— A Scion FR-S valve spring lawsuit alleges a recall of 2013 FR-S cars caused the vehicles to suffer engine problems that weren't there before the valve spring recall.
In 2014, California plaintiff Angel Mendoza purchased a used 2013 Scion FR-S with 15,902 miles on the odometer. The vehicle came with a 5-year/60,000 mile powertrain express warranty, and the plaintiff says he drove the Scion normally for the next five years.
In September 2019, the plaintiff received a recall notice from Toyota that said the valve springs needed to be replaced.
Mendoza says he took the car to a Toyota dealer where the recall repairs were allegedly performed, including replacement of the valve springs. According to the class action lawsuit, the plaintiff's Scion FR-S had 56,593 miles when presented to the dealership.
In the prior two years, the car allegedly had three oil and filter changes: at 39,617 miles in July 2017, at 45,529 miles in March 2018 and at 55,291 miles in May 2019.
The plaintiff says his car immediately began having engine problems after the valve springs were replaced, starting with a sputtering and clunking before the car stalled on the freeway. The lawsuit alleges the FR-S was towed to the dealership which made the recall repairs.
The next day Mendoza was allegedly told he would be charged $4,119.25 for a complete engine disassembly unless Toyota paid for the disassembly under the recall. And that price was allegedly just to determine what went wrong with the car and didn't include the cost for repairs.
Three days later, the plaintiff was allegedly told by the dealership and by Toyota that due to a “lack of oil maintenance” the engine failure was the plaintiff's responsibility and "would not be covered under warranty, and that a replacement engine would cost Plaintiff approximately $10,000.'
The plaintiff says he paid the Toyota dealer $2,059 for '"tear down labor" and towed the car home.
According to the class action, Toyota has known about the valve spring problem but concealed it from the public until the failure rate reached such a level that an immediate safety recall was necessary.
The plaintiff says Toyota guaranteed the recall repairs would fix the valve spring defects by using “new ones of an improved design.” But 2013 Scion FR-S drivers have allegedly received nothing but problems since Toyota dealers replaced the valve springs.
"Took car to dealer for inspection & oil change on 7/08/19.on my way home from work on 7/12/19,I heard a loud knocking and immediately had the car towed to Conicelli Toyota.They said it was a blown bearing and would cost 5,000+ to replace engine! Upon researching this,I found that many of these cars that were recalled for valve spring replacement (2013 only} recently, experienced the same failure (coincidentally after 5 year warranty was over)."
"2 months ago I took my car in to get my clutch replaced and decided to go ahead and complete the valve spring recall (mandatory in CA) while my car was there. My car was gone for over a month getting these repairs completed with little explanation as to why. 2 days after finally getting my car back, the engine began to knock and vibrate wildly, eventually stalling out and becoming inoperable. Dealership eventually called me and informed me that engine block was cracked on lower end and that they were NOT responsible."
The 2013 Scion FR-S valve spring lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Eastern Division: Mendoza, et al., v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. et al.
The plaintiff is represented by the Law Offices of Robert B. Mobasseri.
CarComplaints.com has complaints about engine problems in 2013 Scion FR-S cars.