The Subaru FA20 is the 2.0L flat-four found in the BRZ, Scion FR-S, and Toyota 86. Co-developed with Toyota, it uses port + direct injection. The FA20 is durable but has a few well-documented gotchas.
Rod bearing failure is rare but catastrophic. Valve clearance check at 60K is critical. The 2013 fuel injector recall is a real concern on early cars.
A small percentage of FA20s spin a rod bearing, especially on track-driven cars or those with high-RPM cold starts. Subaru extended the warranty for affected VINs. Use a quality 0W-20 and let it warm up.
View diagnosis →FA20 uses solid lash buckets like the EJ. Subaru calls for inspection at 60,000 miles. Ignored, valves go tight and burn.
View diagnosis →Internal fuel pump spring can fail and stall the engine. NHTSA recall covers the repair. Verify VIN before buying.
View diagnosis →Direct injection deposits carbon on intake valves. Toyota added port injectors specifically to combat this so the FA20 fares better than pure-DI engines, but a walnut blast at 100K is common.
View diagnosis →Some FA20s burn oil between changes. Subaru/Toyota issued TSBs and goodwill ring jobs.
View diagnosis →Famous "torque dip" between 3,500-4,500 RPM. Tuning or the 2017+ FA20 update largely resolves it.
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2013 (fuel pump recall, early ring issues)
2017-2020 FA20 (revised tune, addressed oil consumption)
Annual maintenance $500-700. Valve check at 60K is $700-1,200. Avoid the rod bearing lottery with proper warm-up and 0W-20. Total non-routine over 150K: $2,500-4,500.
If your Subaru is throwing a check engine light, these are the codes most often associated with the problems above. Click any code for full diagnosis steps and typical repair costs.
🔬 Run a free AI diagnosis →Yes - the FA20 is one of the more reliable boxer engines Subaru has built, with rod bearing failure being a low-percentage but serious risk. Maintenance is everything.
Every 5,000 miles with full synthetic 0W-20. Track use - every 3,000 miles or after every event.
Timing chain - no scheduled replacement.
Cold-start high RPM, oil starvation on track, and possibly a marginal bearing tolerance from the factory. Warm the engine before pushing it.
NA tunes are limited (10-15 hp). Forced induction is where the gains come, but FI dramatically increases rod bearing risk without supporting mods.