It's a Subaru. They're supposed to do that
Modern Turbo Engine Reliability and Durability
- Thread starter wolverine86
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4WD
$50 site donor 2024
If only Crown Vic’s had turbos - it would be different here
In our 2019 1.5t CRV AWD I elected to move up to M1 0w30 and will probably use the last 2 cans of BG CVT 303 when the service is due. Only has 11,000 miles, but if I decide to do more than the PRL Silicone Intake Hose and AEM Dryflow filter, then I will move over to Redline CVT and Oil. I recall a neighbor had a new Ford SUV with Twin Turbos or Ecoboost and they smoked the transmission early on. I'd be looking into better fluids than the oem and possibly thicker, oil or transmission cooler, shorter intervals and possibly a turbo timer
So legendary it come with its own class action lawsuit. I got my notice. I owned three samples I think, but maybe my '93 Lincoln mark Viii doesn't count since It had a FOUR-CAM V8. My 2001 Bullitt had a cast aluminum intake not the sometimes problematic plastic intake.
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I'm in the camp of believing turbos are likely less reliable than NA motors simply do to the added complexity. Given the option I'll always pick an NA motor over a turbo. Nonetheless, my wife's 2015 X1 has a turbo. We bought the vehicle in 2019 four years off it's lease with around 58K miles on it at the time. It's been a great vehicle. She had a non turbo'd 2005 X3 before the X1, which was also very reliable and a great car. I was hesitant to get a turbo'd vehicle but that was the only option for that model X1 available so we decided to give it a shot. We take really good care of our vehicles, always garage or cover them, and we've not had a single issue with the X1, now at 110K miles or so. But we drive it conservatively, not constantly stomping on the gas and/or driving like an idiot, so I'm hoping it will last well over 200K miles. It's scary fast when the turbo kicks in, almost too much for me. I'm actually not that crazy about that feature of turbo'd motors but it is what it is.
I guess time will tell if today's turbocharged vehicles do better than yesteryear's did (80's).
I guess time will tell if today's turbocharged vehicles do better than yesteryear's did (80's).
Whiteblock Volvo engines have good reliability and durability. But are they modern?
I’m in the camp of engineering matters far more than configuration. Turbo? Sure, if the rest of the engine is properly designed and made. I will take a well-designed turbo over many of the garbage NA engines being built.
There were a lot of engines made between “today” and the 1980s. I’ve got several of them. They are very reliable.
What part of "wonderfully reliable" don't you understand?
I fall into these categories: Redline and aggressive driving. I go down the I70 engine, engine braking at 6,000 rpm or going uphill at 6,000 rpm. Here you go:
Perhaps I misunderstood what you meant.
Was your post an attempt at humor?
Because it still falls short, as does this post.
Whenever people quote the "complexity" of a turbo on a modern engine as a negative, I giggle a bit. Compared to various modes of VVT, intake runner tuning, DoD/AFM, hybrid systems, torque-vectoring AWD, variable displacement, and planetary CVTs, turbos are stone-age technology and mechanically very simple.
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Yeah except that 1) turbos historically have not been shown to be uber reliable. They may be simple, but they're under tremendous stress so add one more possible point of failure to a vehicle - one more complexity, and 2) all those other things you mentioned are indeed complex, and I don't consider any of them particularly reliable either.
Sam_Julier
$50 Site Donor 2024
Like my 1992 Mercedes Benz 300D 2.5 turbo.
Stunningly well engineered.
Drive it as hard as you want all day long. With the proper fluids and meticulous maintenance it will run a very long time.
My wife’s turbo Volvo has been extremely reliable. It has a Mitsubishi turbo though so perhaps that has something to do with it. 2002 and 225k miles.
People dog on the new Tacoma because it is turbo charged. The most popular Toyota truck on the planet has a turbo.
People dog on the new Tacoma because it is turbo charged. The most popular Toyota truck on the planet has a turbo.
I’m more afraid of the dash electronics failing than anything else. Give me a name brand radio with BT and I’m happy. I don’t need any nanny features, touch screens etc. Pretty much everything new seems to have that unfortunately.
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This is a good point. I have personal experience with VVT being a source of failure when it went out on my mom's at-the-time Honda CR-V (which my son now owns) during a trip from northern Alabama to Florida. The vehicle ran but it ran a bit rough and of course the check engine light was on. Being on the road, we took it to a mechanic near where we were staying in Florida and he quickly diagnosed it as the VVT solenoid. For some vehicles at least, it would seem that a turbo would have been about the same price to replace as that VVT solenoid was (around $500 or a bit more including labor). Of course, nowadays many vehicles are likely to have both VVT and a turbo!
The auto industry today is going to these devices to wring more performance out of an engine and increase fuel economy to meet ever increasing government regulations.
I don't disagree that the other systems aren't particularly reliable, but a turbo as a component is a lot less complex than a computer-controlled VVT system, and relatively easy to change (easier than timing belt changes, which on here seem to be considered on the same difficulty level as buttering toast correctly).
I don't know that I'd say turbos are unreliable, especially when you include industrial and ag applications. The most stress comes from when a turbo the size of a miniature hamster wheel is slapped onto an engine with less displacement than a bottle of Coke, and the manufacturers crank boost to try and offset the otherwise gutless nature of the engine.
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