Toyota GR86 owner says Toyota refused warranty after engine blew up on track

The failure occurred Sunday at Palmer Motorsports Park, about an hour west of Boston. Luke signed up for an HPD session the other day with the 2022 GR86, and even though he had heard of the Blake Alvarado situation, which we covered last year, he wasn’t worried. “I’ve heard about RTV issues but in general [thought] The problem is likely to be exaggerated. RTV, a gasket material used in Subaru engines, has been found in the lubrication systems of many vehicles. Owners have claimed the substance is responsible for the failures, but neither Toyota nor Subaru has publicly addressed the alleged issue.

About five minutes after he started cuddling Luke, he sensed something was wrong. start [I] I thought the fender liner or something had loosened and was knocking against the frame, as I was wearing a helmet, and I wasn’t expecting an engine failure during the warm-up. as explained. “Seven minutes into the video, his car was knocking badly and he stopped beside the track in a cloud of smoke.

Luke’s 2022 GR86 only has about 19,000 miles on the odometer. Whether he’s racing or abusing the car, as Toyota Corporate claims to be, is up to you. We’ve reached out to the automaker for comment on Luke’s situation but haven’t heard back. We’ll update this story if we do.

Soon after the car was cleared from the track, he took it to Acton Toyota in Littleton, Massachusetts, and left the keys in the drop box, as the dealership was closed for the weekend. When he spoke to a dealer the next morning, Locke said he told them what happened and noticed he had a video of what happened. After inspection, a hole was found in the upper part of the engine block. Luke says it’s unclear if the oil pan was checked for any loose RTV. The dealer told him that damage would not be covered under warranty due to tracked use, even after watching the video embedded above.

Luke escalated his issue to Toyota, but received effectively the same response. “[An agent] He asks for any dealer I have the car. I tell her and she calls the dealership, then she comes back to me saying the dealership is right and I will not receive any warranty coverage.” He continues to try to resolve the situation, even offering to send the video, but with no luck. “. The legal person tried to say that I had been racing for a while, too.”

Competition use Covered expressly under warranty For GR-branded Toyota vehicles overseas but not in the United States. This is despite the automaker offering its own track day events called the Toyota Saturday GR Track Experience. which features GR86. Indeed, Toyota is particularly stingy about engine replacements, while Subaru, which makes an effectively identical BRZ, is more willing to cover failures.

Luke claims he was quoted $13,000 to replace the engine that he had to pay for, entirely out of pocket. He’s considering legal action, but there is precedent for Toyota trying to make such a situation right. The last time the GR86’s engine failed on a track day, Toyota broke down and covered an engine rebuild under warranty despite initially refusing to do so.

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