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2013 Scion FR-S

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

148 reports with mileage · 31 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 141 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

3 crash reports3 fire reports1 injury reports

What owners actually said

179 reports
Mileage unknown · May 21, 2023
Engine

Vehicle suffered engine failure in line with previous recalled, and subsequently repaired parts. Both Toyota & Subaru have refused to repair. Vehicle is under 100,000 miles.

NHTSA ODI #11523062

Mileage unknown · May 8, 2023
EngineCrash

Engine stalled won't crank over or run anymore. Mechanic said it was a valve spring issue and vehicle had a recall that entitled engine to be replaced by Toyota.

NHTSA ODI #11520958

Mileage unknown · Feb 2, 2023
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2013 Scion FR-S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V772000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it remained awaiting the parts for the recall repair. The contact stated that once the parts for the repair were available, the mechanic informed he…

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The contact owns a 2013 Scion FR-S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V772000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it remained awaiting the parts for the recall repair. The contact stated that once the parts for the repair were available, the mechanic informed her that the manufacturer would not be covering the repairs on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI #11505208

Mileage unknown · Jan 18, 2023
Engine

Engine failure. My safety is compromised by car leaving me stranded at an unpreditable time. Serviced center fixed vehicle twice unsuccecfully because different engine brand but joint partnership. No warning lamps were present before or after failure of engine.

NHTSA ODI #11502515

Mileage unknown · Jan 18, 2023
Steering

Steering locks and binds up and clunks while driving, makes steering. Creates dangerous situations as you cannot steer when this occurs. Diagnosed as a failed electric steering damper, repair performed by owner as dealer quoted over $900 for the repair to replace the entire electric power steering motor. This should be a recall …

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Steering locks and binds up and clunks while driving, makes steering. Creates dangerous situations as you cannot steer when this occurs. Diagnosed as a failed electric steering damper, repair performed by owner as dealer quoted over $900 for the repair to replace the entire electric power steering motor. This should be a recall as it affects the steering of the car. This failure occurs so commonly on these cars that owners are repairing it themselves with no manufacturer help. See: https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133606

NHTSA ODI #11502374

115,000 miles · Dec 9, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2013 Scion FR-S. The contact stated there was an abnormal clunking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check oil warning light was illuminated while the vehicle was decelerating. The contact drove into a nearby parking lot. The vehicle wa…

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The contact owns a 2013 Scion FR-S. The contact stated there was an abnormal clunking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check oil warning light was illuminated while the vehicle was decelerating. The contact drove into a nearby parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the valve spring had fractured. The vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number 18V772000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that 115 miles after the repair there was a knocking noise coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle began to run rough. While driving at highway speeds the vehicle began to feel as if it was decelerating with the accelerator pedal being depressed. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer who diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the failure was coming from the bottom of the engine. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was towed back to the residence. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000.

NHTSA ODI #11496759

Mileage unknown · Nov 11, 2022
Engine

Under normal driving conditions, a well maintained 79k car, the joint that holds up cylinder #2 failed, totalling the engine. Thankfully the rod did not kill me.

NHTSA ODI #11493217

Mileage unknown · Nov 8, 2022
Engine

It is my belief that the valve spring on the engine broke, even after the recall work had been done. I was getting out of my car and heard, what sounded like, metal under tension popping really loudly. After that the engine made a rattling noise. In hindsight I should have known something was wrong, but I had an oil change at th…

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It is my belief that the valve spring on the engine broke, even after the recall work had been done. I was getting out of my car and heard, what sounded like, metal under tension popping really loudly. After that the engine made a rattling noise. In hindsight I should have known something was wrong, but I had an oil change at the dealer in 2 days and thought they would hear it. After the oil change they didn't say anything so I felt it was ok. On my way home from work the following day, less than 40 miles after the oil change, the car suddenly completely shut off while I was driving home on the highway. What saved my life was that I was getting off the highway in the right lane and was able to roll the car slightly off the highway. Had this been in any other lane I might have been in an accident. Trying to restart the car on the side of the road it had a terrible knocking noise and sounded like something was spinning freely. I had it towed to the dealer as they had just changed the oil thinking that was it. They "looked" at it a couple days later and said it was a spun bearing and that it was normal wear and tear. The car only has 103,000 miles on it and was driven normally, with regular maintenance. Upon retrieving the car the tow truck driver stated that's not normal to happen, and I noticed the car was in the same place as where I had it towed originally. The dealer never actually inspected or looked at the car and just made the spun bearing assessment without trying to start it, as the battery was dead from trying to restart on the highway. No one has since touched the car, and some research online shows that I am not the only person this has happened to. The recall stated that the valve springs could break while driving and the car would suddenly shut off with no warning. This is exactly what happened, while driving on the highway home. According to the dealer it is a spun bearing but that is not what it sounds like at all. It definitely sounds like a rod.

NHTSA ODI #11492687

Mileage unknown · Jun 10, 2022
Engine

The day before the incident, took the vehicle for an oil change at dealership. Driving in a Interstate 8 under construction and vehicle had engine malfunction turning off and also turned off power steering creating difficulty steering, could have created accident on freeway jeopardize my safety and of others. The engine malfunct…

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The day before the incident, took the vehicle for an oil change at dealership. Driving in a Interstate 8 under construction and vehicle had engine malfunction turning off and also turned off power steering creating difficulty steering, could have created accident on freeway jeopardize my safety and of others. The engine malfunction started by making a rattling sound and turning off the engine. Since my vehicle is Standard/Manual transmission, I stepped on the clutch and the rattling stop making me coast with the moment it had. I removed the clutch to turn on the vehicle and the rattling continued so I put it in neutral, waited to slow down to push the vehicle onto an emergency lane (since the freeway was under construction and the lanes had Jersey Barriers). The problem hasn't been able to reproduce because the vehicle cannot restart, contact local dealership and rejected to perform recall unless I put down $2,000 (November 2018). Sent out to a local shop but didn't have workers with Boxer engine knowledge. Contact DMV for guidance about rejection on recall (which happened again on March 2022) and made another appointment at local dealership. They rejected me again without inspecting recall component and commented that "It was suspicious that you haven't had the recall done on it". There wasn't any check engine light nor abs or any message prior to the failure.

NHTSA ODI #11468640

Mileage unknown · May 15, 2022
Engine

Was going down the road. To a fast food place. As soon as I turned. A pop happens and the whole car started to shake. All the maintenance was done every 6k miles. Got the car at 32k miles Went to Toyota. And they called and said it was engine failure “mechanical failure” then they called back and said there was no coolant. In …

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Was going down the road. To a fast food place. As soon as I turned. A pop happens and the whole car started to shake. All the maintenance was done every 6k miles. Got the car at 32k miles Went to Toyota. And they called and said it was engine failure “mechanical failure” then they called back and said there was no coolant. In my eyes I feel it’s to cover their end to not do a recall.

NHTSA ODI #11464676

Official recalls

4

18V772000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine

Nov 1, 2018

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2012-2014 Subaru Impreza, 2012-2013 Impreza Stationwagon, 2013 Subaru BRZ, XV Crosstrek and Toyota Scion FR-S vehicles. The engine valve springs in these vehicles may fracture causing an engine malfunction or a possible engine stall.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An engine stall can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. Toyota will notify the FR-S owners. Dealers will replace the valve springs, free of charge. The recall began December 26, 2018. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614, Toyota owners may contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-888-270-9371. Subaru's number for this recall is WTY-84.

16V075000 · Electrical System:ignition; Power Train:automatic Transmission:park/neutral Start Interlock Switch

Feb 10, 2016

Toyota Motor Company (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Toyota Scion FR-S vehicles manufactured March 13, 2012, to January 14, 2016 and equipped an automatic transmission and ignition key. Vehicles with a push-to-start button are not affected. In the affected vehicles, it may be possible to remove the ignition key without the transmission being in the "Park" position. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the key can be removed from the ignition when the transmission is not in the "Park" position, the vehicle could roll away increasing the risk of a crash and occupant or pedestrian injuries.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ignition key/transmission interlock wiring connections, correcting them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 7, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G0E.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Electrical System:ignition

Toyota Motor Company (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Toyota Scion FR-S vehicles manufactured March 13, 2012, to January 14, 2016 and equipped an automatic transmission and ignition key. Vehicles with a push-to-start button are not affected. In the affected vehicles, it may be possible to remove the ignition key without the transmission being in the "Park" position. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Consequence: If the key can be removed from the ignition when the transmission is not in the "Park" position, the vehicle could roll away increasing the risk of a crash and occupant or pedestrian injuries.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ignition key/transmission interlock wiring connections, correcting them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 7, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G0E.

Power Train:automatic Transmission:park/neutral Start Interlock Switch

Toyota Motor Company (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Toyota Scion FR-S vehicles manufactured March 13, 2012, to January 14, 2016 and equipped an automatic transmission and ignition key. Vehicles with a push-to-start button are not affected. In the affected vehicles, it may be possible to remove the ignition key without the transmission being in the "Park" position. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Consequence: If the key can be removed from the ignition when the transmission is not in the "Park" position, the vehicle could roll away increasing the risk of a crash and occupant or pedestrian injuries.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ignition key/transmission interlock wiring connections, correcting them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 7, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G0E.

13V123000 · Equipment:other:labels

Apr 9, 2013

Southeast Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2010-2013 Toyota Tundra, 2010-2012 Rav4, 2012 Toyota Sequoia, 2010-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2010-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser, 2010-2013 Toyota Venza, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, 2010-2013 Toyota Tacoma, 2011-2012 Toyota Sienna, 2012 Toyota Prius, 2013 Scion FR-S, 2011 Scion XD, 2011 Scion XB, and 2012 Scion TC vehicles. These vehicles were sold with labels that were outside the allowable one percent of accuracy of actual weight added. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires. An overloaded vehicle can result in a tire failure which may result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, or property damage.

Remedy: Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

12V255000 · Equipment:other:owners/service/other Manual

Jun 5, 2012

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2013 SCION FR-S VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM MARCH 22, 2012, THROUGH MAY 14, 2012. THE OWNER’S MANUAL CONTAINS AN INACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTUAL OPERATION OF THE FRONT PASSENGER OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM. OTHER PORTIONS OF THE OWNER’S MANUAL, DESCRIBING THE AIR BAG SYSTEM, REQUIRE CLARIFICATION. AS SUCH, THESE VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD (FMVSS) NO. 208, “OCCUPANT CRASH PROTECTION.”

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: IF A USER READS AND FOLLOWS INACCURATE OWNER’S MANUAL INFORMATION, THIS COULD LEAD TO AN INCREASED RISK OF INJURY TO A FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT UNDER CERTAIN CRASH CONDITIONS.

Remedy: TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND WILL MAIL CORRECTED INSERTS FOR THE OWNER’S MANUALS, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 3, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-866-707-2466.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.