Blown D4D Turbo

[muz1068 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close muz1068]

Hi Everyone,
I just writing to let you know that in January i suffered a major Turbo failure with my 2/07 Grande Prado with 32 Ks on the clock.
The official line from Toyota is that the main turbo bearing seal failed dumping the bearing and cooling oil into the turbo , intercooler & engine.
this all happen while the car was accelerating at approx 30 km per hour up a slight rise.
Toyota replaced the Turbo, intercooler, injectors and a few other things under warranty but wouldnt replace the whole engine as they pulled it down to the block and tested and measured everything saying it was still all in spec. , after i got the car back 6 weeks later it all appears to be ok just a little bit noisy i think.
Has anyone else had this happen to them or heard of it happening ?
As far as the prado i have lost all confidence in it and are looking at replacing it which is a shame as this is my second 120 series and was a huge fan until this happened.
i look forward to some feed back.

Regards
Murray

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Mate that is extremely bad luck and I haven't heard of it happening to a Prado before but turbo failures were not that uncommon in the trucking industry some years ago. I am out of touch now but effectively all the turbo does is provide pressurised air for your engine to use. As long as no debris particles made their way into the air intake of the engine or the oil wasn't contaminated on the pressure side of the filter there should be no reason why the repaired engine will be at risk. I have seen truck engines repaired on the side of the road with a new turbo, oil change and off they go reliable for the next few hundred thousand k's.

I would think that pulling the head off gave Toyota the confidence that there was no collateral damage to the pistons or block and they proceeded on that basis. You could try for an extended warranty? Have you explained to Toyota that you believe the engine to be noisier?

[m999999 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close m999999]

Murray

Your's is the first turbo I've heard of blowing up . I was talking to a mate at Toyota in central queensland .. and to date not one has blown up .

So maybe it's just bad luck .

Don't be scared to buy another .

Cheers

m

[LiveFreeAndRoam Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close LiveFreeAndRoam]

IMHO, an isoloated incident should not be grounds for shaking your faith... too much.

More importantly, is the manufacturer's response to isolated incidents. It sounds as though Toyota's response was at least satisfactory. Though, I would much prefer if you were able to say it was exemplary. After all, I think all suppliers owe it to their customers to respond above the normal level of care when unusual incidents like this arise.

It will be interesting to see if your post prompts many (any) other reports. In the mean time... keep the faith brother Besides, what other manufacturer could honestly claim to provide a more trouble-free product for similar bucks.

LFaR.

[dgeremia Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close dgeremia]

I have owned Holden Commodores all my life, (Yes I know it's a Prado site, will get there in a minute) My first was a VH 1983 Commodore which blew 3 gear boxes and an engine. I then went back to another Holden being a VP Commodore, great little aussie V8, again many problems. I had this for a few years, went for a VS Commodore V8, no engine or box problems, but two rear main seales, power steering boxes and countless other faults. I still didnt see the light to I went back for a HSV VP, no problems what so ever, loved it so much I sold it, then to my current ride a VZ SS, no problems but I am now old and decided to sell this baby and I got myself a Prado GXL D4D, orded in end of Feb and confirmed delivery 8 May.

The moral to my story is do not give up on one fault or two. I am so looking forward to driving a vehicle I can really enjoy and take the family places where my parents took me. RIP my Holdens. Long live Toyota.

DG

[Chuck Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chuck]

Hey Murray,

What would you be looking at as a replacement?

If they have fixed everything under warranty then I would at least be holding on to the car until the factory warranty runs out then making a decision from there.


Chuck

[MTpockets Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MTpockets]

Hey Murray,

What would you be looking at as a replacement?

If they have fixed everything under warranty then I would at least be holding on to the car until the factory warranty runs out then making a decision from there.


Chuck

My 2 cents.... Totally agree with Chuck :wink:

[lofty Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close lofty]

Hi muz, welcome to the forum,

BUGGA!! Cant say i blame you for your shaken confidence, i would probably be touchy with any rebuilt engine myself, but it sounds like Toyota have done everything they can.

Sometimes shyte happens.

I think dgeremia says it best, one bad experience shouldnt taint your view of everything with a Toyota badge.

Best of luck, hope to see you on the forum as a satisfied Prado driver in the future

[clifton Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close clifton]

Hi Murry,
Just a bit of bad luck, concure with chuck :!:

[Justo Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Justo]

Extremely unlucky I would say. And to add to that the turbo would be made by Garrett or someone I'm guessing, so it could have happened to any engine that it was fitted to. Just very unfortunate it was bolted to your Toyota.!! :?

[jeff s Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close jeff s]

I hope its OK. would hate to see a prado discarded before it could truly make its owner proud. At least give it a chance to redeam its self.


On another note about a turbo blowing up. (not toyota) but a ships engine.
The "Goliath", which ships cement from Devonport TAS to Melb,Syd and Newcastle.
Blew a turbo leaving Port phillip bay. (like most people it couldnt wait to leave melbourne) . any way it blew, disintegrated all the blades and stopped the ship dead in its wake.
They pulled 3 pounds of turbo blade bits out of the exhust ports. That means that much metal went through the combustion chambers, valves etc. made a real mess. I saw some on the engineers desk. They use a slide in/ dovetail fitment of the blades to the turbos hub.... its not one piece, interesting...
How does that help you??? um probably doesn't, but its still going, after a touch up.


I wonder if a turbo timer would have helped in your case. Was the car driven hard on sand or towing heavy stuff in its life??? without letting it cool down afterwards?????

Jeff

[martybuzz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close martybuzz]

How has the turbo been treated in those 32,000 k's? Did you let the engine idle, etc after long trips or high continuous load?

I had an old VB Commodore I turbo'ed. Had the housing glowing on one hill climb. Stayed on the engine for 120,000 k's. Pulled the turbo off for a bearing inspection and re-balance and it was like new.

Look after the turbo with the right oil and idle down after a long trip or high load and it'll go for a very long time.

[Steve & Sandra Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve & Sandra]

when i was a mechanic i changed heaps of turbos out with service exchange ones, they were not too reliable when i was a spanner swinger. engines keep on going with tlc. if its noisy turn the radio up. I myself picked up a volvo truck out of a workshop in kalgoorlie after having a turbo rebuilt 2 days later i spent 18 hours waiting for a tow 90kms out of fitzroy crossing with a seriously blown turbo with engine damage.
turbos are like women they need looking after and are very fussy, they need cool clean oil.
I dont think you should have many dramas and i certainly wouldnt be thinking of trading in after a turbo failure.

[mjforder Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mjforder]

Blown turbo - hmm.....unfortunate yes but.....

my 2cents (incl GST).......keep the Prado or more relevent Toyota. Compared to my previous car (which i kept for 6 months and was 2yrs old when purchased 2nd hand from a dealer) - Jeep Grand Cherokee - you are doing well. I ended up with using a "bat phone" with the dealer for managing warranty problems. Try getting stranded with family, boat, gear etc 100kms away from home at night (after a BIG day out) and the car stuck in "limp" mode.

Not that it is comforting - but anything is as only as good as its weakest link and yes, even the space shuttle blew up.

Mechanical, electrical, chemical etc - nothing is perfect and all manufacturers' designs and products are subject to the 2nd law of thermodynamics.