TX12IQ

Hello, I'm Charlie and this is my first Post. we have had our IQ for almost 2 years. It's a cool little car but it's the wifes and she got it for transportation to and from work. So far it's had it's fair share of problems but the reason for me joining was to look up any engine problems. It's an 012 and she has about 18k miles on it and it's in the shop for a screeching engine noise. I thought it was the idler pulley or something but Toyota called and they are changing out the rings. Yes, I said piston rings. supposidly a new design and should aleviate the problem. lets hope so. dropped it off yesterday and the parts should arrive Friday. Probably looking at mid next week before we get it back. Oh well, life goes on.

surfcitylocal

Welcome to the forums Charlie. Sorry to hear about the trouble with your iQ. Yours is the first one I've heard of with that problem.

I'll be interested to see if changing the rings will solve it. Was there any oil consumption related to this? Any smoking from the tailpipe?

TX12IQ

well, I didn't notice any smoke but the wife claims gas mileage has gone down and says it's been loosing power. she only gets gas from Chevron and Valero and always buys the 93 so no telling. I would have loved to have been there when they tore the engine apart just to see what everything looks like.

TX12IQ

well, it's been a week and the dealer has the parts but evidently they thought they could replace the rings with the engine in the car but now they are having trouble getting it out. I sure hope they get everything back together properly and that this fixes the problem. meanwhile, the V6 camry is costing my wife about 3 times as much in gas to get to work. I also hope that they are doing it RIGHT and are changing the rod bearings, all gaskets and anything else associated with a piston removal.

surfcitylocal

Sometimes when they try to save time it ends up costing them more time.

I agree with you, I hope they do a good job on the ring replacement. Keep us updated.

TX12IQ

well, another week goes by and they still haven't done anything. today I hear that they are waiting on gaskets and they are expecting the car to be in the shop for another week. that will make it 3 full weeks they have had it. at least they are paying for the rent car. Bad thing is the wife is really liking the Camry they gave us and wishes they would just buy the IQ back. Guess we'll have to see what this week brings.

surfcitylocal

The new Camry is very nice. I hope they get the iQ fixed and she decides to keep it though...

TX12IQ

I'm sure she will want it once she gets it back. she totally fell in love it the first time she saw it and just had to have it. I like being able to park it and both of my solstice on one side of the driveway

TX12IQ

well, after 4 weeks it's finally done. the wife handed them the keys to the rent car and took off. while still in the parking lot she noticed the steering wheel was not straight. once she got on the highway, she noticed it was pulling to the right. Bad. so, she turned around and brought it back and they did an alignment on it and she was on her way. it drives fine and has a lot more power than it did when we brought it in. a couple days before we dropped it off, I clocked it going 0 to 60 and it took 14 seconds. I haven't tried it with the new rings but will this weekend. I don't see any leaks but I fear that will not last. I popped the hood and there's a rubber gasket that is squishing out and you can tell they used the same one. they also failed to put one of the hoses back in it's clip and they broke one of those cable tie push pin things and didn't replace it. for as long as they had it, they could have done a better job. I'm gonna put it on the ramps and give it a good look and make any notes. gonna take photo's too.

surfcitylocal

I would have to agree with you, for the length of time they had the iQ I would have expected better workmanship. Hold them to task and have anything you are not happy with corrected, even something as small as a zip tie bracket.

TX12IQ

Well, it's broke again. the wife says it's making the same noise and doing the same thing as last time but worse. I'll take a listen and a peek tonight and wee what's up. To make things worse, one of my Solstices wouldn't start today. Battery seems fine and there's no CEL and the code lock is not on so it's not the key. I'm hoping it's just the clutch switch. Oh well, will keep you posted on the IQ.

criminaltc

If your Solstice isn't even trying to turn over, and it's just all lights and no give, then yeah, it's probably clutch related. I always tell people to push that clutch as if you want to push it through the firewall, and it usually will work. That sensor can expect more than it initially did at one point.

About your iQ, I'm sorry man that sucks. I refuse to buy any new car that first comes out. That is a set up for failure for sure. A new car needs at least three to four years of production before they figure everything out and eliminate all problems. People get so excited about a new car! Yay! When really it's never a good idea.

TX12IQ

Just an update, a month after getting it back from Toyota who had it in the shop for about 4 weeks, the car was making a rattling sound and a popping sound. similar to a backfire. I decided to pop the hood and am in awe at what I observed. first off the hood was loose and would not pop up when you pulled the release. then I found 4 hoses that were not stuck back in their holders and 3 harness' that they cut the tie wrap but left it hanging and did not bother to install new ones, the left motor mount bolt where the mount bolts to the frame was MISSING, one of the bolts on the transmission bracket was MISSING and both lower exhaust manifold bolts were less than 1 turn from falling out. talk about poor workmanship. I also found a engine to tranny bolt loose and the spring loaded exhaust pipe bolts were way too loose. We took it back last week and they called 2 days later and said it's all fixed but now I'm concerned about the engine internals. they had the engine compartment all cleaned up and all the hoses were secure but I can only hope that they torqued all the parts inside. Guess we'll see.

criminaltc

What a joke.

surfcitylocal

That is some sad workmanship for sure.

I would suggest a different dealership for future work if there is one close by. A letter to Corporate describing the treatment you have received would not be out of order either.

criminaltc

...and I'm thinking you should be compensated monetarily as well.