Turbos in cars

obi604

First of all, as you will see I don't know much about the workings of car engines

ive heard the phrase " the turbo blew/went in my car"

I presume this just means that the the turbo part of the car has totally broken or essentially " blown up "   : )  and the car cannot be driven at all until the turbo part is replaced ?

I presume this can happen in both Turbo Diesels AND Turbo Petrols  ?

What causes a turbo to blow ? 

Nissan doctor

obi604 wrote: »

First of all, as you will see I don't know much about the workings of car engines

ive heard the phrase " the turbo blew/went in my car"

I presume this just means that the the turbo part of the car has totally broken or essentially " blown up "   : )  and the car cannot be driven at all until the turbo part is replaced ?

I presume this can happen in both Turbo Diesels AND Turbo Petrols  ?

What causes a turbo to blow ? 

Oil issues are, by far, the main cause of turbo failure. Low oil, wrong oil type or blocked turbo oil feeds cause the bearings to fail.

Nonoperational

The main cause of a turbo going is lack of maintenance. Oil needs to be changed as per manufacturers spec and the correct oil needs to be used. In some cars there is a breather filter that needs to be changes too. If that's done turbos can last the life of the car.

edit: beaten to it..

Sonnenblumen

I had an unexpected loss of power within two weeks after buying a brand new subaru.:eek: I could drive the car but no power above 90kmh! Apparently the turbo had failed and was replaced, and never had another complaint with the subi.

AFAIK it can happen on rare occasions for failure with new turbos but I cannot explain how or why.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

I had an unexpected loss of power within two weeks after buying a brand new subaru.:eek: I could drive the car but no power above 90kmh! Apparently the turbo had failed and was replaced, and never had another complaint with the subi.

AFAIK it can happen on rare occasions for failure with new turbos but I cannot explain how or why.

Thats a lie, you liar you...havent you read this forum, turbos only fail on BMW's

Sonnenblumen

Caiden Some Backpacker wrote: »

Thats a lie, you liar you...havent you read this forum, turbos only fail on BMW's

Nissan doctor

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

I had an unexpected loss of power within two weeks after buying a brand new subaru.:eek: I could drive the car but no power above 90kmh! Apparently the turbo had failed and was replaced, and never had another complaint with the subi.

AFAIK it can happen on rare occasions for failure with new turbos but I cannot explain how or why.

Sounds much more likely to have been part of the boost control system rather then the turbo itself that failed in your case. The Turbo is a mechanical part, it it failed you would have much more obvious symptoms then a simple lack of power.:eek:

obi604

So based on the answers so far, sounds like if one maintains their car properly, the turbo " should " be ok ; )

Is a turbo more likely to fail in a Diesel or a petrol ?

or as above, none is more prone to turbo failing........... it's just down to looking after the car properly regardless of the fuel type

Nissan doctor

obi604 wrote: »

So based on the answers so far, sounds like if one maintains their car properly, the turbo should be ok

Is a turbo more likely to fail in a Diesel or a petrol ?

or as above, none is more prone to turbo failing........... it's just down to looking after the car properly regardless of the fuel type

In general it makes no difference between petrol or diesel. However diesel can be more prone to deposit built up on the turbine blades which can lead to issues.

Nonoperational

If your wondering about the 1.8T and 2.0T VAGs they are very strong turbos. Rarely go wrong.

Sonnenblumen

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Sounds much more likely to have been part of the boost control system rather then the turbo itself that failed in your case. The Turbo is a mechanical part, it it failed you would have much more obvious symptoms then a simple lack of power.:eek:

Oh I get it, I don't know, the Subaru dealer in Dublin didn't know and the warranty letter signed by Director of SUBARU UK Imports apologising for the inconvenience and detailed the scope of the repair works/replacement of turbo (petrol engine) which were completed by Subaru (UK) mechanics sent over to Dublin also didn't know?:(

Matt Simis

You can drive around on blown turbos, hilariously sounds like this though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aiNAchgCxs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSEFUIcgOy0

WooooooWoooooWoooo goes the steam-engined Audi. B5 S4s use Borg Warner KKK K03 turbos which are generally considered rubbish and fail at around 120k miles.

Tea 1000

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Oh I get it, I don't know, the Subaru dealer in Dublin didn't know and the warranty letter signed by Director of SUBARU UK Imports apologising for the inconvenience and detailed the scope of the repair works/replacement of turbo (petrol engine) which were completed by Subaru (UK) mechanics sent over to Dublin also didn't know?:(

Wow... not many manufacturers issue a letter of apology when something fails on their cars... you can tell that Subaru aren't used to major components failing so soon!

Nissan doctor

Matt Simis wrote: »

You can drive around on blown turbos, hilariously sounds like this though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aiNAchgCxs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSEFUIcgOy0

WooooooWoooooWoooo goes the steam-engined Audi. B5 S4s use Borg Warner KKK K03 turbos which are generally considered rubbish and fail at around 120k miles.

That's brave....if the turbo shaft/impellers let go while driving then, at best, you'll be a long time clearing all the bits out of the intercooler and at worst, counting the costs after the pieces made it into the cylinders:eek:

Sonnenblumen

Tea 1000 wrote: »

Wow... not many manufacturers issue a letter of apology when something fails on their cars... you can tell that Subaru aren't used to major components failing so soon!

It was the first time with a new car for the local Subaru dealer which made me more anxious the fact the work was being carried by UK mechanics added to my concerns as to the potential seriousness of the turbo failure. I demanded a letter from SUBARU UK confirming what repair works had been done, that there was no residual engine damage and in the event that any new faults related to the turbo failure occur that the car be replaced with a new car at any point during the 3 year warranty period.

Subaru UK duly obliged.

Pique

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

I demanded a letter from SUBARU UK confirming what repair works had been done, that there was no residual engine damage and in the event that any new faults related to the turbo failure occur that the car be replaced with a new car at any point during the 3 year warranty period.

Subaru UK duly obliged.

Can't argue with that. Fair play to them !

SouperComputer

As others have summararised pretty well. Turbos themselves are pretty reliable, but you need to take care of them. Correct oil, correct intervals. Don't beat on them when cold and don't shut them down hot. The latter isnt a problem with watercooled turbos to be fair. I have 216K miles on the Mitsubishi TD04 in the T5 and 201K miles on the pair in the T6. I have no reason to believe that work has been done on them.

Change the oil, use the right oil, don't abuse them and you'll be fine. TBH sometimes I wonder about how many turbos actually are "blown".

sean1141

Nissan doctor wrote: »

In general it makes no difference between petrol or diesel. However diesel can be more prone to deposit built up on the turbine blades which can lead to issues.

I would imagine there would be a higher number of turbo diesel cars in Ireland compared to turbo petrols so it would be more common to hear about them failing on a diesel

Nissan doctor

sean1141 wrote: »

I would imagine there would be a higher number of turbo diesel cars in Ireland compared to turbo petrols so it would be more common to hear about them failing on a diesel

Very true, this is why turbo's are often lumped in with the perceived reliability problems of modern diesels when really its just that diesels are the only time most people come in contact with turbo's.