not right on so many levels

Biggest mistake Toyota made was going with a Subaru engine.

*its a boxer, it's naturally oil starved any time you go around a corner. Toyota isn't gonna live this one down for a long time. Apparently the marketing team wasn't aware of the engine's limitations.

wait so theres a defect out for the previous gen on the sealant and the new cars still don't have this fixed? ope - this is fucked all around

This is 100% the deal. I have a 2020 Supra , and was warned right away NEVER to post pics or video of me " USING " the Supra at any tracks or events. This kind of seems like a dirty move by Toyota honestly. Put out lines of sports cars , offer a track day , and if people take it , you are done with them from that moment on.

That resolved itself quite nicely. I wouldn't ever buy a toyota if they are actively creeping on your social media or someone else's just so they can find an excuse to deny their warranty contract.

my gr86 already had RTV sealant stuck to my dipstick. i was just checking my oil and found what looked to be like silicone on the dipstick, i peeled it off not knowing what it was but after hearing these stories and a bit of research im now a bit concerned... its my first car and a daily to work with just under 2500 miles in 5 months of ownership.

That's insane. There has to be some thirsty attorney wanting a bad faith claim.

I work in the service industry and have been on the other side of the table when giving bad news. But for the dealership to go out of their way to find evidence of the car being thrashed as a reason to deny a warranty claim is unacceptable. Warranty claims aren't significant coin but they do pay the bills, and to prevent a Toyota customer who bought a new car from claiming a warrantable issue, whether or not he's at fault is ridiculous. There is something behind the scenes that isn't being told here. There was nothing stopping them from submitting a warranty claim and Toyota corporate dealing with it from there. Absolutely NOTHING! I have found customers with obvious reverse of suspension modifications before but when their drive shafts shit themselves, I still do my part and help them get good service. The only possible reason I see this service manager screwing over the little guy is by having unreasonable claim %'s and decided that if he did another for the month there would be some investigation. I'll tell you one thing, if I was in that office, I wouldn't be any more. Consumer Protection, bring up Toyota for your next case. It'll save you some time when you get that phone call...

Toyota: Advertises the GR86 as a track machine. Person: Uses it like a track machine and blows the engine Toyota: Ah see you can’t do that, sorry, void warranty.

You should do more of these one off videos, they’re pretty interesting

Nissan was denying warranties on GTR transmissions because they were pulling the computer and checking if u did more than 3 Launch Control in a row.

Shit like this is one of many reasons I've slowly fallen out of love with cars, scummy dealers, ridiculous markups, and a dwindling selection of affordable fun cars has put a real damper on my enthusiasm for my automotive interests...

I’m fairly certain VW have a system with their launch control and if it’s used more than like 5 times it puts a note on the ecu that says warranty void from to many launches

I've had a deposit on a new GR86 for about 6 months now. After seeing all the track reviews and Toyota ads hyping track use, I planned on using it for a few track days a year. After reading about the engine failures not covered by warranty due to track use, I'm going to cancel my order. What's the point of a warranty if the manufacturer won't honor it?

This isn’t the first time I seen this happen. When I worked for Toyota a few years ago a frs blew its motor the same way and Toyota corporate went on the guys social media and found a picture of him driving on the track and denied his warranty claim.

Trust me their (Toyota) warranty standards cost us thousands. After my recall for my 2013 valve springs, my motor had a spun bearing after 1,300 miles. My oil light flashed and my motor went. I had to replace my motor myself.... The dealerships in the USA are terrible

Toyota's hardly the only company to do this. Back almost 20 years ago, when Mitsubishi finally started selling the Evo in the US, if you brought one in for warranty work, you could be assured that they would scour forums looking for pictures which could be used as evidence against you. I had a few friends who tracked and autocrossed theirs, and they literally would pull the plates off and cover the VINs before even getting to the venue. Same thing with the GTR when it first came over: They marketed launch control as a feature, but if you actually used it and the transmission broke, it was on your nickel.

you guys should do more videos outside the ranking stuff, these are really cool. I really like your ranking videos as well, there aren't any other ones like the ones you guys make, but seeing something different is always cool too. keep it up!

Wow, I wanted to get a GR86. Thank you Toyota for reminding me to never buy new cars.

On tacomaworld I've heard of denied warranty claims on TRD offroad tacomas because of offroad use . It seems like standard practice .

Ordered mine in April, will end up with a 23’ GR86. Pretty greasy move by Toyota big time. This makes any soon to be owner a little apprehensive.

I would've been there everyday complaining. I'd even go as far as leaving the motor on their show floor.

"drifting is cancer" no the drifting community on social media is cancer. Drifting itself is fine and has a number of decent people in the scene. The problem lies with the kids who only ever got into the sport for clout and internet fame and dont truely appreciate the philosophy and love most have for the sport. Otherwise, fantastic video and im glad to see a proper resolution coming to this situation. Ive been following this story since it broke, keep doing what you're doing bro. Much love!

I remember when reviewers were first showcasing track footage and the dash was reading 250 on the oil temps after only a few minutws driving lol. Could the engine blowing up be related to this or are those really normal temps.

This is what you get when you try to track a silly Subaru engine, the most demented partnership idea of history, perhaps even worse than when they partnered with Chevrolet on the Corolla.

i dont think akyo toyoda wold be proud

wow i just saw scotty kilmer talk about how a customer had melting mirror caps and window frames on a 3 year old camry that wouldnt be fixed by the dealer lmao how ironic

People really underestimate how their social media profiles can be used against them. Example A: me in the CCF Discord

That's really shitty. I'm glad that Toyota eventually did honor the warranty claim, but I doubt they would have without all the backlash. And honestly, it really sucks because I was highly considering a 23 GR86 as my next car, but with the issues I've been hearing people having, and this, it makes me unsure if it's worth it or not...

Pov: you actually use car what it was built for

Yehhh... this is pretty insane. There are a number of people across lots of markets having the same issues. Many more people inspecting their Oil pickups finding RTV build up.

Classic dealership bollocks. Had such a nightmare with my local Honda trying to get warranty work done on an electrical issue that was clearly covered in the warranty docs.. 'It's not covered'/'It will take 6 months and £900 to get the part'. Tried my best with them for 2 months until having to escalate up the chain - 'Come in 2 weeks we have the part, no cost'.

Toy Yoda the force is no longer with you.

You can literally take a 90s civic with 300k to an autocross event and it wont fail like that. Toyota was smoking that good shit. Glad the homie was able to get it warrantied.

TLDR: Don't expect to be able to track your Toyota "track car," or "Toyota will r*pe you!" 😢

Stupid Toyota. That's what you get for partnering with Subaru to make a sports car that has Subaru common faults. Toyota longitudinal I4 rwd config. If you want to pay a bit more, turbo longitudinal I4. Or if you don't want to provide a turbo at all Toyota longitudinal I4 and V6 as options. YOU KNOW THIS !

read the fine print at 8:30

thnkfully i dont use any social media lol

Digging this format. I’m definitely not buying that car now. Dealerships and mfg have to back us up. We’re already a niche market.

Great insight in this issue, love y’all’s vids!! Keep it up!!

Toyota is like he we have a track car. But if you break it you are on your own!

The judicial branch needs to stand up and tell corpos. That just like any other letigation, you are not allowed to go farm for probable excuse on social media platforms. And even if they find evidence, they would need approval from a judge before deciding to cancel a customer warranty.

Happened recently with a blue GR86 at the Toyota of orange dealer, the car went up in flames

Hey Toyota, Just drove my 4 Runner TRD on a dirt road. You gonna void my warranty for excessive off roading ?

It's just fucked up considering how big Toyota is and how much money the company has. Disgusting honestly

I mean a lot of this unfortunate situation would’ve been avoided if bro would’ve checked his oil level or put a little extra before driving it hard like the rest of us. To change your oil only twice for 13k miles when you track the car…. ehh

Small claims court.

This is good information, for now on when I’m in my Tacoma I make sure to wear a ski mask, cover my plates, and not post on social media. If an officer pulls me over and says “what is the meaning of all this?” I’ll tell him “sir I’m just covering my 4SS from Toyota’s 3rd party dealership’s social media stalking team so I can be sure to have my warranty at the 3rd party Toyota dealership” officer will say “makes sense, have a good day sir be careful driving by those 3rd party Toyota dealerships.”

Between this and the guy's that caught on fire that I saw on social after leaving the dealership...would not even consider this car.

I seem to remember Subaru having an autocross day where when you signed up they took your info, and than later voided your warranty for participating, somewhere around 2002-2004

This makes me glad to know that im the warranty for my bmw lol. Just replaced my n52 330i 6speed fbo engine myself lmao

Not very 'Gazoo Racing' when you can't "Gazoo Race" a vehicle with the GR badge.

This is fucked up

Last weekend 7/31/23 I asked my local toyota dealer if they new anything about the RTV issue and they claimed to not to have heard anything about it in any department. They also voided my warranty on my 22 86 from hitting a pothole "I'm guessing" and denting the oil drain plug then refusing to touch it unless I spend over 6K for a full diff rebuild kit. At the time the car barely had 6K miles, not track time at all and I drive two to three times a week to work and back. So now, any drive train issues are on me apparently.... Bullshit!!

I guarantee Toyota Corp only agreed with the dealership based on the dealerships' lies, not because they actually knew what the real story was. Typical.

They did the same thing when some chick broke her gt86 at the track a few years ago. Not surprising behavior from toyota

considering that the euro toyota corporate specifically states in their warranty that track racing does NOT void your warranty it seems to be an issue specific to toyota US

shout out to great gazoo now i wanna see a gazzoo wrapped with gazoo on it lol

How to fix FR-S/BRZ/86 engine for cheap: 1. Get Toyota/Subaru to replace the engine under warranty. 4. Remove engine. 5. Sell engine. 6. Buy a Honda K24 engine and swap kit. 7. Perform basic maintenance on it. 8. Install it using the swap kit. 9. ??? 10. Profit! Enjoy your new (to you) reliable engine!

Cadillac suggest overfilling oil on my 2014 ats 2.0t for track days. It hold normally 5qts. They say for track days run 6qts to prevent oil starvation.

When I had a 2017 GT86 and took it to the dealer due to a buzzing noise in the exhaust (turned out to be a loose clamp) they told me I shouldn’t drive it over 3000 RPM 🤣😅🤣

Sucks but Toyota just re entered the sports car niche and this may back fire on enthusiasts when they get back to making economy cars. They explicitly covered their basis in their warranty fine print.

Can’t wait for the gr Corolla claims ;)

Thats all the toyota dealerships. I worked at the Austin Toyota dealership a few years back in the service department. We were straight up told in staff meetings. If a customers car came in with what we found to be a catastrophic fault. Do not tell the customer about it if it was under warranty. The reason being. The warranty claims process between the dealership and toyota corporate would take up to a year for reimbursement. Within the entire dealership network they had millions of dollars worth of warranty claims. Easy fix. Dont tell the customer. Wait until you have a catastrophic failure. Then charge the customer. That was by far the shadiest shit ive ever seen in my life. Will not touch a toyota after that.

order CANCELLED.

This is absolutely ridiculous... Toyota needs to fire some people. Or stop misleading their customers with marketing. Stop lying on it toyota

anyone else thinking maybe they shouldn't have put a Subaru engine in a toyota?

You should tell what toyota dealership was it, so nobody will go there. F that dealership.

"Invader_LMM why do you hate Toyota dealers. You don't even own a Toyota"

Can't afford 86/BRZ but WAS a consideration a few years as 2nd hand but.... nah. I've watched almost a dozen videos like this, one from an ex-Subaru tech (Ezekiel Lee) and this issue occurred with 1st gen 86/BRZ too. You can easily imagine the thousands of calls/emails to dealerships cancelling orders. AFAIK Toyota as a multinational business is very healthy $$ wise, so this is just shooting themselves in the foot.

All it takes is one stupid Karen at a company to ruin its reputation. Toyota needs to fire all those involved.

The unfortunate truth is that the car is built and engineered by Subaru so it comes with known Subaru engine risk.

I am really glad I saw this video....I have been thinking of the GR86 (Anniversary in Orange, 6spd) but even though the claim was ultimately honored, its still not something I want to deal with. Though now I do wonder about Dodge and their warranty for the Super Stock and 1320 that both come with NHRA membership and NMCA.

@toyota for using social media like this: “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”

I've never been a boxer engine lover but I've always wanted one of these because they're a small rwd manual coupe but this is just another nail in the coffin for me to avoid these at all costs. Maybe one day ill buy a blown one and swap it as a project.

This car is designed for Autocross. This is absolute bullshit. I autocrossed stock vehicles for more than 30 years with zero problems. That motor would have blown anyways with the RTV in the oil pickup tube.

Don't post to social media lol. Hopefully things work out for that dude

after geico tried to deny an insurance claim for me being hit by their driver who was also ticketed at the scene of the accident because I posted on "racing specific forums" asking questions about my car, I became very cautious about what I put online. ridiculous!

Thats b.s! I just shoot a video with a GT86 vs my 86 hope he's ok on warrenty !

isnt it gazoo 'RACING'..? What the frug are we gonna do without the RACING... *insert gazoo kid

Warranties don’t really exist on race parts, why would they on street cars used for racing?

This kind of BS is what keeping me to enjoy my A90 supra.... What dealer now days have legit warranty for sports cars?

I feel like this is more of the dealership than Toyota/Subaru. Once you complain enough ti the right people the dealer will usually, begrudgingly, make it a warranty claim

Too bad the owner can't read....the warranty is pretty clear in what it does, and does not cover. Similar to almost every other manufacturer warranty....Porsche, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai, Ferrari....etc, etc... Abuse - not covered, motorsports activities - not covered. Picture of car drifting during an autocross....pretty easy to show abuse. Pay to play comes to mind....

That’s what Toyota gets for using a Subaru engine. I mean what did they really expect, Toyota reliability from a Subaru engine of all things 😂

The service manager at dealerships are odd. Can you explain why the shop manager doesn't want to honor warranties. I'm dealing with the same thing with my wife's brand new Nissan Altima Bumper to bumper warranty Yet HATES WHEN WE SHOW UP. Stuffs out of stock warranty can't be found. Etc etc etc it's not until I act an ass shit gets done

I had an issue with fca on a brand new Jeep. Thankfully I pulled it from that shop and sent it to another shop and they were stand up enough to fight for me and get it replaced. Sucks ya had to go through all of it but at least it’s getting fixed

A lot of the warranty approvals process is on the dealer side, normally dealers have a warranty administrator who determines initial approval and will send it up the chain for authorization from the OEM. Dealers do not want to do warranty work because OEMs do not pay for the actual labor time that a job takes, only what they deem is necessary.

yeah its really cool having to spend EXTRA on a 30+k car for any sort of real warranty coverage only to then basically have no protection.

I would be scheduling a meeting with north america toyota.. this is not a email / phone call situation its a face to face, wearing a suit not fucking around one.

Making me reconsider ordering a TRD Pro Tundra just out of principle.

Can you make a video about the silicone issue that is popping up for other 22 BRZ, 86, and WRX. My 22 BRZ has silicone on the oil dipstick and I have pictures and videos about this. I spoke to Subaru customer service and they told me not enough ppl have complained about this to make a recall claim and was told to talk to my dealer instead. I spoke to them and they will check my car on Monday. Can you make a video to get the word out? I'm reading there are quite a bit of people that are trying to fix this and wait for a recall but the problem is that those people, my self included, are the ones that need to Make that call for there to be a recall issued.

the rtv is one issue, the other problem is the flat engine. Both EJ and FA factory motor does not have a proper oil baffle for pulling high Gs and drifting is one of the high G manuver. That's exactly how they screw up a WRX in secs by doing a stupid donut hitting the limiter.