How long should a modern turbo last?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 13, 2013
Messages
9,322
Location
FL, USA
The girlfriend has a 2014 Jetta 1.8T. Its daily driven in a daily driven manor, not abused but not treated like a garage queen (also gets wrung out every now and then). It has had 2 10K oil changes at the dealer, currently has 21K miles and moving forward will have 5K OCI's with 502.00 oil. It has been fed top tier fuel since about 15,000 miles, before that it got fuel from a high volume chain. Just wondering what the average life expectancy of a modern daily driven turbo is. We plan on keeping this car for the long haul.
 
Depends on how susceptible it is to coking ... If not bad, it's good for at least 150,000
smile.gif
 
If fed a high quality 502 vw oil , and all preventative maintenance is done. Expect from 120K to 150K on a modern well maintained turbo. Ive seen professionally lifespans ranging from as low as 25k to 200k , just depends on the vehicles maintenance .
 
I'd expect over 150k as long as its not abused... (too long oci, beat on when cold in winter etc)

OF course thats in general.. VW no idea really on that model. I wouldnt worry about it certainly.
 
Pretty long. Like 150k+ miles. I'm at 141k miles on the factory turbo on my Cruze. Maintenance is key. Keep the oil changed on schedule with full synthetic and the coolant topped off. Modern turbos are water and oil cooled, so they are more robust. They heat up faster from a cold start, stay at a more consistent temperature, and the water cooling draws away heat from the bearings when the engine is off. All that prevents sludging or coking, which kills the turbo.
 
Originally Posted By: dblshock
it's all about maintenance and more so engineering..new turbo model without history?


Its the 1.8T EA888. It came out in 2014 which is the year she has.
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
I'd expect over 150k as long as its not abused... (too long oci, beat on when cold in winter etc)

OF course thats in general.. VW no idea really on that model. I wouldnt worry about it certainly.


Not so much worried, more curious. This is the first turbo car I have any experience with. I am used to NA Hondas. I had thought about trading it in the future for a Civic but that wouldn't be financially sound considering trade in. Its been a pretty solid car so far, not to mention fun to drive and economical.
 
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Pretty long. Like 150k+ miles. I'm at 141k miles on the factory turbo on my Cruze. Maintenance is key. Keep the oil changed on schedule with full synthetic and the coolant topped off. Modern turbos are water and oil cooled, so they are more robust. They heat up faster from a cold start, stay at a more consistent temperature, and the water cooling draws away heat from the bearings when the engine is off. All that prevents sludging or coking, which kills the turbo.


You must do plenty of highway driving to rack up miles like that. You are 100K ahead of me in my 2012.
 
longer than the engine lasts, if using top quality oils, filters, and changing them per the book......................this assumes you are not starting it up at 40 below and going immediately to full throttle......or something like that..............
 
My 04' TDI had 177k miles on the original turbo. It still had plenty of pep.

I had a check engine light for the actuator sensor failing, but the code went away. The fix was to replace the turbo.
 
Most modern turbos are variable vein turbos and they can get carboned up and require periodic cleaning, also depending on the design if it has a unison ring to open and close the veins it can get worn out too.
 
The Mits. turbo in the sled motor is original and now 19yrs old. Total mileage is a bit over 215,000mi. Fed a steady diet of synthetic oil and regular filter changes. I do engage in the odd habit of opening the hood at the end of the day so the hot motor can vent and cool down before pulling her into the garage (as if it isn't hot enough already inside in Tx heat.)
 
The life of the engine.

All of the turbo cars in my signature (both Volvos and the MB) have their original turbos. The XC, for example, has 212,000 miles on it.

Use good oil, don't rev the engine until oil flow to the turbo is good, and drive gently for the last 1/2 mile of any trip to let it cool.
 
Last edited:
4K conventional oil changer with 206k on 2005 Subaru Legacy turbo (WRX motor) wagon on the factory turbo.

No idea however it appears they last life of car thus far.
 
I agree the turbo can last the life of the engine if not abused.

* I would have done the 5K OCIs at first and then went out to the 10K OCIs not the other way around.
 
My sister's 740 Turbo went 300K+ miles on original turbo, using regular bulk dino 75% of the time and syn 25%. Oil changes were done at various quick lube shops every 3K miles. She sold the car with no engine issue.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom