Hello. There are some common minor issues which were easily covered by the warranty. The first cars are now just coming out of warranty (mine is a 2013 62 plate and the warranty ended on 31st January), so if you pick one up it might be worth checking to see if these have already been addressed.
- Battery. It's known for being a little weak and discharging quickly on cars that aren't driven regularly. Owners who suffered not being able to start the car after it had been sat were able to in a lot of instances to get the original 48aH battery replaced under warranty with an uprated 65Ah, which is something you should be able to check by inspecting the battery. But even if it's not been replaced, you are probably better off just buying a decent aftermarket battery. That being said, this is not a problem for everyone; I've had the car almost 5 years and driven it daily, and despite being a little sluggish on cold mornings after sitting a couple of days, not once has it failed to start. On a weekend car, it might become more of a problem.
- Tail light condensation. Another common problem was the build up of condensation in the tail lights. Widely reported, but again, an easy warranty fix. I never had mine done as I never noticed enough condensation in mine to warrant me thinking it was a problem. Also, a lot of people swap the rear tail lights for aftermarket units anyway (because rofLexus).
- Crickets. Perhaps the most infamous issue is the engine "chirping" noise. Just do a Google search for "gt86 noisy crickets", I'm sure you'll find some examples. It's a noise caused by the high-pressure fuel pump when the engine is warm. There's apparently a revised part which was fitted under warranty, although some owners reported the noise coming back after replacement. As far as I know though, it's not a problem, I don't recall anyone reporting the pump to have failed. Just sounds a bit odd, that's all. Mine does it when run on V-Power, but interestingly, it's silent using Esso 97, so it's something to do with fuel content. I never bothered getting mine replaced as I don't notice it much anyway, but it's worth mentioning that if you hear it, it's a common noise and not necessarily something to worry about.
- Quarter light window trim. Check the piece of vertical black trim that sits between the moving part of the passenger window, and the small triangle quarter light. Right where is meets the seal running along the top of the door. A bad design means that you can get bubbles of rust forming where the pieces of trim rub against each other. Again, should have been easy to rectify under warranty - something I've neglected myself as it's not too noticeable, but I might get it looked at. The part can be replaced, but it's quite expensive and requires the door being taken apart, so try and find one where it's already been rectified.
- Rear view mirror. The car has a frameless rear view mirror, but several owners, myself included, found that it started to suffer from de-lamination around the edges. My initial warranty claim for this was rejected, Toyota claiming that it wasn't covered under the normal warranty as it was an interior part and subject to wear and tear. However, on the advice of the service manager of the local Toyota dealer, I kicked up a fuss with a Strongly Worded Email(TM) direct to Toyota GB - they replaced it without any further argument.
- Cam cover oil leak. Another "common" issue, is that there is a small triangular cam cover in the engine bay which can seep oil. It's not really much to worry about, can be easily fixed with an aftermarket plate and even so, the "leak" is minimal....not even enough that you'd notice a drop in oil level. I've checked mine and it seems OK, but look into it if you wish. I wouldn't even use it to discount a car I was looking at, just an easy fix to be aware of.
As for the scratched windows, I haven't seen too many complaints about this. When the car is dirty, I can see some vertical stripes on the window which I think is caused by the mechanism inside the door contacting the glass. However it's minor and the glass is undamaged so I don't worry about it. I can't really think of any other known issues. There's been talk of blown engines, but as far as I know, it's mainly from people running modified cars using a lot of boost.
A few quality of life things I'd bear in mind if you do buy one:
- Gearbox quality. A lot of owners experience a particularly notchy and hard to engage second gear, especially when the engine is cold. It's not generally something to worry about, but I would recommend getting a decent quality gearbox oil installed as it can improve the feel of the gearbox immensely. It's also worth noting that there's a company call MTEC who sell a set of stronger shifter springs for the gearbox which make it feel much nicer - a little tricky to install, but often cited as the best bang for buck modification to do to the car.
- Clutch. Similarly, the clutch on the car is often criticised for feeling a little vague. Part of the problem is that the clutch pedal assembly houses a powerful helper spring which keeps the pedal taught when released, but helps actuate the clutch as it is pressed down. This spring can be removed entirely, or you can get onto MTEC again who sell a weaker spring. I installed this and it made the clutch feel much more direct and responsive and made the car easier to drive as a result.
Finally, just a word on service costs. They aren't horrendous at all, but bear in mind that the 60K mile service interval involves a spark plug change.
This will be expensive, as the spark plugs are not easy to access at all. Expect to pay £500-600 for this. It's not unexpected, just a cost you'll have to bear, but it's worth bearing in mind if you pick up a car approaching this mileage, that it might need doing soon. If you start looking at higher mileages, maybe try and find one which has passed 60K and has had this service done already.
I now notice that whilst I've been typing all this, Lowe has responded covering most of the above but much more succinctly, so I'll stop typing now and just say if you have any further questions, I'm happy to help where I can
) however I'm willing to foot this. Hoping to get one from a Toyota dealership ideally, then I can get a 12 month warranty and get rid of any issues that have not been solved if it has any.