Ecoboost turbo problems
 

My sister and her husband bought a 2017 Expedition with the ecoboost engine 18 months ago, with 75k miles on it. Fast forward and they call me asking what I think about their turbo situation. Turns out the check engine light keeps coming on for the last 3-4 months. Her husband says it's "related to the turbo not making boost, I don't know" as he's not a car person. They took it to a shop and the shop said they were experiencing failure of both turbos, oil in them where it shouldn't be and failed bearings. They were quoted $3500 to replace them, which may be slightly high but if you factor in the cost of $1600 just for both turbos, it's not completely out of line in my opinion. They've only put 8k miles on it and during that time the oil has been changed twice already so they're definitely doing basic maintenance on it. I changed the spark plugs on it last summer and they were quite worn.

So... is this a thing? These turbos wear out this fast? My sister is concerned if they should fix it or just dump the car.

If the truck had 75k on it when they bought it, who knows how the previous owner treated it.

Tell them to take it to an O'Reillys the next time the engine light comes on and have them put their obd2 scanner on it. They will do it for nothing and will tell them what the code(s) is/are and what it/they mean. Then take it to a Ford dealer and have them put their reader on it They and you may be surprised at the results of this process.

The check engine light came on in my '16 Silverado Duramax pickup about two weeks ago and the above is what I did. The end result was that my Chevy dealer replaced the DEF tank on my truck at no expense to me. There was an extended warranty on the things due to faulty fluid level sensors having been installed in some of them when they were made.

Make friends with the service personnel at the local Ford dealership! On anything as new as 2017, there may be factory help, if there is a factory problem.

Like Stuart mentioned; difficult to know how the first 75k was maintenanced.

My 1979 Ford Turbo Cobra runs today about the same as it did in 1979 when I special-ordered the car.

The only major expense have been 3 electronic ignitions in 60k miles. Sure would like to upgrade to points/condenser!

Jon.

My 2013 F150 has 62k one it and it has been reliable no issues with the Turbos

A fleet of Ecoboost 2015-2016 Ford Transit 350's I service have been wonderful on the engine and transmission side. None of them have had ANY serious mechanical issues to engine hard parts. Some of the 2015's have over 200K miles on them now. Body hardware, sliding doors, chassis electrical, steering columns, brakes are another story. All the above items need constant parts replacement from just general low quality components and undersize components. But the engines have been great. We maintain them with only full synthetic oil and religious oil changes at 5000 miles, period. Changing oil when the oil life monitor tells you to is asking for trouble IMO, like oil in the turbo's, and dead bearings.

This.

I wonder if the previous owners let the engine idle down before shutting it off.
I always did that with my old 3.5 ecoboost and never had an issue.
You mention failed bearings.
They say you’re supposed to let the turbo cool down but I’ve always seen it as bad to shut the engine off when the turbos could be spinning at higher RPMs, how’s the oil supply to them after you shut it down if they’re still spinning fast ?

Why I believe that turbosuperchargers need an EGR (two if biturbo) and if high after a hard pull, need to idle until the come back down. Just like walking a horse.

My NA tow car has oil pressure and temperature plus coolant temp and trans temp readouts and were stock. Last NA Corvair had dual CHTs. I like to know what is going on.

The Ecoboost turbos have been very reliable, but anything can go bad. I have an Ecoboost F150 and frequent the bigger sites. Both going bad? Doubtful, but who knows what the first owner did. I’d take it to a dealer.

Call Ford's main office directly and ask for recalls or warranty info on it. That's how I got an extended warranty on our 2014 Focus we bought used in 2016, because of the transmission causing front wheel drive shudder.

Dealers will tell you all kinds of BS so they can charge up the wazoo to repair it. That what the crooked Ford dealer did to us. Ford gave use a 150,000 mile warranty on the transmission and told us to go to another ford dealer for repairs After the 5th time at a different Ford dealer it's working ok...... knock on wood.

I have posted this previously in other threads, and it may/may not be applicable to the Ecoboost.

When I special-ordered the 1979 Ford Turbo-Cobra, the magazines were making all kinds of less than glowing comments about the turbo, type of oil, price of tea, whatever.

So I called the Ford main office, and asked the question about type of oil. I was referred to someone, asked the question again, and was told "I don't know, but hold on". Some 3~5 minutes later another gentleman came on the line and asked if he could help. I repeated the question. He laughed, said you must have been reading the magazines. He told me he was the engineer on the turbo project (by the way, Tom V. knows this gentleman) and if I planned to run the " " out of the car, I needed to make certain that the oil had an anti-frothing additive, as the turbo spins up to more than 30,000 RPM. He suggested using the Ford Motorcraft oil. But he told me more important than the choice of oil was to make certain to idle the engine for 30 seconds prior to turn-off. This because the turbo uses engine oil pressure, and if the engine was turned off before the turbo spun down, the pressure would go away, and as a result the turbo could experience bearing failure. I listened, and have always used Ford Motorcraft oil, and idled the engine prior to shut-off. The engine still runs about as well as it did when I brought it home.

I have always been impressed that Ford thought enough of a customer to put an engineer on the phone to help the customer.

Jon

I have never seen a ECOBOOST turbo failure that was not caused by something else.
Shutting off the engine and running for the bathroom after a long high speed 75+ mph on the highway for an hour or more. Garrett Turbos, who made the turbo on Jon's 1979 Mustang, was telling people this back in 1979.

This is one reason why manufacturers went to water cooled turbos on some applications.
Not all turbos have water cooling as it is not necessary unless you abuse the turbo by not letting the thing cool off for a couple of minutes if you have been driving at high speeds. Every day driving on city streets (without the high turbo speeds) will never cause harm to the turbo(s).

I remember that conversation, Jon, and very happy that you still have the car today.
Even in 1979, I was the guy they sent people to if they had Turbo questions, and Ford had 38,000 engineers at the Engineering Center in Dearborn, Michigan back in those days. I also followed the EPA Testing on that vehicle.
My Boss was Homer Perry who was the race manager for Ford for the 1966,1967,1968,& 1969 Ford GT-40 Le Mans
wins. Another Engineer I believe you spoke with was Henry "Hank" Dertian, who worked with me on the program and was later a big part of the later SVO Turbo Mustangs and the T-Bird Turbo programs.

Tom V.

The picture is of a 1968 corvette with twin turbos that I bought the turbos for in 1977 and we installed them along with Corvette Mechanical Fuel Injection on a friends car.

Ben M, If the dealership has not gone over the WHOLE Turbo System, and CHECKED FOR LEAKS, they are a bit premature in condemning the turbos, take it to a dealer who knows something about Turbo Systems and have him contact a Factory Dealer Service Representative from Dearborn Michigan.

Tom V.

A few ?
 

How does it run otherwise? Not making boost it would be pretty gutless. I'm not familiar with this type of turbo but does it have a waste gate or variable vane?

Variable vane used on Ford Diesel Trucks for several years.
Conventional Vane turbos used on Gas vehicles, like the 2017 Expedition.

Tom V.

They took it to the local Ford dealer late last week. Dealer wanted $450 just to look at it (after having spent $375 at an independent shop already). They indicated they knew how the turbo system worked and that there were zero recalls for this car or engine and the only way a turbo fails on an Ecoboost is abuse and there’s no way it would be covered under any kind of warranty. And that it would be close to 5 figures to fix (without actually looking at it).

My sister and brother in law both got so mad at that answer they traded it in down the road at a Honda dealership for a used minivan. They came out money ahead on the deal too. Probably my sister’s last Ford - moms last Ford ended similarly at the dealer as well. Oh well. I tried!

Did they check the Honda out thoroughly?

They don’t know much about cars. There was damage to the front bumper that the dealer tried to hide that they found and got them to knock off some of the price.

I hope everything works out for them. Trading a pickup for a minivan is a little odd, very different vehicles. Honda has had more than their share of mechanical issues as well. Most of their 4-cyl engines are big oil burners so make sure they check their oil often until they get a feel for the usage. Honda has had to replace pistons and rings under warranty on several million 2.4L engines. The Odyssey has a history of transaxle issues as well. The V-6 engine has been OK for the most part. IMO, it's a little unfair to blame a manufacturer, (Ford) for engine problems that have occurred with a previous owner over an extended time. It could have been a lease truck and never had a single oil change until it was turned back in. See that all the time and that will kill any turbo engine. 300 HP small turbo engines need meticulous service on time to live a long happy life.

They had an Expedition SUV.

Why in the heck didn't take it to O'Reillys or Advance auto or the like and let them put a scanner on it for nothing? Duh!

My stepson Mechanic recently left the Ford Dealer ship because their engines have too many bad designs: the most modern little engine has an oil-wetted timing BELT!

The 1-liter Ecoboost 3-CYL has a oil-wet timing belt! That engine is gonna tank the Ford Motor Company.

So one of those came in for "repair" (belt wore to pieces, interference valves bent, probably broke guides, pistons, bearings ); he said "no it's totalled", some words went and he flat-quit. He has been smiling every day since.

Does nobody read? They knew the codes and that they were related to turbo boost issues. My brother in law has a scanner as did the shop they took it to - he got the scanner last year because I told him he needed to get one if he wanted to know why the CEL kept coming on every other week. Reading the code isn’t going to change anyone’s mind when they see failed oily turbos and are quoted $4-9k in repairs.

One of my positions before retirement, I managed a service Dept at a High volume Linc/Merc dealer. I still stay in touch with many from there, now a Ford/Lincoln dealer. It's also my understanding that they have a slew of issues with these "ecoboost" systems from the comments of the employees. I've personally witnessed many with blue smoke coming out of the tailpipe.

I hate getting involved in these type of conversations as they usually turn ugly because of loyalty issues.

I have a 2013 F150 4x4 super crew with a 3.5 Ecoboost that I am prepping to put on my car lot. It keeps popping underboost codes. A new turbo from Rock Auto is less than $400. Not sure what book time is ... I'll have the guy at my shop throw it on in probably 4-5ish hours. I bill the lot $100/hr. Hopefully it only needs one turbo. Hell... I might get lucky and it'll be something stupid and only be a $50 fix..... which I doubt as these late model vehicles never are....... I can't complain.. I only paid $8000 for it.

They need to quit letting computer programs design everything...

Well, going to have some first-hand experience soon; have a special-order to be delivered in August. First new car I have purchased since 1979. It is a twin-turbo. This one for the wife. Mine are 1968, 1974, 1979, and 1998.

Jon.

Mine are 1968, 1995, 1995, 2013.

I did not notice that the car had been scanned and the codes were known. My apologies.

Sorry, I had F150 on the brain. That's an easier transition. Hope they have good luck with the Honda.

Mine .......1977

Love my 2018 F-150 2.7EB.
The first thing I did was disable the Auto Start/Stop feature. I can't imagine starting/stopping those twin turbos a zillion times is good for them.

Another satisfied Ford Customer!!!

My 2016 F150 2.7 also has it. I'm so used to it that when I drive my wife's 2012 Highlander, I keep waiting for it to shut off at the lights. I'm on the bigger F150 sites daily and have been since I had my 2012 F150, while I'm sure people have had starter issues or a turbo replaced, you'd have to search the archives to find it. Given the zillions of EcoBoost F150's running around out there now and the way people flock to a site to complain, I'd say that points to a non issue. I know personally of one early 2.7 that is approaching 500,000 miles. Original turbo's and starter.

I know of one that only has 350,000 miles but it is a newer vehicle with the 2.7L engine and located out west.
NO ISSUES

My 3 year lease vehicles have far less miles but I pay practically nothing for the lease with the F-150 Crew Cab and will never put the miles on a personally owned vehicle that some out west have done since the 2.7L engine came out.

2.5 Million ECOBOOST vehicles out there and we get a beat up piece of crap example once in a very great while, so I agree with you David.

Tom V.

I have a 2019 F150 with 2.7 Ecoboost. It only has 10,000 miles on it so don't know on issues. I do medium duty haul, but rough road 4 wheeling often. For my uses, I really like this engine. It is 325 hp and 400tq. I would not buy it for heavy tow or load, but for my use with good gas mpg I really enjoy it. Time will tell on durability.

One thing for sure, these engines are here to stay. Toyota's Tundra will only be available with a twin turbo 3.5 v6 starting in 2022 model year. No more v8 for a Tundra!!! Seems the 1/2 ton market is switching to only v6 engines.

I had great luck with my Ecoboost, everyone talked like it would fall apart overnight.
It got the mileage the Ford motor company claimed, had plenty of power and Ford has always been superior in the frame department when it comes to trucks.

This may be slightly off subject but I drive a 2017 Transit 350 with the turbo V6 at a beer distributor. It has 79,000 on it and regularly pulls a 11,000 pound trailer. It is amazing. I’ve always disliked Fords and never would have considered buying one until now. It had a couple of bolts break off in the exhaust manifold but other than that, no problem. That problem was repaired under warranty. Believe or not a lot more power than the Chevy 6.0 LS, I drove before . If there was a drag race between the two, the Ford would beat the Chevy by 2 seconds. The power is good thru all of the RPM range, oh, and it has great brakes. I still can’t believe I’m saying this about a Ford, but it’s true.

Beat the 6.0 in large part due to GM using torque management, burst knock prevention, virtually non-existent power enrichment, etc. to limit power. Ridiculous! I bought HPTuner and took it all out on my '04 Sierra 2500HD. It has way more available power, gets better mileage, and is quieter.

I have a 2016 F-150 Lariat with Heavy Duty Payload Package and 3.5 Ecoboost.

Absolutely love this truck, the torque is phenomenal and I would buy the same engine any day of the week.

Really like the decent mileage when commuting and love the towing power when hauling my camper or Kubota loader/backhoe.

This has been my first Ford after 25 years of GM trucks, and have zero regrets. Most upsetting thing is Ford no longer allows HDPP on the Lariat!!

GM has dropped the ball. And that started way back in the 90s when I was hauling GM vehicles. Even worse since 2009. When I finished driving carhaul I said I'd never buy another GM product again.

It's been buy Ford since but we've been thinking other options like Subaru for a car. I've been Jeep since 2002 when we bought the first Grand Cherokee Laredo 4.7L, a 2000. I even like this 2002 GC with the 4.0L. And this one is worth more now (about $1500) than what I paid for it back in January of this year. :D

Why? I've bought several new GM vehicles in that timeframe and not one warranty claim in 14 years. I have bought solid vehicles with great fuel economy, and no issues. Can't say that for my friends with Fiat and the other four letter word built vehicles..

2019 F150 STX. Put a leveling kit on the front. Changed out factory rims and tires for more off road style. Has posi, so with 4wd, it does great in the hills. I haven't bought new in decades, and was out of touch of the new technologies, and was wary. Really like after a bit of use.

Disagree. My GM trucks have always treated me well and my 5.3 gets better mileage than the ecoboost in my FIL F150. I have driven the F150 and won't buy one. I absolutely won't buy an import either. Keep buying imports and soon you won't have any other choice.