Hi All

Went away on hol for 3 weeks

Came back and ran car for short run (10 miles)

Went to work next morning and after 5 miles the engine died suddenly under acceleration.

RAC thought it was fuel pump but turns out that bearings of turbo impeller seized. Dealer is replacing hoses/gaskets as well so not sure if it "blew"or just "seized".

Anyway, surprised a turbo would go this soon.

I have a friend with a Golf (160 engine X reg and 200k) and the car sounds like a siren as the turbo spins up.....)

No harm done as still 4 months of manufacters warranty to go .

Any other similar reports with the 130 bhp VAG Tdi recently?

bren

PS Skoda assist / RAC = excellent, tow home then deliver courtesy car (free for 48hrs) to my work address

Yeh my 07 Plate Fabia vRS has 15K on the clock. I am now on my third turbo - and having driven home from work today it looks like this is on its way out as well as she seems to be loosing power.

I am nothing short of stunned and baffled to be honest.

plenty of turbos going , but on the other hand plenty on big miles also

so its a bit hit and miss , frequent oil changes helps , plus letting the turbo cool down after a quick run

Your 3rd in 15k?????

I would suspect something else amiss there.

Turbo's can go for several reasons.....not letting it spin down after a blast (not as prone as petrols for this to be a problem due to lower turbo temps but nevertheless), not changing the oil often enough (caused lots and lots of turbo failures on 320d and 330d's due to service intervals that were too high), running low on oil etc etc.......and then they could just be poor build quality.

The turbo used on the PD 150/ 160 I've heard is far better in the build quality stakes.

Do they know what's caused the turbos to seize? It may well point to a more serious problem, like oil starvation....

Chris

3 turbos in 15k :eek:

Ive gone through 2 in 25k and i thought i was doing well

I rag my car from dusk till dawn so its not supprising.

____

john

Well after it went the first time about 5 weeks ago I got myself a turbo timer, despite always letting it run and cool down for a good three minutes. However about three weeks ago it started going into limp mode all the time, and the fault code was low boost (sporadic). It then started to feel laggy, down on power, and eventually went into limp mode after a few minutes of driving - then the CEL light came on and thats when I took it into the garage. They said the turbo was again about to blow and spitting loads of oil into the manifold. It went in the day after boxing day and I got her back two days ago with a third turbo.

Now, driving back from work today its starting to feel abit laggy again, and I'd give it about a week before she starts limping again and the cycle repeats itself. :(

The garage have been fantastic but they did say they have had a fair few KKK's fail and they where going to put something different on pending SUK's approval - but that never happened. Apparantly they didnt really have a case so just whacked on another KKK - and well....I'd give it about two weeks.

The wife had her turbo fail at about 10K. All has been well for the last 30K

hmmnnn...... thanks for replies guys

I guessed i wouldn't be the only one.... and it seems some have considerably worse prob than me!

I'll try and do spin down after point and squirt driving in future.

One question for the unfortunates - how much does replacement turbo/hoses cost when it is out of warranty?

cheers

bren

hmmnnn...... thanks for replies guys

I guessed i wouldn't be the only one.... and it seems some have considerably worse prob than me!

I'll try and let the turbo cool down after point and squirt motoring in future...

One question for the unfortunates - how much does replacement turbo/hoses cost when it is out of warranty?

cheers

bren

hmmnnn...... thanks for replies guys

I guessed i wouldn't be the only one.... and it seems some have considerably worse prob than me!

I'll try and let the turbo cool down after point and squirt motoring in future...

One question for the unfortunates - how much does replacement turbo/hoses cost when it is out of warranty?

cheers

bren

1 to 1.5k :(

Yeh my 07 Plate Fabia vRS has 15K on the clock. I am now on my third turbo - and having driven home from work today it looks like this is on its way out as well as she seems to be loosing power.

I am nothing short of stunned and baffled to be honest.

I am too!

Thats taking the ****.

I know Octavia 2's are common but not like that

1500 quid for a new turbo?! ****...

Well, they can last a long time too - mines done 131k, and its in great condition.

I think they need to be treated with respect, but at the same time they need to be worked hard too to keep them nice and clean and free

3 in 15k sounds like they are fixing the symptom and not the problem.

1500 quid for a new turbo?! ****...

If you can do DIY, you are looking at about £30 of gaskets and £250 for a second hand turbo, assuming the turbo is still intact. If the turbine has shattered then you may need some replacement pipework and an IC.

Dont forget to check the exhaust and cat for any blockages.

I'm struggling to think what may be causing repeat turbo failure... Increased back pressure maybe? Possibly actuation problem? Oil starvation?

mine wasn't treated with respect (driving school car) and mine was as good as new after 80k, (so was the clutch) no problems with the turbo at all...... and as for turbo timers ect, mine would be run one moment then stalled (turned off) the next, still no problems....

the fiat is now up to 28k (remapped at 4k) and suffers the same treatment, and thats fine too....... (and I don't wait for it to warm up before booting it ect , dont "run them in gently" ect, and have no problems....

must be some other factor causing these blow ups... surely?!

I heard of one recently that has had 2 turbochargers in the space of 3000 miles and 3 months, (Both aftermarket) The first one was turbodynamics which was a VNT and the vanes seized causing shaft failure, the 2nd was an AET turbo with a straight broken shaft. AET recon that the first turbo failure blocked the cat with oil causing large back pressures at full boost and snapping the shaft of their turbine. This is yet to be confirmed though.

I agree with Chrispy, the biggest reason why they go is driver error as they don't let them cool down properly.

The last mile needs to be steady, not revving it high, then when you stop let it cool down for about 30 seconds before you turn it off.

All this is news to me. Could someone quickly point out how the best practice for keeping my turbo working for a long time.

Specifically about letting it cool, but also about whether I should stop driving like a granny.

Cheers.

Read post #20

it is essential to cool them down properly,

warming them up before working them hard is good mechanical symphony for engine's and transmissions.

As for driving like a granny everywhere that can be as bad, as they will coke up quickly.

So warm it up, dont labour it, or rag the tits off it, then cool it down and you should be fine.

This should explain a few things as regards letting the turbo cool:

IME, leaving the engine running long enough to fit the steering lock and get all my stuff together from inside the car has seen me right over the 58k I've had my car (fingers crossed! ) TBH, I gather it's only really a problem if you were to go from motorway speeds to stopped almost immediately. In practice most people do at least some driving on slower roads before stopping, which will probably be enough...

That's small comfort I'm sure for those whose turbos have been going on a regular basis, but as TomvRS has said, it may well be that something else is the matter, and the symptom is turbo failure.

As for the 'giving it stick' thing goes, you should get it up to at least 4000rpm (4500+ ideally) and hold it there briefly at least once every few trips. This will help clear out the soot not only from the turbo, but also from the EGR, cat and silencer, which will all go to extending the turbo's life...

HTH

Read post #20

it is essential to cool them down properly,

warming them up before working them hard is good mechanical symphony for engine's and transmissions.

Further to this, the turbo on the Fabia vRS isn't water-cooled as is mentioned in the article, and while the PD-spec oil is very good at resisting the high temperatures that can occur inside the turbo spindle bearing, you will need to make at least some effort towards letting the turbo cool (as per my previous post will probably be OK*)

*The author of this post accepts no responsibility if it turns out that his opinions are in fact a pile of horse-$hit...

mine wasn't treated with respect (driving school car) and mine was as good as new after 80k, (so was the clutch) no problems with the turbo at all...... and as for turbo timers ect, mine would be run one moment then stalled (turned off) the next, still no problems....

the fiat is now up to 28k (remapped at 4k) and suffers the same treatment, and thats fine too....... (and I don't wait for it to warm up before booting it ect , dont "run them in gently" ect, and have no problems....

A man after my own heart

Diesel turbo's don't get anywhere near as hot as petrol turbos and therefore don't require "spinning" down - look at how many diesel repmobiles and taxis are abused and then just switched off. Most make astronomical miles without ever needing to replace the turbo.

Chris