Looks like the blower's gone!

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Vivaro van had engine failure message. Mechanic reckons turbocharger. Looked online and typical part prices are £350 for a 115hp model or £750 for anything with more power. Together with extra cost to get it home, ripoff recovery service - best leave it at that, it'll be an expensive week!

Anyone else been there lately? Group therapy / advice sought!

Are turbo failures a common thing? Have we been unlucky or was it something that does go eventually? Like alternators do.
 

Bonefish Blues

Banging donk
Location
52 Festive Road
They're very reliable nowadays. Maybe get it rebuilt?
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
They 'can' be reliable, then they can't. Have you looked at used prices. My son's on his third turbo on a modified car, current one has held up a couple of years.
 

Jameshow

Veteran
Vivaro van had engine failure message. Mechanic reckons turbocharger. Looked online and typical part prices are £350 for a 115hp model or £750 for anything with more power. Together with extra cost to get it home, ripoff recovery service - best leave it at that, it'll be an expensive week!

Anyone else been there lately? Group therapy / advice sought!

Are turbo failures a common thing? Have we been unlucky or was it something that does go eventually? Like alternators do.

How old is the van? If old what about a s/h one??

Renault aren't to best engines. Turbos and injectors are rubbish tbh.
 

Jody

Stubborn git
Vivaro van had engine failure message. Mechanic reckons turbocharger. Looked online and typical part prices are £350 for a 115hp model or £750 for anything with more power. Together with extra cost to get it home, ripoff recovery service - best leave it at that, it'll be an expensive week!

Anyone else been there lately? Group therapy / advice sought!

Are turbo failures a common thing? Have we been unlucky or was it something that does go eventually? Like alternators do.

Oil starved or dodgy servicing usually. It doesn't take much given they spin at around 100,000rpm using oil as a float bearing.

Is yours a 1.6 or 2.0.
 

Profpointy

Legendary Member
Might as well do an upgrade whilst it's in bits.
How about this one

96E677C1-00DA-47CD-9022-A0221A2163BF.jpeg
 

raleighnut

Legendary Member
the way the car is used has a big effect on Turbo life, if you stop and instantly switch the engine off then the turbine is still spinning but has no oil supply. What you should do is allow the engine to sit at tickover for 10 seconds or so to allow the turbine to 'spool down'

BTW I was working at a SAAB main dealer when they launched the first ever Turbocharged saloon car and that was their advice so this ain't just some internet bollocks but genuine fact
 
OP
OP
T

Time Waster

Veteran
It's a 1.6.

Actually I tend to park up, by backing into the driveway off the road as you're meant to but nobody does, then the engine is kind of left on until I've double checked handbrake, gears on neutral, look around to make sure I'm not to far over either way on the shared driveway, etc. It's probably close to 10 seconds anyway. Didn't know that's the advice though.

Vauxhall vivaro van engines no good? What van that size is good? Trafic is the same, the Mercedes have a rust issue, citreon are smaller, Nissan of some ages are same but newer are different iirc. The scene tax VW is too small, seriously the van tapers in from windows such that if my partner drives me and my son don't fit in the double passenger seats even when he was 6 or 7 when we were looking for a van to convert.

Ford I guess? Mind you knowing the way they built the engines for their pickups and other vehicles sharing that entire, not sure I'd trust Ford engines. Something about cutting costs with a cheap and nasty oil pump that fails causing the engine to fall and need replacement. A known issue that was a recall in countries with better laws for that I believe but in the UK they sell you a new engine with the same weak oil pump ti fail again. A mate got an engine quote 5k from Ford, they found one for 2.5k then offloaded it for a Isuzu pickup. They're farmers so needed it.

I suppose all van brands have issues like cars too. So far this van has been quite cheap to run for what it is. Nothing major being needed until now. Much better than the last car we had when we got this. A seat altea xl was a bit unreliable two alternators, plus various other issues. Oh and the crappy design where the climate control failed because of a £2 switch, well one of two £2 switches. One located behind the dashboard only reached by spending a day taking it all out, fit the switch then another day back in. Or you take the bumper off and various other bits taking day too. Of course you can't know which switch has failed so you could spend a day to find its the other one! All billable labour. Needless to say we didn't fix the climate control!

My best, most reliable car was a humble vauxhall astra.

Our van is a 16 plate vauxhall vivaro 2700 sportive 115bhp. The base model for a 2700 sportive without bi turbo. I believe the bi turbo system is kind of complicated design.
 

Profpointy

Legendary Member
the way the car is used has a big effect on Turbo life, if you stop and instantly switch the engine off then the turbine is still spinning but has no oil supply. What you should do is allow the engine to sit at tickover for 10 seconds or so to allow the turbine to 'spool down'

BTW I was working at a SAAB main dealer when they launched the first ever Turbocharged saloon car and that was their advice so this ain't just some internet bollocks but genuine fact

I've heard that too, including from my local Saab specialist. It does logically make sense too
 
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