Focus ST broken turbo :(

matt100 · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:24

Looks like my turbo has had it.. it makes a chirping noise when it starts and the engineer had a quick look today and reckons its the turbo blades running against the inside of the casing

Couple of Qs if this is the case..

1) I've done 62913 miles so I'm out of warranty but the car is 2.5yrs old, do you think (as I do lol!) that i have a claim for them to pay some or all of the repair bill?

2) What do you reckon the bill is likely to be?

3) Its still on finance with ford.. Does this affect point 1 or am I in a position where if they quote me a fortune and won't budge on payment I can just tell them to keep it?

Etc etc etc...

Also the guy told me I needed to leave it idling after every decent journey to let the turbo cool down.. I remember being told this a million years ago with an old car but i really thought that wouldn't be the case with an everyday ford? I really haven't got the time to be leaving it idling after every run and if that was essential should they perhaps have mentioned that when I picked it up?

It also went in for a service about 2 weeks ago and I told them about a slight noise and they gave it back saying it was fine

Gutted tbh...

Bakedgoods · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:27

My mate is a mechanic and he said the same thing about leaving turbos

paradigm · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:27

Wait, the car is out of warranty at 60,000 miles and 2.5 years?

What happened to the remainder of your 3rd year?

EDIT:

And as for leaving it idling, I just drive the last mile or so of the journey off boost. But the easiest way is to buy a turbo timer.

merlin · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:30

Who has diagnosed the problem exactly? A Ford "engineer"?

Re the warranty - is it 60k or 3 years whichever the sooner?

Actually - who cares - that fault has not developed suddenly - it's developed over time - certainly it's started before you hit 60k. I'd be kicking up a stink starting from right now.

needmorespeed · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:31

paradigm said:
Wait, the car is out of warranty at 60,000 miles and 2.5 years?

What happened to the remainder of your 3rd year?

EDIT:

And as for leaving it idling, I just drive the last mile or so of the journey off boost. But the easiest way is to buy a turbo timer.

I'm guessing it 60k miles or 3 years warranty as he has gone over 60k miles that ends the warranty

paradigm · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:32

needmorespeed said:
I'm guessing it 60k miles or 3 years warranty as he has gone over 60k miles that ends the warranty

Pretty pathetic warranty, I'd be kicking up a stink as merlin says. There is no way this "fault" just happened this week. It will have started to happen before 60,000 miles.

antijoke · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:33

RE the finance question, you would have to look at the halves and thirds option.

Are warranties not normally 3 years OR 60k miles which ever comes first? And I imagine it may take Ford some time to prove the fault developed before the 60k mark if you went down that route.

You should really be warming the engine up before hooning it and letting the turbo cool before turning off the engine, and you can hardly class the Focus ST turbo as an everyday Ford. Sounds like you abused her now she is broken.

Prophet · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:34

paradigm said:
But the easiest way is to buy a turbo timer.

Depends how the turbo is cooled.

Far better to take it easy for the last couple of miles as you suggested. That way the turbo is gettin a nice flow of oil/water rather than letting it idle with low fluid pressure, using a turbo timer.

4T5 · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:34

For ALL Performance car owners with Turbos.

Yes you should let your car tick over BEFORE you switch it off for at least 20-30 seconds. A Decent performance car will have a timer built in to the ignition that lets the car run on for this period before automatically switching itself off.

You have ****** your turbo, You should pay for a new one.

Matt82 · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:38

drive off boost for the last part of the journey and you wont have to leave it idling for anywhere near as long

merlin · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:40

Not cooling down can kill the oil seal(s), which is fine, but why would that then lead to the blades touching the casing?

matt100 · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:41

I live a couple of miles from any motorways so it does get a nice gentle run before it gets any serious acceleration (generally a queue to the motorway and a queue off it!) furthermore I drive it 30 miles to work and 30 miles back and then occasionally to my customer which is about 200 miles away..

All of which involve a slow run to the motorway then a 6th gear cruise.. I almost never get to boot it FFS!

anticonscience said:
you can hardly class the Focus ST turbo as an everyday Ford.

Really?

Like.. really? Its hardly exotica is it? Its a focus with a volvo engine in it and chavvy seats.

mattyprice4004 · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:43

My mate killed the turbo is his Scooby by not letting that cool down, used to hooooooon it and then turn it straight off.

I always give mine 10-15 secs, my road's countryside and very deserted so it's hard to give it a last couple of easy miles

antijoke · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:44

No it's hardly exotica granted, but what I meant by my comment was that it's not your average 1.6TDCi run about, it's a hot hatch that one would assume people who buy said vehicle know how to treat them.

matt100 · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:45

I just don't do that.. residential streets/kids/speedbumps etc on the way to my house, I always always take it easy coming and going to the house.

matt100 · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:47

anticonscience said:
No it's hardly exotica granted, but what I meant by my comment was that it's not your average 1.6TDCi run about, it's a hot hatch that one would assume people who buy said vehicle know how to treat them.

I don't really want this to descent into an argument but I do look after it.. its serviced, not booted cold, not bounced off the limiter etc etc etc. Granted its not concours but I'm not a kid drag racing around shopping centres either.

Firestar_3x · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:48

merlin said:
Not cooling down can kill the oil seal(s), which is fine, but why would that then lead to the blades touching the casing?

Overheating and extra wear on the main shaft bearing, hot turbo shaft + oil being left when you turn the car off can cause oil sludge and pellets to form, carbon deposits build up causing less oilflow?

antijoke · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:49

Sorry if you think I was trying to argue with you, was just offering my 2 cents, then explaining my comment. Good luck getting it sorted. And if you have no luck, look into the halves and thirds ruling on your finance.

4T5 · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:50

Ignore him.
I think it's possible for you to have bust the seals causing movement or maybe swelling which is causing the movement as the blades heat & swell a tad, Tolerances are very close these days.
I wouldn't worry to much about it & just get your wallet out for a new turbo & remember to let it tick over before you switch off. No biggy no dramallamas just live & learn.

Fr0dders · 23 Apr 2009 at 09:51

ignore the bullies

how somebody can come to the conclusion you're the sort to abuse your car over one or two internet posts i dont know.

Usually, making sure you drive the last part of your journey off boost is enough to make sure you dont kill it prematurely.

If you've been doing this, i would definately be approaching your local ford dealer for A) a formal diagnosis and confirmation and B) with an approach to getting it done under warranty, on the basis you logged this at the last service, but was told it was "fine"

Because you raised your concerns at the last service, you've got proof this was happpenning long before the warranty ran out.

Focus ST broken turbo :(

Capodecina