Protecting your turbo - turning off the motor

[tacorancher]

I have read that you should idle for a minute before turning off your motor, especially after heavy load, to let the oil in the turbo drain out fully so it doesn’t cook inside the turbo. When it cooks in there and cannot drain, the oil loses life and the turbo can get clogged over time by coked oil. This all leads to a shorter life for the turbo. Is this true? If it is, how does this work exactly? Because when I idle my engine is already shut off automatically by the ECU as I drive a hybrid. Car care nut says to do this so it must be true, but I want to understand the idling part.

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[Astewart23]

Every turbo car I have ever owned will automatically keep the fans going even after the vehicle is off to allow the turbo to cool, it's basically called a turbo timer. I've never idled my vehicles, my last turbo car went to 208,000 miles and i never idled the car. I've many friends who tune turbo cars, and they even don't do this.

 

[tacorancher]

Every turbo car I have ever owned will automatically keep the fans going even after the vehicle is off to allow the turbo to cool, it's basically called a turbo timer. I've never idled my vehicles, my last turbo car went to 208,000 miles and i never idled the car. I've many friends who tune turbo cars, and they even don't do this.

That makes a ton of sense.

 

[Pootklopp]

That makes a ton of sense.

I think the manual says something like idle for 1 min after sustained highway driving or hill climbing. So if you get off a highway and hit a light or sit in traffic you're doing it anyway.

 

[tacorancher]

I think the manual says something like idle for 1 min after sustained highway driving or hill climbing. So if you get off a highway and hit a light or sit in traffic you're doing it anyway.

Oh shit it does??

 

[StreeTaco]

Every turbo car I have ever owned will automatically keep the fans going even after the vehicle is off to allow the turbo to cool, it's basically called a turbo timer. I've never idled my vehicles, my last turbo car went to 208,000 miles and i never idled the car. I've many friends who tune turbo cars, and they even don't do this.

I’m sorry , but in an attempt to keep false information from being spread, that is not an accurate description of a Turbo Timer. A Turbo Timer allows you to turn the ignition switch to the off position, remove your key and exit the vehicle, , all whilst the engine remains idling for a pre-set time to “cool the turbo” Fans don’t cool turbos, oil and coolant do but only while the engine is running, hence the need for idling after heavy load,, ultimately justifying the need of a convenient “turbo timer” that will never forget to idle the engine.

 

[tacorancher]

So far nobody has answered my question about the hybrid always turning off the motor when I come to a stop — how would I be able to cool down the turbo oil / drain it out if it never really “idles?”.. also does it have a turbo timer or not?

 

[RXvedub]

"Cooling down the turbo" was a thing before they started pumping coolant through them. All modern production turbos have a water jacket and don't require a turbo timer.

 

[ORHV]

So far nobody has answered my question about the hybrid always turning off the motor when I come to a stop — how would I be able to cool down the turbo oil / drain it out if it never really “idles?”.. also does it have a turbo timer or not?

I have the same question! I always TRY to let it idle, but the hybrid system shuts it off. Is there ‘some kind of provision’ that can cool the turbo down while the ICE is ‘off’ but electric motor is ‘on?’ Probably not, which defeats what the manual says to do.

 

[SonoranSurvivalist]

The blurb about idling for a minute after heavy load is in the non-hybrid manual. Is it also in the hybrid manual? I don't think Toyota would fail to account for the turbo health when designing the hybrid system on/off functionality. I would bet that there is a motor continuing to circulate the oil through the turbo to prevent it from burning up leading to an early failure even if the ICE engine is off.

 

[ORHV]

The blurb about idling for a minute after heavy load is in the non-hybrid manual. Is it also in the hybrid manual? I don't think Toyota would fail to account for the turbo health when designing the hybrid system on/off functionality. I would bet that there is a motor continuing to circulate the oil through the turbo to prevent it from burning up leading to an early failure even if the ICE engine is off.

Sure hope so!

 

[WKTJR1]

The blurb about idling for a minute after heavy load is in the non-hybrid manual. Is it also in the hybrid manual? I don't think Toyota would fail to account for the turbo health when designing the hybrid system on/off functionality. I would bet that there is a motor continuing to circulate the oil through the turbo to prevent it from burning up leading to an early failure even if the ICE engine is off.

Here is a diagram of the turbo cooling system

 

[ChrisWhaaaat]

The blurb about idling for a minute after heavy load is in the non-hybrid manual. Is it also in the hybrid manual? I don't think Toyota would fail to account for the turbo health when designing the hybrid system on/off functionality. I would bet that there is a motor continuing to circulate the oil through the turbo to prevent it from burning up leading to an early failure even if the ICE engine is off.

There is a less than 0% chance Toyota did not account for this in the design.

Here is a diagram of the turbo cooling system

I dont know the source of this but would assume thats accurate.

Electric pump circulates coolant; hybrids run the engine fans near constantly when the engine is not running, likely to account for turbo and engine cooling with the start-stops.

Since there is nothing (that I’ve seen so far) in the hybrid owner’s manual, this is likely your answer in the previous responses. Cheers!


(Older diesel engines, especiallly heavier trucks and equipment, certainly needed this cool down period for the turbo, eg: a semi or a dozer. But this is generally accounted for or protected against by automatic systems in modern passenger cars.)

 

[Sagebrush]

It's a simple thing.

If you're doing 80 on the interstate and pull into a rest stop, let it idle for a minute. On the other hand, if it's -10º, let it warm for ten minutes.

 

[ChrisWhaaaat]

It's a simple thing.

If you're doing 80 on the interstate and pull into a rest stop, let it idle for a minute. On the other hand, if it's -10º, let it warm for ten minutes.

You clearly didn’t read the thread at all. Nice

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