Hi everyone I have a Skoda Karoq brand ne 18 registration (July) the first Turbo replacement was just 6 moths aftter delivery a complete new turbo fitted as the turbo actuator arm seized up

First indicated by engine symbol on dash the EPC light then into limp mode and no power so not good for the cars and traffic following behind me on the M23.The vehicle in the garage for 2 weeks.

then 11 months after purchase exactly the same thing again this time on the M3 engine light symbol followed by EPC light so limped home back into the garage again and the same problem diagnosed a turbo actuator arm seizure again so a new Turbo installed No2) and the garage had the vehicle for 2.5 weeks as the part came from Germany.

Then at the beginning of February 2020 exactly the same issue driving along engine light symbol comes on followed by EPC light and into limp mode once again diagnosed fault in the turbo once again and vehicle into garage for 10 days as they took pity on me I think being my 3rd Turbo on the same vehicle.

joking aside in the garage my nickname is Mr Turbo but what amazes me is I have Skoda UK, VW UK and Skoda finance on the case but apparently I am the only person in Europe that this has had 3 turbos fail on the one car  If you are to believe the Dealer, their service department,Skoda UK.VW Uk And Skoda Finance Personally I think this is bull**** and there must be other persons driving Skoda that have had Turbos fail 
I am not a happy bunny

......and the model / engine is..?

The words seize up suggests lack of lubrication

 

If same part keeps seizing, any sensible mechanic would be wondering why it has no oil.  The obvious starting point is either a seal that is supposed to keep oil in leaks, or a blocked oil feed pipe.  As a general rule any turbo that fails will fail again if the feed pipe is not cleared or replaced.
 

I do also wonder if the Op is getting the turbo very hot, by driving along motorway and parking up promptly  (eg at a service station) thus not letting it cool a bit by some local driving before turning off.  If this happens and is combined with cheap fuel, will lead to carbon deposits which could be causing the seizures 

 

What mileage has this done, have their been any overdue oil changes ?

3 hours ago, Briantay58 said:

I am the only person in Europe that has had 3 turbos fail on one car  If you are to believe the Dealer, their service department,Skoda UK.VW Uk And Skoda Finance Personally I think this is bull**** and there must be other persons driving Skoda that have had Turbos fail 
I am not a happy bunny

 

Sorry to hear of your many turbo problems. What engine do you have? It sounds like you have an underlying problem with your engine. I haven't read your whole long post, but maybe the turbo is being starved of oil? Possibly caused by a faulty oil pickup in the sump or something similar. Do you keep your oil topped up. If the turbo keeps failing, I would check the oil every 2,500 miles or so and top up until full every time. Don't over fill, as that can also cause problems.

Edited 25 February, 20206 yr by Carlston

Has to be an underlying fault as has been mentioned does not take a scientist to work that out. Unfortunately sounds like the main dealer doesn’t have any decent mechanics. Be full of your straight out of college “technicians” they may even of had their holy grail “master technician” on the case.

 

4 turbo’s in 2 years is absolutely crazy

Edited 25 February, 20206 yr by BigJase88

 Model is a Skoda Karoq EST 1.0TSISE L 112000+ miles 

5 hours ago, Berisford said:

......and the model / engine is..?

Skoda Karoq EST 1.0 TSI SE L done 12000+ miles 

3 hours ago, SurreyJohn said:

The words seize up suggests lack of lubrication

 

If same part keeps seizing, any sensible mechanic would be wondering why it has no oil.  The obvious starting point is either a seal that is supposed to keep oil in leaks, or a blocked oil feed pipe.  As a general rule any turbo that fails will fail again if the feed pipe is not cleared or replaced.
 

I do also wonder if the Op is getting the turbo very hot, by driving along motorway and parking up promptly  (eg at a service station) thus not letting it cool a bit by some local driving before turning off.  If this happens and is combined with cheap fuel, will lead to carbon deposits which could be causing the seizures 

 

What mileage has this done, have their been any overdue oil changes ?

 

3 hours ago, Carlston said:

 

Sorry to hear of your many turbo problems. What engine do you have? It sounds like you have an underlying problem with your engine. I haven't read your whole long post, but maybe the turbo is being starved of oil? Possibly caused by a faulty oil pickup in the sump or something similar. Do you keep your oil topped up. If the turbo keeps failing, I would check the oil every 2,500 miles or so and top up until full every time. Don't over fill, as that can also cause problems.

It is a Skoda KAROQ  EST 1.0 TSI SE L with 12000+ miles regular checked oil maintained well like all my cars so why 3 Turbos every 6 months it appears they fail it must be a component failure on this size engine I think that the 1 litre engine is underpowered for the heavy vehicle and requires more turbo power to give it the power and acceleration but this idea was given the brush off by the Skoda dealer 

Do you drive fast and suddenly turn your engine off? Or do you drive gently for at least 2 minutes after any fast driving before turning the engine off?

 

When you drive at 70mph on the motorway or fast dual carriageway, the turbo will get hot. Turning the engine off before allowing it to cool by driving gently can damage you turbo's bearings...hence the need for a 2 minute cool down period.

Turb has oil and water coolig. Once you turn of the car, the electric water pump keeps cooling the turbo for about a minute afterwards just to prevent these issues. Read the 1.2 or 1.0 ssp manual from wv, it is stated in there. 

Edited 26 February, 20206 yr by krigl

@Briantay58

Out of interest is the oil your car uses VW508 /509 so 0w 20 FS IV ?

 

Interesting times ahead maybe for VW group engines using this, maybe in particular 1.0tsi 3 cylinders.

 

@Carlston 

You might notice that modern Turbo engines do not only have the set up that @krigl mentions,  but also Stop / Start.

ie you come to a stop and the engine stops. Unless you disable stop / start.  The engineers did think on this when they designed this in over a decade ago.

Edited 26 February, 20206 yr by Roottootemblowinootsoot

59 minutes ago, krigl said:

Turb has oil and water coolig. Once you turn of the car, the electric water pump keeps cooling the turbo for about a minute afterwards just to prevent these issues. Read the 1.2 or 1.0 ssp manual from wv, it is stated in there. 

As above.

 

I hear the sound of circulation for a while when the engine goes off

Are you 100% sure they changed the complete turbo unit c/w actuator each time?

 

I suspect they have just changed the electric actuator which is the normal cheaper option. There have been many failures of OE Mahle supplied electric actuators on older Tsi engines, often because the simple wastegate lever mechanism gets stiff and sticky and overloads the actuator.

 

In your case it could be a faulty sticking wastegate mech due to manufacture or debris. Changing the actuator only gives a temporary fix as the new actuator is still constantly overloaded.

 

Other less likely possibility is the run on electric water cooling pump is not working as it should. When you turn off the ignition you should see movement of coolant in the reservoir and hear the small electric motor running for a minute or so.

 

The oil pump is fully variable pressure controlled electronically. Another possible area of fault though less likely.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE!!

Warranty repairs do not attract extended time beyond the standard vehicle warranty. So if they fix it again say with only 3 month left on the car warranty, the repair will only be covered for that 3 months.

 

Consider getting Skoda UK to commit to offering a full 2 year warranty on the repair (in my experience very difficult, be persistent and get it in writing). Otherwise either take extended warranty out, or get shut of the car before the warranty expires.

1 minute ago, xman said:

 

Consider getting Skoda UK to commit to offering a full 2 year warranty on the repair (in my experience very difficult, be persistent and get it in writing). Otherwise either take extended warranty out, or get shut of the car before the warranty expires.

 

If the OP offerers to pay a small contribution to the cost  of the repair the part would be covered for 2 years under the  Part / labour Guarantee 

4 minutes ago, Auric Goldfinger said:

 

If the OP offerers to pay a small contribution to the cost  of the repair the part would be covered for 2 years under the  Part / labour Guarantee 

 

He could try that, but as the car is still in original factory  warranty period, I suspect Skoda will not allow that. It usually applies only to goodwill repairs out of factory warranty period.

 

He will be covered under Consumer law as goods not fit for purpose but all the hassle of legal threats or small claims.

 

Main thing is if it fails yet again, then it will obviously never be fixed with any confidence. IMO the OP should not risk it happening shortly after his warranty expires and get a £1500 repair bill and possibility of problems again in the future.

Edited 26 February, 20206 yr by xman

1 hour ago, xman said:

Are you 100% sure they changed the complete turbo unit c/w actuator each time?

 

I suspect they have just changed the electric actuator which is the normal cheaper option. There have been many failures of OE Mahle supplied electric actuators on older Tsi engines, often because the simple wastegate lever mechanism gets stiff and sticky and overloads the actuator.

 

In your case it could be a faulty sticking wastegate mech due to manufacture or debris. Changing the actuator only gives a temporary fix as the new actuator is still constantly overloaded.

 

 

Sounds very plausible and it could be that even the workshop sheets, parts issued from the stores are to be doubted, only sure way is to UV mark the current turbo if there is another failure.

 

Mechanics could be on a bonus scheme and earn more for beating the allowed hours and have a very lucrative sideline selling new & unused parts. When I was in my 20's myself and my pals all bought our Ford service parts cash from another pal down the pub who was the highest paid Ford mechanic and who lived in a house and took family holidays better than a stockbroker or bank manager.

On the first turbo malfunction the Service Department actually brought out the Turbo which was a big unit and showed me the complete turbo unit scheduled to go back to Skoda for investigation and on the second incident it was the same garage and the turbo unit was changed once again and on this third one Skoda UK /VW UK are investigating and they are in touch with the Service manager of the Dealer and I am awaiting the results of their investigation and I should know this Thursday hopefully getting some answers 

@Briantay58

Where are you. 

Just to give an idea of which dealership you have providing a rather incompetent after sales?

 

I hope they are providing a nice Courtesy car.

 

My 2020 1.0 Karoq has just had EPC + Engine light come on, and now low power - Me to my wife - Its almost like I no longer have a turbo,,, fsh, 34000 miles. I guess i'm about to find out.