I really enjoy his videos. Everything about Turbos explained:

I have 130,000 on our Juke. It's a 1.6 turbo.

I change the oil with factory recommended 5-20 every 5000 miles.

It just runs and runs.

It also has a CVT and it gets a fluid change every 30,000. It works just fine also.

Currently, 180,000 on my truck and I had to replace the cold side charge pipe. Took 15 minutes with a screwdriver and $140 for the part. It’s too early to talk about reliability on the Beetle, GLI, Explorer ST, or Focus ST; they are peppy though. I did have 93,000 trouble free miles on the 2004 Golf TDI when I traded it because it was too small for the five of us.

Yea, that guy is very good, seen lots of his stuff. I remember that video, I think he said a turbo is good if 1) it is a good designn with durable materials, and 2) you maintain it RELIGIOUSLY.

I also heard anohter youtube mechanic say Turbos on deisel engines are another matter, that by nature deisel engines being much more durably built handle turbos very well, much better suited for that technology than gas engines. It makes sense but I don't know myself. If big rigs use turbos I would call that a clue, but I don't know if they do or not.

My friend drives a newer F250 deisel turbo, and it's the bomb. There's zero spin up time I can detect, you step on the gas and you go instantly, and it's remarkably quiet. Amaxing power and technology.

Unfortunately I think most regular drivers don't maintain their turbo vehicles any better than they do their non-turbo cars and light truks. They drive them till they break, then repair or replace them with new ones. Many still do manufacturer recommended oil changes, but that's not enough in the big picture. Many manufacturer fluid change recommendations are pure shit for long vehicle life and reliability.

It depends. Some engines, like most of the Ford Ecoboost family, were not designed properly to take the additional cylinder pressures. The 1.4 in GM cars like the Chevy Cruze and Buick Encore is also a turd. By contrast, the turbo in the Cummins inline-six diesel light trucks is well proven. Improper maintenance kills others, not helped by extended factory oil services, super thin oil (they are down to 0W8 now), and direct injection which dilutes the oil. And they are only proliferating in the first place because of government meddling (smaller engines = incrementally more mpg).

If the turbo itself does fail, you'll be lucky if it only seizes the impeller and just stops working. If you're unlucky, seals can fail and blow oil into the intake (with a diesel this will cause it to "run away"), or blow chunks of themselves into the intake, which kills the rest of the engine. I'm not buying any little turbo engine if I can help it until the bugs have been worked out.

^^^^
Concerns about turbo failure is another reason I bought the GMC 6.6 gasser. But I know several people that have Ford and GMC heavy duty diesel trucks that have not had problems with their turbos over several years.

do you know how many trillions of miles accumulate on turbo motors. Now the EPA has driven lots of stupid decisions that make some of the turbo motors not that great as mfg. try to squeeze both HP and MPG out of the same platform while meeting silly EPA emissions specs. I personally wouldn't suggest anyone get a Tier 4 diesel if you can avoid it in any way. And the same if you can get a gas motor no turbo just do it, you will be way ahead in the long haul. That said in most vehicle classes you don't get to pick from many choices. Myself I've run turbo motors very long lives, all mine surviving in excess of 300K miles per. But part of that is just plain luck.

There are inherent design flaws from manufacturers but I think most issues are due to lack of care and maintenance.

Forget dealer recommended maintenance intervals and change your oil and filter every 3500 miles. That alone will go a long way to extending your engine (and turbo).

We have had two Turbo 2.0 Lincoln MKC's no issues on either with the engine, and we changed oil on time with synthetic.

To add my 5.4 supercharged F150 ran 200K before I traded it this year, never an issue with either the engine or the supercharger, just saying for reference re a forced air engine and daily driving.

We have 2 Audis with the same model turbo engine (5 model years apart, so probably some minor differences). We drive pretty gently overall, and I am fanatical about frequent oil changes. I don't expect the turbos to be the life limiting factor on these vehicles. Probably various sensors or electronic modules will cause problems first.

We currently have 3 turbocharged vehicles: 2020 BMW X3 M40 (twin turbo 3.0l straight six), 2024 Audi Q5 (turbo 2.0l inline 4) and a 2026 Ram Laramie (twin turbo 3.0l straight six). All are wonderful engines. I've had turbo cars for at least 30 years and have never had a turbo induced or turbo failure. Maintain them well, change the oil, and life is good.

That said, I won't have a turbo on any of my airplanes, too much heat and maintenance.

Although my 37hp tractor is turbocharged (diesel) the Civic I bought this summer is the first turbocharged car I've owned so fingers crossed. I'll say this though, the little engine seems ideal in this FWD application. It's small and light yet puts out 200hp @ 6,000 and more impressive 192 pound feet torque at only 1,800 rpm. All while delivering an actual 35 mpg. For reference the larger normally aspirated 2.0 engine in the Civic Sport puts out 158 hp and only 138 pound feet of torque way up at 4,200 rpm. This is night and day different.

As far as long term durability we'll see. I read of oil dilution being a problem with some 2017 and earlier also some head gasket failures with this engine earlier, predominately in heavier Accords and CRVs. But many people on a Civic forum are now up to 150-200,000 miles with no issues, one over 400,000 on his Civic SI with no problems. I planned on changing oil every 5,000 miles or 6 months like I do all my vehicles but I may lower it to 4,000 miles on this one.

OTOH Toyota V6 turbo engines are having problems as are GM normally aspirated 6.2 V8s. A friend's 1 year old GMC Denali with the 6.2 V8 grenaded at only 12,000 miles needing a new engine.

Many turbo diesel semis are good for about three million miles with proper maintenance. The engine can outlast the truck.

I'm on my 6th turbocharged vehicle, luckily none have had any engine related problems.

1982 Mercedes 300SD - Single turbo 3.0 I5 diesel
2016 F150 - 2.7 twin turbo V6
2015 Mercedes C300 - 2.0 turbo 4
2018 Expedition Max - 3.5 twin turbo V6
2020 Ford Explorer - 2.3 turbo 4
2017 Ford Fiesta ST - 1.6 turbo 4

The Mercedes had over 300k on a stopped odometer when we bought it. Also had a stuck wastegate, so it never made any boost.
The others were all under 100k when they left the stable.

Expedition currently is in the mid 70k range & the Fiesta is at 102k

I love the power the turbo's provide. Love my 3.5L ecoboost, especially when towing 4,000-5,000 lbs. A lot more acceleration than Ford 5.0, Chevy 5.3 and 6.0's.

Turbo's are fine as far as longevity as long as you change the oil normally and get on the throttle once in a while.

I still have my 1991 Nissan 300 ZX twin-turbo. It is nearing 100 K miles. I have changed the oil and filter at 3K miles, and because of where I live, and the extreme heat, use Valvoline synthetic 20-50 oil. That oil is no longer made by Valvoline, but I still can find it on E-bay.

I hope it goes a while longer, as it is so nice to drive. I really love this car.

2002 Subaru WRX - 200,000 miles no issues with turbo
2004 Subaru Forester XT - 160,000 miles no issue with turbo (cylinder compression issue possibly due to overheating)
2013 Subaru WRX - 103,000 miles no issues with turbo (had valve lash issues requiring head rebuilds)
2017 Honda Civic Si - 96,000 miles no issues with turbo
2025 Acura Integra Type S - 2000 miles no issues with turbo

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Lefty Sig,

A major cause of premature engine failure in turbo-charged piston aircraft engines, is the pilot. Rapid power reduction in flight causes "shock" cooling. We were always admonished to reduce power gradually, no more than one inch of manifold pressure per minute.

The maintenance guys shuddered when Harry Hot Rod taxied up to the ramp with a high power setting and killed the engine(s) quickly; they preferred Gentle George, who taxied in at idle power and let them cool just a bit before shutting down.

I have never owned a vehicle with a turbo.
What's the most desirable feature that they have to
Offer?

Better gas milage ?

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
I have never owned a vehicle with a turbo.
What's the most desirable feature that they have to
Offer?

Better gas milage ?

Torque, gobs of 'flex your pinky toe' low RPM torque

My little 1.6 turbo 4 makes right around 200hp/200tq
For comparison, the 1.6 non-turbo in my 2 former Civics made about 120hp/110tq & you had to rev them to the moon to get it going.

The twin turbo 3.5 V6 in our Expedition makes 375hp/470tq
Rarely need to use a ton of throttle to get up to speed.