Bought new car...with direct injection

[Danh]

As others have said, the intake deposit issue seems to have been mostly overcome. Still, top tier fuel, the occasional dose of Techron and a low-volatility synthetic oil seem reasonable precautions.

To me, fuel dilution is a greater concern and one that has the potential to affect any DI engine. If it were my car I'd perform a a UOA sometime in the first year of life to see if dilution was an issue and adjust OCI accordingly. But use a lab like Polaris that measures dilution with gas chromotography.

 

[KrisZ]

I have a better solution, pat the steering wheel before each start and again when you shut down. Maybe sing to it.

 

[umungus1122]

Maxlife Syn 10w-30 oil recommendation. NOACK 6.x% and you can pick it up at Wally for $18.xx occasionally. They recently had a $10 rebate as well.

 

[WhizkidTN]

Originally Posted By: edyvw
Originally Posted By: another Todd
Despite being adamantly opposed to buying a direct injected vehicle until they figured out intake valve carbon issue...my wife really needed a new car and wanted a Ford Escape, so rather than buying the anemic 2.5, I opted for the 2.0 Eco-boost(she is a sporty driver) knowing I would face these issues down the road.

My question is: would using an oil with the lowest possible volatility rating automatically cause the lowest possible intake valve deposits?
My dealer says they do BG intake cleanings on these engines "all the time" and have no issues but I thought Ford says the intake cleaning by that method destroys the turbocharger; so I would rather avoid the issue in the first place.

I would ump those ILSAC GF-5 oils and went with Euo oils since they have lower NOACK.
Since that engine is specd. for lighter oil, I would not go above 13cst, so M1 0W40 FS with 12.9cst and HTHS of 3.6 would be good option. Maybe even better option would be Castrol 0W30 with cst of 12.1 and HTHS of 3.58. NOACK on those oils is very low and they are proven in much more demanding applications. I used nothing but Castrol 0W30/40 in my VW's and M1 0W40 (not as much) and never had issue with 2.0T.
Also, since you are in CA (low Sulfur in gas) you can try Mobil1 5W30 ESP. It is Low-SAPS oil. You not only need low volatility oil but lower SAPS oil. M1 ESP has NOACK of 5.6%, HTHS of 3.58.However, do UOA after 3K to see where is your TBN and TAN. I run it once in my previous car, VW CC in 2.0T engine, and TBN was at 2.1 after 3K, compliment of DI and high sulfur gas. However, CA has lower sulfur in gas, so it might work. You have M1 in NAPA sometimes on sale for $5.99 a liter, otherwise it is $109 for 12 liters on Amazon.


Do you have any info on the M1 Euro 0W-40 FS oil NOACK? What about the Castrol Edge Euro 0W-40 oil?

 

[itguy08]

You are worrying over next to nothing. Ford has the "deposit issue" solved or very much under control.

108k on a 2009 SHO with the EB 3.5. If I've got deposits, I have no clue. MPG is the same over all those miles, idles smooth and runs great.
74k on a 2011 F150 with the EB 3.5. Same thing.

The wife has a 16 Escape with the 2.0 and 16k and it's perfect too. I know that is too early to tell but that engine has been out a while now and few issues.

Enjoy the new car and stop worrying.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: cb_13

The BG rep did however tell us that without their DI intake cleaning service all the EcoBoosts will carbon up at 30k. I'm pretty sure the guys selling catch cans have a similar story to tell

LOL. I wonder how mine have made it to 108k and 74k with none of that snake oil. It's amazing that they even run at all!

 

[CT8]

Syn oils leave harder deposits.

 

[Vuflanovsky]

Originally Posted By: cb_13
Originally Posted By: Cujet
The local Ford dealer claims not to be seeing intake valve deposit issues on modern Fords. The tech's don't have to deal with it at all.


I can second and third this. I have not seen any issues or remember anyone else repairing one at the dealership I'm at.My brother-in-law works at a different Ford dealership and when we last talked about it said they hadn't seen any issues that he could remember.

The BG rep did however tell us that without their DI intake cleaning service all the EcoBoosts will carbon up at 30k. I'm pretty sure the guys selling catch cans have a similar story to tell

Gawd, isn't that the truth....selling the fear and buying the lie. I have a problem-free DI car from 2013 and I like to use low NOACK/TEOST oil, top-tier and not Qwik-E-Mart gas, and a bottle of Techron every 10K miles - even if that doesn't address issues directly, it's a fuel SYSTEM. Chevron will tell you that it DOES have an effect on the DI operations and not just on MPFI engines.

I think people on here tend to view DI as a monolithic block of technology where there's no differences and things haven't changed from the VW/Audi DI designs of 8-10 years ago. Seeing what they're driving in their signatures, I can see they probably don't have much experience with the idea that, for the most part, manufacturers have already addressed the problem. No need to wait until 2025 for them to "get it right" if you're willing to do the basic things that will benefit your engine and help keep it problem-free. I know of three people off the top of my head that have over 100K miles on five year old or less DI cars and none have any carbon issues. The problems don't seem to exist to the degree that aftermarket would like you to think it does....

 

[surfstar]

I've got a 2016 Sportwagen with a 1.8T DI. Unknown if these newer engines will suffer any carbon build up issues, so I'm trying to be proactive.
Using LC-20 (the long lost BITOG darling) in the oil (M1 0w40) and RLI Bio-Plus in the gas (1oz per fillup).

Cheap and should help, surely won't hurt. Also lets me feel better about going the full 10k between oil changes on a turbo 4.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: WhizkidTN
Originally Posted By: edyvw
Originally Posted By: another Todd
Despite being adamantly opposed to buying a direct injected vehicle until they figured out intake valve carbon issue...my wife really needed a new car and wanted a Ford Escape, so rather than buying the anemic 2.5, I opted for the 2.0 Eco-boost(she is a sporty driver) knowing I would face these issues down the road.

My question is: would using an oil with the lowest possible volatility rating automatically cause the lowest possible intake valve deposits?
My dealer says they do BG intake cleanings on these engines "all the time" and have no issues but I thought Ford says the intake cleaning by that method destroys the turbocharger; so I would rather avoid the issue in the first place.

I would ump those ILSAC GF-5 oils and went with Euo oils since they have lower NOACK.
Since that engine is specd. for lighter oil, I would not go above 13cst, so M1 0W40 FS with 12.9cst and HTHS of 3.6 would be good option. Maybe even better option would be Castrol 0W30 with cst of 12.1 and HTHS of 3.58. NOACK on those oils is very low and they are proven in much more demanding applications. I used nothing but Castrol 0W30/40 in my VW's and M1 0W40 (not as much) and never had issue with 2.0T.
Also, since you are in CA (low Sulfur in gas) you can try Mobil1 5W30 ESP. It is Low-SAPS oil. You not only need low volatility oil but lower SAPS oil. M1 ESP has NOACK of 5.6%, HTHS of 3.58.However, do UOA after 3K to see where is your TBN and TAN. I run it once in my previous car, VW CC in 2.0T engine, and TBN was at 2.1 after 3K, compliment of DI and high sulfur gas. However, CA has lower sulfur in gas, so it might work. You have M1 in NAPA sometimes on sale for $5.99 a liter, otherwise it is $109 for 12 liters on Amazon.


Do you have any info on the M1 Euro 0W-40 FS oil NOACK? What about the Castrol Edge Euro 0W-40 oil?

Not sure about M1 0W40 FS since it is fairly new mixture. Old VISOM had 8.7%, so since FS is GTL it could be less.
Castrol 0W40 is 9.1%.

 

[MCompact]

My DI MS3 made it to 158k with no deposit issues running Top Tier fuel, M1 5W-30, and 20 oz. of Techron every so often. Now running my second DI turbo car.

 

[another Todd]

All good to hear. Top tier fuel is a no-brainer, and low NOACK synthetic oil will get the nod. The occasional Italian Tune-up may be in order too. Thanks for all your replies.