[OldLadyDriver]

Hi, I have a 2007 i30 crdi that suddenly got an engine whine that sounds like a distant police siren (pitch changes according to the revs of the car).  It hasn't affected the performance to any noticeable degree.  My mechanic said it's the turbo, which will need replacing, and that it's a common problem with my model.  When I asked him how he knew that, he said to just google and I'd soon find out.  All I can find is commentary on how reliable they are.  Has anyone else had the problem or heard about it?

[tw2005]

Hi, I have a 2007 i30 crdi that suddenly got an engine whine that sounds like a distant police siren (pitch changes according to the revs of the car).  It hasn't affected the performance to any noticeable degree.  My mechanic said it's the turbo, which will need replacing, and that it's a common problem with my model.  When I asked him how he knew that, he said to just google and I'd soon find out.  All I can find is commentary on how reliable they are.  Has anyone else had the problem or heard about it?

I think if your mechanic has looked at it and heard it, then the advice is likely sound. When the turbo bearings fail, the turbo gets real noisy. It would sound like a siren because the RPM of the turbo is proportional to the exhaust gas flow and directly relates to the RPM of the engine, so yes would vary in pitch and so like a siren.

It has not affected perfomance because at this stage it's spinning, however by the time you reach loss of performance you are most likely have had catastrophic failure of the impeller and or shaft. This will meant metal fragments entering the engine and detroying it, or if the shaft shears like it did in my car it will dump massive amounts of oil into the exhaust.

If some of that oil feeds into the intake the engine will overrun and detonate the engine, if not it will simply run out the exhaust, run dry and destroy the engine.

This is part of the impeller, sheared shaft, damaged blades, and where it bound up in the bearing

[Dazzler]

Hi, I have a 2007 i30 crdi that suddenly got an engine whine that sounds like a distant police siren (pitch changes according to the revs of the car).  It hasn't affected the performance to any noticeable degree.  My mechanic said it's the turbo, which will need replacing, and that it's a common problem with my model.  When I asked him how he knew that, he said to just google and I'd soon find out.  All I can find is commentary on how reliable they are.  Has anyone else had the problem or heard about it?

Considering how many have been sold the failure rate is very low. Usually failures can be traced back to poor service, wrong oils or vehicle abuse.

If the car with a turbo is driven very hard and fast for an extended period it is good to let it idle for a minute or two so that it cools down before stopping the engine or the oil can burn onto the hot turbo impeller. I can't imagine as an Old Lady Driver this would have been an issue for you, but who knows how a previous owner may have treated the car. What is the service history like?

Some high mileage examples are still on the original at 400+ thousand kms, although around 250 to 300K is probably their normal lifespan.

[nzenigma]

Hi, I have a 2007 i30 crdi that suddenly got an engine whine that sounds like a distant police siren (pitch changes according to the revs of the car).  It hasn't affected the performance to any noticeable degree.  My mechanic said it's the turbo, which will need replacing, and that it's a common problem with my model. 

Agree that it is probably the turbo. It will fail some time.

Unfortunately, your mechanic cannot be trusted.    He is just big-noting himself.

Given that he cant be truthful, I would also treat any quoted price with skepticism.

Even with the huge amount of i30s on the road, I doubt that he has ever seen more than a few failed turbos.

[OldLadyDriver]

Yikes!    NOW I'm worried!  Thanks for the advice.  Looks like I'll be getting it fixed sooner rather than later. 

[OldLadyDriver]

He's actually a great mechanic.

[Funky]

He's actually a great mechanic.

And in that case it should only take him 2.5 hrs to replace the turbo along with the high pressure oil feed pipe and filling with fresh ACEA C3 oil and a new filter


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