If you search for 2022 Toyota GR86 on Google, literally the very first result you’ll get will tell you the sports car is “Track proven. Street ready.” It turns out, however, that not every 2022 GR86 is prepared from the factory to be driven on a closed course. At least, this is what one GR86 owner learned the hard way just recently.
The guy who prefers to go by just Luke took his experience with the Japanese coupe to Reddit and posted a video on YouTube, which shows him behind the steering wheel during a track session at Palmer Motorsports Park this past Sunday. As you can see from the footage for yourself, Luke wasn’t really pushing the vehicle anywhere near its limits and was going for what we would describe as a warmup lap. Unfortunately, strange noises started coming from the engine compartment around the 6:00-minute mark of the video.
It’s fair to note the guy didn’t stop the car and kept driving it for another minute or so until the engine blew up. It’s also worth mentioning that, according to the owner, the car with around 19,000 miles on the clocks had no engine modifications and was running on 5W30 oil changed the previous day. Oil system failure seems like the most logical explanation for the broken engine, though.
“Initially [I] thought a fender liner or something had come loose and was knocking against the tire, as I had a helmet on, and wasn’t really expecting engine failure during warmup. Eventually, it got really loud and I pulled over as shown,” Luke told The Drive.
In a Reddit post, the owner explains the GR86 was towed away from the track and he then took it to Acton Toyota in Littleton, Massachusetts, for an inspection. When he heard back from the dealer, he was informed a hole was found in the top of the engine block – a problem at least a few Subaru owners should be familiar with – and the dealer said the warranty won’t cover the repair because the car was used on a track. Luke then decided to contact Toyota directly but got almost the same negative feedback.
“[An agent] asks what dealer I have the car at. I tell her and she calls the dealer, then gets back to me saying that the dealer is correct and I will not receive any warranty coverage. I demand to know why they refuse to warranty and they again state something about ‘the nature in which the vehicle was being used.’ The corporate person tried to say I was racing briefly as well.”
The Drive reports Luke was quoted around $13,000 for a full engine replacement. If he does not reach an agreement with the dealer or Toyota, he would have to pay for the procedure out of his pocket.
