DI carbon issues blown out of proportion? Probably

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wemay

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http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2015/...n-engines-.html


Ford has been pushing its EcoBoost engines as a way of improving fuel economy without sacrificing performance. The real-world results of this strategy may be mixed, but one thing is not: all of these powerplants feature direct injection as well as turbochargers and advanced control software.

These engines have been on the market for a number of years now and to get some empirical evidence from the front lines about how they’re holding up we reached out to Brian Laskowski, a Ford Factory Certified Technician. He also has a YouTube channel, FordTechMakuloco that highlights all sorts of automotive repairs.

Responding via e-mail Laskowski said, “Carbon deposits in Ford engines are not a widespread issue due to the advanced engine technology.” But he also mentioned that it has happened in some low-mileage EcoBoost units.

“As of today the issue seems to be isolated to certain markets with varying factors such as fuel quality,” said Laskowski. If carbon buildup becomes severe he said it can result in all kinds of issues from drivability woes to misfires, turbocharger issues and even catalytic converter damage.

Survey Says…

Assuaging potential sky-is-falling fears, Michael Karesh, the developer of TrueDelta.com said carbon buildup is “not an issue for all direct-injected engines” based on the data he collects. His website surveys the owners of around 33,000 different vehicles to acquire relevant and timely data about vehicle reliability and fuel economy among other things.

But of course there are some instances of deposit-related issues that have popped up. Karesh said, “The only engines it’s reported quite a bit is [with] the VW/Audi 2.0T and then the Audi V6s.” He also said, “I know there are some BMWs that end up with carbon buildup as well.”

As for the frequency of reported problems with these Volkswagen cars he said his numbers indicate “it can be as high as one in six over the last two years,” which “is a high number” and one that he said is consistent across different models.
 
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The sky is falling, the sky is falling...

Lets hear from all the catch can believers who think a guy in a garage out smarted millions of dollars of research and development by engineers.

Catch can seller outsmarted someone alright, his customers...
 
Ironically or approvingly?
I'll go with irony myself.
A Ford guy would surely tell the truth about any issues related to Ford's DI applications.
It is still April 1st.
 
The early adopters (owners) need to complete their real world field testing.

The question is not that the manufacturers can do the job but can they do the job on a very tight budget in a mass production environment. It's the bean counters that are in charge and their decision might be a bit more complicated than getting the engineering just right.

In the mean time you might be making payments on an intermediate solution and doing business with a dealer that will say what ever your problem might be that it's normal and nothing can be done. In other words, be careful with your next purchase. Caution may not be necessary but you're the one making the payments.
 
Just passed 100,000 miles on my 2013 Honda Accord I4 with DI.

I bought in January 2013, so it's really getting a good workout plus a bit higher revving than CVT due to my manual transmission. No driveabilty problems (or any other problems for that matter).

Just adding "my" data point. I'll be doing UOA at next oil change; not expecting anything bad, though. If you search UOA section, you'll see my 30K and 60K(?) reports.
 
And i'm sure you'll be fine oily boyd.
thumbsup2.gif
 
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Originally Posted By: oily boyd
Just passed 100,000 miles on my 2013 Honda Accord I4 with DI.

I bought in January 2013, so it's really getting a good workout plus a bit higher revving than CVT due to my manual transmission. No driveabilty problems (or any other problems for that matter).

Just adding "my" data point. I'll be doing UOA at next oil change; not expecting anything bad, though. If you search UOA section, you'll see my 30K and 60K(?) reports.


How do you have 100K on a car that can't be much more than a year and a half in service?
That's around 1.4K each week.
Not doubting you, just wondering what you do, beyond driving, to rack up that kind of use.
 
I have seen exactly 1 3.5l ecoboost have a cold misfire due to carbon buildup, one spirited hellride fixed it.
 
My '11 EB FX4 now has 85k miles with only oil changes, spark plugs and air filters to show for maintenance. OCIs of 4k with A3 rated oil ( Castrol Edge 0w40 in my case) and premium fuel (to keep LSPI under control ) and its a happy engine.

Carbon deposits? It stills runs like a scalded dog so I guess no. The engine is still very quiet.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: oily boyd
Just passed 100,000 miles on my 2013 Honda Accord I4 with DI.

I bought in January 2013, so it's really getting a good workout plus a bit higher revving than CVT due to my manual transmission. No driveabilty problems (or any other problems for that matter).

Just adding "my" data point. I'll be doing UOA at next oil change; not expecting anything bad, though. If you search UOA section, you'll see my 30K and 60K(?) reports.


How do you have 100K on a car that can't be much more than a year and a half in service?
That's around 1.4K each week.
Not doubting you, just wondering what you do, beyond driving, to rack up that kind of use.


Been driving it for 26 months...
 
My 435i with 10k miles on it just had the ports walnut blasted. I had to pay out of pocket because they said I wasn't using top tier gasoline.

Regards,

HAF
 
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Originally Posted By: oily boyd
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: oily boyd
Just passed 100,000 miles on my 2013 Honda Accord I4 with DI.



How do you have 100K on a car that can't be much more than a year and a half in service?
That's around 1.4K each week.
Not doubting you, just wondering what you do, beyond driving, to rack up that kind of use.


Been driving it for 26 months...


100k in 26 months...you certainly have been driving it. At an average of 50miles/hour you have spent apprx 2,000 hours driving that car in 26 months.
 
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Originally Posted By: oily boyd
Just passed 100,000 miles on my 2013 Honda Accord I4 with DI.

I bought in January 2013, so it's really getting a good workout plus a bit higher revving than CVT due to my manual transmission. No driveabilty problems (or any other problems for that matter).

Just adding "my" data point. I'll be doing UOA at next oil change; not expecting anything bad, though. If you search UOA section, you'll see my 30K and 60K(?) reports.


With that kind of miles in such a short period of time, my bet is you'd be one of the people w/o problems. Its the short hoppers that are going to be more prone to problems. The fact that a Ford engineer said there are some isolated problems, [in certain markets, varying factors, such as fuel quality] speaks volumes. If the guy is in fact the real deal, my bet is he's down playing it a bit.
 
Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
My 435i with 10k miles on it just had the ports walnut blasted. I had to pay out of pocket because they said I wasn't using top tier gasoline.

Regards,

HAF


Were you using Top Tier? The article does mention VW/Audi and BMW as the primary sufferers. This would make the case that the lubricants used have little effect because stouter oils and approvals than what those makes require cannot be found.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Ironically or approvingly?
I'll go with irony myself.
A Ford guy would surely tell the truth about any issues related to Ford's DI applications.
It is still April 1st.
smile.gif
smile.gif
smile.gif
Some people believe with out question.
 
Why this obsession with with that portion of the article, i havent got a clue. There is a lot more to it than the Ford Tech.
 
Originally Posted By: wemay
Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
My 435i with 10k miles on it just had the ports walnut blasted. I had to pay out of pocket because they said I wasn't using top tier gasoline.

Regards,

HAF


Were you using Top Tier? The article does mention VW/Audi and BMW as the primary sufferers. This would make the case that the lubricants used have little effect because stouter oils and approvals than what those makes require cannot be found.


Happy April Fools! (HAF). Gotcha..
wink.gif
 
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