Another blown ecoboost Engine

[cosmo]

I thought I remembered seeing more than six on this forum, and I've heard of a few just from word of mouth that aren't on the forums too. I can accept modified cars blowing up, but when stock cars are doing it too, you know there's something wrong. The whole LSPI issue is crazy. If every manufacturer is going to be turbocharging their cars for more efficiency now (at least the base and eco models) then they better make a car that can handling anything the stock motor can dish out in any gear. Imagine how many secretaries and other non-enthusiasts buy the ecoboost. Even the automatic doesn't downshift fast enough to avoid LSPI. You can't put a fragile motor that has all these rules attached to how you drive it in a car and sell it as a car for the masses. I think it's only a matter of time before these ecoboost issues become much more widespread.

Every Ecoboost owner should think long and hard about whether they can accept the risks before they mod. In my opinion, if you don't have 7 grand under your mattress for a new motor, don't mod it. I wish I would have known all this a year ago when I started modding mine. Unfortunately my ECU is now permanently scarred from the tune and it's too late to go back. Sadly, mine is now be a garage queen that goes out once or twice every few weeks to preserve it until I can upgrade to a GT.

What's an acceptable amount of engine failures in your opinion then? You're speaking as if you have one in mind, 0%? That isn't realistic, even with today's manufacturing standards. V6s have blown up, GTs have blown up, we know at least one 350 blew up. Put those engines in a high gear at passing speed and floor it, see how much the engine likes it. The Ecoboost family has been out since 2009, and the I4s have been out since 2010. How long until these issues are exactly widespread as you say?

And sure you can sell a LSPI prone engine to the masses, literally every company does it nowadays. Every DI engine has issues with oil ingestion as well. Volkswagen has WORSE oil ingestion issues, look at the GTIs and the Audis. Look at the grandfather of the 2.3 Ford, the Mazdaspeed3. Same problems. Any DI engine is prone to LSPI, turbocharging enhances that risk. Buying a vehicle and claiming ignorance isn't a valid excuse. Modding a vehicle and claiming ignorance isn't a valid excuse. You pay to play. If your stock vehicle pops, you're fine. If your modded vehicle pops, well, you took the risk. Own up to it.

Sponsored

 

[CB]

If your ecoboost motor does the lspi, can plainly hear it?

 

[CentralVA]

Sorry to hear of your luck. I'm now very happy I gave back my allocation for a Ford Focus RS. I love the EB too.

 

[zackmd1]

What's an acceptable amount of engine failures in your opinion then? You're speaking as if you have one in mind, 0%? That isn't realistic, even with today's manufacturing standards. V6s have blown up, GTs have blown up, we know at least one 350 blew up. Put those engines in a high gear at passing speed and floor it, see how much the engine likes it. The Ecoboost family has been out since 2009, and the I4s have been out since 2010. How long until these issues are exactly widespread as you say?

And sure you can sell a LSPI prone engine to the masses, literally every company does it nowadays. Every DI engine has issues with oil ingestion as well. Volkswagen has WORSE oil ingestion issues, look at the GTIs and the Audis. Look at the grandfather of the 2.3 Ford, the Mazdaspeed3. Same problems. Any DI engine is prone to LSPI, turbocharging enhances that risk. Buying a vehicle and claiming ignorance isn't a valid excuse. Modding a vehicle and claiming ignorance isn't a valid excuse. You pay to play. If your stock vehicle pops, you're fine. If your modded vehicle pops, well, you took the risk. Own up to it.

I4 family being out since 2010 has no meaning here.... Every I4 from the 1.6 to the 2.3 will have very different characteristics. The 2.3 is a brand new engine and might simply be more prone to LSPI then any previous EB. That is certainly possible since your asking a 2.3 to pump out 310hp and 320tq. That is an enormous amount of stress to put a small engine under. I do think there is an issue here that needs to be addressed with the design of the 2.3, wether it be tune related or hardware related. Simply saying it's fine and ignoring the issue not the correct way to approach it.

Ford has many unknowing people at risk of blowing their engine if this LSPI issue is common. I would love to see country wide warranty data on the 2.3 to see exactly how many have blown and been covered under warranty.

 

[Bullitt]

What's an acceptable amount of engine failures in your opinion then? You're speaking as if you have one in mind, 0%? That isn't realistic, even with today's manufacturing standards. V6s have blown up, GTs have blown up, we know at least one 350 blew up. Put those engines in a high gear at passing speed and floor it, see how much the engine likes it. The Ecoboost family has been out since 2009, and the I4s have been out since 2010. How long until these issues are exactly widespread as you say?

And sure you can sell a LSPI prone engine to the masses, literally every company does it nowadays. Every DI engine has issues with oil ingestion as well. Volkswagen has WORSE oil ingestion issues, look at the GTIs and the Audis. Look at the grandfather of the 2.3 Ford, the Mazdaspeed3. Same problems. Any DI engine is prone to LSPI, turbocharging enhances that risk. Buying a vehicle and claiming ignorance isn't a valid excuse. Modding a vehicle and claiming ignorance isn't a valid excuse. You pay to play. If your stock vehicle pops, you're fine. If your modded vehicle pops, well, you took the risk. Own up to it.

You hear about a whole lot less 2015+ 5.0s and V6s blowing up than you do EcoBoosts. And remember a small percentage of blown ecoboosts are reported here, especially the stock ones. I'm sure the ratio of bad ecoboosts to good are still very low, but I just keep hearing about this way too often. A buddy of mine in Blacksburg, VA was told there were three ecoboost Mustangs in for engine related warranty work at his local dealership at one point. Three. In one small town. Most non-enthusiasts probably never post about it, and most of the enthusiasts on here modify and their cars are just dismissed as being modified and all is blamed on the mods (which in some cases is valid, other cases may not be). When I said ecoboost issues becoming more widespread, I was talking specifically about Mustangs. The other I4s in the Ford family are more conservatively tuned and aren't making as much power per liter as the Mustang is. The Focus ST and Fiesta ST have also been known to have these LSPI issues so it seems the performance applications are most at risk as they're set up more aggressively from the factory than Fusions and F150s are.

I never claimed ignorance as a valid excuse. All I'm expressing is growing regret each time I see someone new post about a blown ecoboost. I realize modifying a car exposes one to more risks and you have to pay to play. I bought a first year car with a brand new motor, I knew it was risky. I just had more faith in Ford's ecoboosts back then than I do now, a year and a half later.

 

[cosmo]

I4 family being out since 2010 has no meaning here.... Every I4 from the 1.6 to the 2.3 will have very different characteristics. The 2.3 is a brand new engine and might simply be more prone to LSPI then any previous EB. That is certainly possible since your asking a 2.3 to pump out 310hp and 320tq. That is an enormous amount of stress to put a small engine under. I do think there is an issue here that needs to be addressed with the design of the 2.3, wether it be tune related or hardware related. Simply saying it's fine and ignoring the issue not the correct way to approach it.

Ford has many unknowing people at risk of blowing their engine if this LSPI issue is common. I would love to see country wide warranty data on the 2.3 to see exactly how many have blown and been covered under warranty.

No, the 2.0/2.3L are related and in the same family architecture based on the Mazda block. They then can be compared. The new 2.3L was designed and released alongside the new 2.0L in 2015. The 1.6, 1.5, 1.0L, 3.5 are all seperate families and architectures.

I'm not saying to ignore it. It's a very real issue, but until we see 100 popped engines instead of less than 10 on this forum, this is nothing but fear mongering. It's an inherent design issue, but the automakers can't release an engine with an inherent design flaw. Your V6 can knock by putting in winter 87 octane and lugging in 6th gear, does that mean we need multiple posts regarding the issue?

You hear about a whole lot less 2015+ 5.0s and V6s blowing up than you do EcoBoosts. And remember a small percentage of blown ecoboosts are reported here, especially the stock ones. I'm sure the ratio of bad ecoboosts to good are still very low, but I just keep hearing about this way too often. A buddy of mine in Blacksburg, VA was told there were three ecoboost Mustangs in for engine related warranty work at his local dealership at one point. Three. In one small town. Most non-enthusiasts probably never post about it, and most of the enthusiasts on here modify and their cars are just dismissed as being modified and all is blamed on the mods (which in some cases is valid, other cases may not be). When I said ecoboost issues becoming more widespread, I was talking specifically about Mustangs. The other I4s in the Ford family are more conservatively tuned and aren't making as much power per liter as the Mustang is. The Focus ST and Fiesta ST have also been known to have these LSPI issues so it seems the performance applications are most at risk as they're set up more aggressively from the factory than Fusions and F150s are.

I never claimed ignorance as a valid excuse. All I'm expressing is growing regret each time I see someone new post about a blown ecoboost. I realize modifying a car exposes one to more risks and you have to pay to play. I bought a first year car with a brand new motor, I knew it was risky. I just had more faith in Ford's ecoboosts back then than I do now, a year and a half later.

I agree that most people and owners don't post on forums. However, those that have issues are typically the most outspoken and WILL go to forums with their issue. I'm a member here, svt performance, and on the Facebook group. I haven't seen any blown engine been reported on only one forum, and not the others yet.

Was this engine related warranty work due to oil smoking, pcv fixing, or actual blown engines? Big differences. I agree the 5.0L is more stout, but that doesn't mean it's without its issues. My Boss has the BBQ ticking valvetrain and excessive PCV oil blow by on the passenger side. But I take precautions. I still drive it every single day, but I'm not concerned. Neither should you be. Downshift at highway speeds to pass and use 93 octane. If you're really hammering on it, get a catch can. That's the precautions I'm asking and what most are saying. I think your issue is you regret getting the EB in the first place, and as such, will use this to catapult you into a GT.

 

[PRG3k]

if this is the case, I would expect to see a dozen or more "another one" threads on this site, but I am not seeing that.

There was the one Ecoboost Blown thread that got a lot of attention but that is just a one guy's car, and it was modded to some degree.

I'm not sure there are many Dearborn Michigan Ford engineers posting here. Rest assured they are scrambling to find out what the problem was.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[zackmd1]

No, the 2.0/2.3L are related and in the same family architecture based on the Mazda block. They then can be compared. The new 2.3L was designed and released alongside the new 2.0L in 2015. The 1.6, 1.5, 1.0L, 3.5 are all seperate families and architectures.

I'm not saying to ignore it. It's a very real issue, but until we see 100 popped engines instead of less than 10 on this forum, this is nothing but fear mongering. It's an inherent design issue, but the automakers can't release an engine with an inherent design flaw. Your V6 can knock by putting in winter 87 octane and lugging in 6th gear, does that mean we need multiple posts regarding the issue?

Just because the engines are related does not mean they have the exact same tendencies. Again, your asking a 2.3 to pump out way more hp and tq stock then any previous EB. It's a new engine that still has to prove itself. It might be more prove to the LSPI issue causing more failures the other turbo DI engines. Key word here is "might".

The V6 has been around for awhile and has been proven to be reliable. I am not saying the EB is a bad choice. We just need to keep an open mind that there might truly be an issue that ford needs to or has already resolved.

According to Adam, every new EB short block and long block has a new part number from Ford. I wonder what they changed and why.

 

[Bullitt]

I agree that most people and owners don't post on forums. However, those that have issues are typically the most outspoken and WILL go to forums with their issue. I'm a member here, svt performance, and on the Facebook group. I haven't seen any blown engine been reported on only one forum, and not the others yet.

Was this engine related warranty work due to oil smoking, pcv fixing, or actual blown engines? Big differences. I agree the 5.0L is more stout, but that doesn't mean it's without its issues. My Boss has the BBQ ticking valvetrain and excessive PCV oil blow by on the passenger side. But I take precautions. I still drive it every single day, but I'm not concerned. Neither should you be. Downshift at highway speeds to pass and use 93 octane. If you're really hammering on it, get a catch can. That's the precautions I'm asking and what most are saying. I think your issue is you regret getting the EB in the first place, and as such, will use this to catapult you into a GT.

I never heard what engine related warranty work was done specifically, but the need for any fixes on three cars at the same time in one small town is concerning enough for me. Maybe I worry too much or should stay off the forums (ignorance is bliss right?). I'm really not trying to overreact here. But, I bought one of the first Subaru BRZs in my area and never heard of a single stock motor (brand new design also btw) blowing up in the two years I owned it. Over the past four years now, I've still only seen modified ones failing and even those are fairly rare. A few develop an oil leak after 60k miles, but that's the worst I've seen and is an easy fix. Maybe it's unfair to compare my experiences with an N/A motor to that of a turbo motor, but that's my personal point of reference.

I trust the opinion of Adam and others that have much more experience with EBs than I do and will continue to follow their instructions on how to drive this car to keep it happy (downshifting 2 gears to pass on the highway as if I have no power, much like how I had to drive the BRZ with it's whopping 200 hp and 151 lbs/ft of torque lol).

And no, I'm not using these issues as a scapegoat for wanting a GT. With the Cobb Stage 3 upgrades and Tune+ tune this car is a blast to drive now more than ever. I still plan to keep it at least until I see what improvements MY2018 brings next year. But I want a car I can hop in, drive and enjoy while only having to do oil changes and scheduled maintenance. Is that too much to ask?

 

[FastCarFanBoy]

there are no engine components that Ford can put in that will survive severe preignition especially in a FI motor....sooner or later it will die.

 

[marjen]

Prove it. You have done nothing but post vague speculation and that is annoying. Either contribute or find another thread.

Dang, a little touchy. As I said I will create my own post later this week. I want my car back first so I can review everything ford found so I can add more to this discussion.

Short story, my engine blew up 3 weeks ago. It had nothing to do with lspi, oil issues, that I know of or crazy mods. It happened it 2nd gear at about 4K rpms. So people constantly saying don't gun it in high gear and you will be fine are giving people bad advise.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DIBS550]

Dang, a little touchy. As I said I will create my own post later this week. I want my car back first so I can review everything ford found so I can add more to this discussion.

Short story, my engine blew up 3 weeks ago. It had nothing to do with lspi, oil issues, that I know of or crazy mods. It happened it 2nd gear at about 4K rpms. So people constantly saying don't gun it in high gear and you will be fine are giving people bad advise.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Interested to see what happened with yours.

I can't speak for the others, but I was only trying to warn about the potential of LSPI since it looked like it may be the case based off the first post in this thread. I know that it is definitely not the only way to have one of these motors fail. When I warned about it, I wasn't trying to say that as long as you don't do that you'll have nothing else to worry about.

 

[Ehdrian]

The reliability of the 2.3 EB platform delayed production of the Ford Focus RS. Anyone who has watched the series of development videos on YouTube will remember this:



I'm guessing the same changes will be making their way into future EB Mustangs.

 

[timd38]

This is getting ugly.........

Lets all be friends.

 

[Supa LA]

I just breezed thru this thread, but it has ALWAYS been a bad idea to floor a factory turbo car in high gear. Coming from the import world where subaru and mitsubishi were the norm, that is always spoken of, kinda of like a rule of thumb. Putting that kind of load on the car in low rpm is just bad juju. Heed warning all of you EB owners.

Sponsored