Selling a damaged or dead Toyota 86

Toyota sold the 86 under its own badge for just four model years, 2017 to 2020, and NHTSA has only 14 complaints about it. The three recalls tell you more than the complaints do, and Subaru filed the one most likely to matter.

A Scion renamed, built by Subaru

For 2017 the Scion FR-S became the Toyota 86, as Scion's cars moved back to the Toyota brand. It gained new styling, suspension tuning and powertrain changes on the way. Toyota and Subaru developed it alongside the Subaru BRZ. Subaru's Gunma Plant, in the city of Ota, built both.

The engine is a 2.0-liter horizontally opposed four, Subaru's FA20 (Toyota calls it the 4U-GSE), with Toyota's D-4S direct injection. Toyota rated the 2017 at 205 hp with the 6-speed manual and 200 hp with the 6-speed automatic. The GR86, with a 2.4-liter engine, took over for 2022.

FR-S cars from 2013 to 2016 are filed under Scion at NHTSA, so they are not counted here.

Three recalls

• Fuel pump, 2018-2019 (21V587). Subaru recalled the in-tank low-pressure pump; when one quits, the engine can cut out on the road. The campaign's 175,968 vehicles span Subaru's Ascent, Forester, Impreza, Legacy, Outback, BRZ and WRX as well as the 86. Dealers replace the pump.
• Key and shifter, early 2017 automatics (16V920). On 94 cars built July 1 to August 11, 2016, the key could come out of the ignition with the shifter out of Park, so the car could roll away. Dealers check and correct the interlock wiring.
• Spare tire pressure, 2017 (17V295). Gulf States Toyota recalled 409 vehicles across 15 models, the 86 among them, because the spare tires had not been set to the pressure on the label.

The complaints, year by year

These numbers are from NHTSA data we downloaded October 10, 2026. Ten of the 14 complaints are on the 2019, along with every reported crash, fire and tow. Owners describe an engine that failed suddenly and had to be towed, and a tapping noise followed by lost power at 30 mph. One fire complaint blames an electrical fault behind the steering wheel; the other describes fuel leaking under the hood of a nearly new car. A 2019 owner also calls the car's fuel pump defective. The lone 2018 complaint is a steering wheel and front end that shimmy when braking at highway speed.

Fix it or sell it?

A 2018 or 2019 that stalls or won't start should go through NHTSA's VIN search before anything else, since an open fuel pump recall is a free dealer repair. For a failed engine, blown engine lays out the choice. After a crash, wrecked car covers what to do with what's left.

Selling your 86 whole

Line up the VIN, mileage, gearbox type and title, then request an offer online or phone (877) 421-6008. Tell us where the car is, whether in a garage, on the street or at a body shop, and whether it rolls and steers. Leave the wheels, exhaust and any aftermarket parts on, and tell us about anything that has come off. Plate rules vary by state; see after you sell.

Other Toyota sports cars: the GR86, GR Supra and MR2, or every Toyota.