What happened to my 2017 Explorer Sport??? (Turbo and Engine issues)

[JLAhl]

Hello!

Since all car issue stories seem to be very long, I will do my best to offer a summary of my issue:

I drive a 2017 Explorer Sport 4WD ( 3.5L GTDI ). Purchased December 2017. In January 2020 (109,000 miles) the turbo failed - unknown cause. Upon repair, the engine light returned (within 2 days). Determined that the turbo failure damaged the Catalytic Converter (CC). Since I had just spent $5,000 on repair I decided to wait a few months to repair the CC. In April I scheduled the repair. On my drive to the garage, the "low oil pressure" light came on. The diagnosis was that the oil level was low and it was determined that it had used 2 1/2 quarts over 9,000 miles (no visible exhaust). The garage suggested a fluid consumption test and did not replace the CC at that time. Since April I have logged 2,000 miles and today learned it has burned 2 quarts of oil. In the last 1,700 miles, the exhaust has developed blue smoke, originally only after several minutes of idling but lately (last 300 miles) almost every day and at any time. I stopped the 'consumption test' and returned to the dealer. They are recommending an engine rebuild ($10,000) plus replacements of the CC at about $700.

So, I am looking at a total of $17,000 in repairs in a 6 month period, on a 2-year-old car with 120,000 miles. I still owe $15,000 on the car that has a blue book value of around $25,000 (in good condition - obviously mine is not).

Do I:

• Sell the car
• Repair the car and drive it another 100,000 (I'm now concerned if it will make it that long even with the repair)
• Try an oil additive to reduce the oil loss through the exhaust (if so which additive?)

I love "Ford" but I've got to say it's frustrating to have these MAJOR issues at only 120,000 miles.

Input would be appreciated.

jeff

 

[Mbrooks420]

Pretty sure I’d drive it off a cliff at this point.

How did you log 9,000 miles on a turbo car without changing the oil? WAY too long of an interval.

If the motor is showing blue smoke I doubt any additive is going to help. If I was going to fix it I’d find a different place (not a dealer) to swap in a salvage motor and drive it until I could dump it.

 

[JLAhl]

Pretty sure I’d drive it off a cliff at this point.

How did you log 9,000 miles on a turbo car without changing the oil? WAY too long of an interval.

If the motor is showing blue smoke I doubt any additive is going to help. If I was going to fix it I’d find a different place (not a dealer) to swap in a salvage motor and drive it until I could dump it.

Thanks for the advice! LOL.

If I remember correctly, the Owner's manual says 7,500 - 10,000 miles between changes. Regardless, I follow the 'oil life' dummy light on the vehicle that tells what percentage of oil life remains. When it says change oil soon, I do so.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Jeff.
Maximum is 10k miles or 1 year depending upon how it is driven. If you are going to replace the engine then at least you won't have to worry about the internal water pump issue for a while. In hindsight, this where an ESP would have paid off given the number of miles you drive.

Peter

 

[Livernois]

Welcome to the forum from the crew at Livernois Motorsports.

Sorry to hear of the issues you've been experiencing. Turbos have been known to become somewhat problematic after the 100k+ range and the catalytic converter failures / turbo failures can go hand in hand. A turbo fails it can take a cat with it or vice versa. Also a lot of guys have experienced issues with smoking from the exhaust at idle which there's a TSB for on many of the Explorer and Taurus EcoBoost models. There's an update to the PCV system that has helped out quite a bit from what some other owners have told me including a local Ford tech that made me aware of the TSB. Catch cans are always a good idea to add on these D.I. turbocharged engines which can help with many common quirks caused by blow by and getting oil back into the intake tract. Beyond those common things we've seen as Mbrooks420 mentioned the factory intervals such as oil changes are not something we ever suggest to follow. Definitely a better idea to still change your oil ever 2500-3500 miles, we do spark plugs and other fluids like trans and PTU every 20k-30k miles as well to ensure the best results with reliability and longevity not to mention performance. Like some of the guys have said it may be best to start with a new / reman engine and do some more frequent service intervals from there.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Welcome to the Forum Jeff.
Maximum is 10k miles or 1 year depending upon how it is driven. If you are going to replace the engine then at least you won't have to worry about the internal water pump issue for a while. In hindsight, this where an ESP would have paid off given the number of miles you drive.

Peter

They also claimed the PTU fluid was good for life. Turbos are MUCH harder on oil. 10k on a turbo ( non-diesel!) is ridiculous. Especially for a “performance” vehicle.

 

[Odrapnew]

They also claimed the PTU fluid was good for life. Turbos are MUCH harder on oil. 10k on a turbo ( non-diesel!) is ridiculous. Especially for a “performance” vehicle.

All depends on how it's driven. Only way to know for sure is with an oil analysis.
I had 2 or 3 oil analyses completed on my Sport.
They had around 8k miles on the oil, OLM indicated about 20% left. I always change around 15-25%, which typically ends up around 8k miles.
The analyses indicated the oil was still good and could have gone another 1-2k miles before properties dropped too low.

@JLAhl
How do they know the engine is consuming the oil and that it's not a turbo seal leak?
Did they do a cylinder compression and/or leak down check?
Did only 1 turbo fail?

 

[JLAhl]

Welcome to the Forum Jeff.
Maximum is 10k miles or 1 year depending upon how it is driven. If you are going to replace the engine then at least you won't have to worry about the internal water pump issue for a while. In hindsight, this where an ESP would have paid off given the number of miles you drive.

Peter

I do drive a ton of miles and I have never paid for an ESP. Certainly would have paid for itself this time! I drive enough that I usually change the oil no less than once every 2 months.

 

[JLAhl]

Welcome to the forum from the crew at Livernois Motorsports.

Sorry to hear of the issues you've been experiencing. Turbos have been known to become somewhat problematic after the 100k+ range and the catalytic converter failures / turbo failures can go hand in hand. A turbo fails it can take a cat with it or vice versa. Also a lot of guys have experienced issues with smoking from the exhaust at idle which there's a TSB for on many of the Explorer and Taurus EcoBoost models. There's an update to the PCV system that has helped out quite a bit from what some other owners have told me including a local Ford tech that made me aware of the TSB. Catch cans are always a good idea to add on these D.I. turbocharged engines which can help with many common quirks caused by blow by and getting oil back into the intake tract. Beyond those common things we've seen as Mbrooks420 mentioned the factory intervals such as oil changes are not something we ever suggest to follow. Definitely a better idea to still change your oil ever 2500-3500 miles, we do spark plugs and other fluids like trans and PTU every 20k-30k miles as well to ensure the best results with reliability and longevity not to mention performance. Like some of the guys have said it may be best to start with a new / reman engine and do some more frequent service intervals from there.

Thanks for the advice. I think I may talk to another mechanic to see if maybe there is an issue with a seal at the new turbo system as there was NO oil loss prior to that repair and significant loss immediately following that repair.

 

[JLAhl]

All depends on how it's driven. Only way to know for sure is with an oil analysis.
I had 2 or 3 oil analyses completed on my Sport.
They had around 8k miles on the oil, OLM indicated about 20% left. I always change around 15-25%, which typically ends up around 8k miles.
The analyses indicated the oil was still good and could have gone another 1-2k miles before properties dropped too low.

@JLAhl
How do they know the engine is consuming the oil and that it's not a turbo seal leak?
Did they do a cylinder compression and/or leak down check?
Did only 1 turbo fail?

These are very good questions ... At this time they do not know where the leak is. On your first question, they are assuming it is not a turbo seal leak since that repair was just completed. However there was NO oil loss just prior to the repair, now it is significant ... hmmm. They said it would cost about $900 to remove the turbo and check. They did NOT do a cylinder compression test and would like about $400 for that test.

And yes ... just 1 turbo failed.

 

[Livernois]

Thanks for the advice. I think I may talk to another mechanic to see if maybe there is an issue with a seal at the new turbo system as there was NO oil loss prior to that repair and significant loss immediately following that repair.

No problem , happy to help out. Yeah I agree that's pretty coincidental if you weren't having any issues like that until after having repairs done. Definitely never hurts to get a second opinion on things like that especially in that type of scenario.

 

[Steve18Sport]

All depends on how it's driven. Only way to know for sure is with an oil analysis.
I had 2 or 3 oil analyses completed on my Sport.
They had around 8k miles on the oil, OLM indicated about 20% left. I always change around 15-25%, which typically ends up around 8k miles.
The analyses indicated the oil was still good and could have gone another 1-2k miles before properties dropped too low.

@JLAhl
How do they know the engine is consuming the oil and that it's not a turbo seal leak?
Did they do a cylinder compression and/or leak down check?
Did only 1 turbo fail?

Agreed, oil analysis is the way to know. My last change on my '18 Sport went to 9500 miles, using the oil life monitor down to just about 1%, and the oil (Mobil 1) still had good TBN, viscosity, and all other specs. The old rule of 3,000 mile oil changes, turbocharger or not, is long obsolete if you're using a good quality synthetic oil and an OEM filter.

 

[cstepp]

Hello!

Since all car issue stories seem to be very long, I will do my best to offer a summary of my issue:

I drive a 2017 Explorer Sport 4WD ( 3.5L GTDI ). Purchased December 2017. In January 2020 (109,000 miles) the turbo failed - unknown cause. Upon repair, the engine light returned (within 2 days). Determined that the turbo failure damaged the Catalytic Converter (CC). Since I had just spent $5,000 on repair I decided to wait a few months to repair the CC. In April I scheduled the repair. On my drive to the garage, the "low oil pressure" light came on. The diagnosis was that the oil level was low and it was determined that it had used 2 1/2 quarts over 9,000 miles (no visible exhaust). The garage suggested a fluid consumption test and did not replace the CC at that time. Since April I have logged 2,000 miles and today learned it has burned 2 quarts of oil. In the last 1,700 miles, the exhaust has developed blue smoke, originally only after several minutes of idling but lately (last 300 miles) almost every day and at any time. I stopped the 'consumption test' and returned to the dealer. They are recommending an engine rebuild ($10,000) plus replacements of the CC at about $700.

So, I am looking at a total of $17,000 in repairs in a 6 month period, on a 2-year-old car with 120,000 miles. I still owe $15,000 on the car that has a blue book value of around $25,000 (in good condition - obviously mine is not).

Do I:

• Sell the car
• Repair the car and drive it another 100,000 (I'm now concerned if it will make it that long even with the repair)
• Try an oil additive to reduce the oil loss through the exhaust (if so which additive?)

I love "Ford" but I've got to say it's frustrating to have these MAJOR issues at only 120,000 miles.

Input would be appreciated.

jeff

Hey! Similar situation here. I have a 2018 explorer sport with 45,000 miles on it and 30 days past the powertrain warranty. A couple of days ago it started blowing smoke. There were no warning, lights, codes, etc. I checked the oil and the coolant level and decided to drive it a ways to see if the smoke dissipated. After about a block the engine light came on. I pulled over immediately and shut it off. Called the tow truck to have it taken to the dealership. I noticed a puddle of oil and a steady stream on the ground. The dealership says I lost the front turbo which sucked oil through the exhaust and caused engine failure to the tune of $18,200 to repair. I owe $14,500 on it. What in the hell to do??

 

[peterk9]

Hey! Similar situation here. I have a 2018 explorer sport with 45,000 miles on it and 30 days past the powertrain warranty. A couple of days ago it started blowing smoke. There were no warning, lights, codes, etc. I checked the oil and the coolant level and decided to drive it a ways to see if the smoke dissipated. After about a block the engine light came on. I pulled over immediately and shut it off. Called the tow truck to have it taken to the dealership. I noticed a puddle of oil and a steady stream on the ground. The dealership says I lost the front turbo which sucked oil through the exhaust and caused engine failure to the tune of $18,200 to repair. I owe $14,500 on it. What in the hell to do??

Welcome to the Forum.
Did the dealer say what all is involved in that $18,200?
I believe this is the engine. Original 2010-2019 Ford Short Block AA5Z-6009-E | Levittown Ford Parts
It's too late now, but this is why I always get an Extended Warranty. You just never know.

Peter

 

[Mbrooks420]

18,000 is a ridiculous quote. I’d find a different shop.

 

[mguy13sport]

Oil in the exhaust would NOT destroy the engine. If metal fragments from the turbo went through the intake that is a different story. Oil will destroy the exhaust and a pair of catalytic converters can easily cost around 2 grand.

Like already mentioned, you need to get a second and probably third opinion to investigate further. I'd stay away from the first shop just based on the absolute ridiculous quote they gave you. That's their way of saying they don't really wanna work on that car