Noisy Turbo!! Is it normal??

[texascanuk]

the 2001 I have works well but I can hear the turbo whine at low rpm's under any acceleration. The noise goes away as rpm's climb mostly because the pitch is out of the audible frequency?? It sounds like a turbo on a big Diesel.

So I'm wondering how many other cars have this noise with their turbo's. The Dealer blew me off when I asked them about it, they said that it's because the turbo is just in front of the firewall. Isn't that where they all are? Boy the T6 S80 must really be noisy! I drove several XC's before I bought this one and none made any turbo noise.

I want them to inspect it and let me know if it's bad enough to replace under warrantee.

Thanks,
James

[John@CdnRockies]

James, I can't hear my turbo under any acceleration parameters. Realize we have a later model - but it is whisper quiet. I am familiar with turbo whine (had a Mustang Turbo) and was expecting something similar in the XC.

On a positive note, our dealer's service department was emphatic that turbos rarely require a rebuild.

John

[gibbons]

My dealer's master tech told me that they have never replaced a turbo. He said they have replaced nearly every other oddball thing, but the turbos are supposed to be bulletproof. But there's a first for everything I guess.

[birddog]

Same here, my service tech. also told me that I should never experience any problems with the turbo...said he hasn't worked on any for years. He also mentioned that the turbo doesn't even really kick-in under normal driving circumstances and that it doesn't truly perform until a high rpm is realized.
Still.........I'd try another dealer to see what they have to say about it if you are convinced it isn't acting normally.

[XCinSpain]

I had the same problem at arround 140,000 km. It was the turbo pressure valve joint.

Turbo looses some preasure but it's insignificant. It's very anoying.

It's an easy fix.

[texascanuk]

Well thanks, I feel better knowing that the reputation of the turbo is good. I had heard it also from the salesperson that the turbo's were bulletproof but I figured that they would just about say anything to get you to buy a car. I also asked them about transmission problems and he said there were none, so you can understand my reservations about his opinion since I have read a few posts about bad tranny's.

Happy new year y'all

[Hiro's XC]

Some are just louder than others. If the exhaust is going a bit you can hear them from the back too. I have had several different turbos on my VW TDI and they all sounded different, even the same exact model. Funny that they say they haven't seen blown turbos. It's actually a semi common experience in the Chicago area where we used to live. Lots of stop and go with hard acceleration. High speed then idling can raise the inlet temps pretty high. They need to be driven around at 1500 rpms or so if they are really aggressivly driven.

Speaking of turbo wine. You should hear my modded VW TDI. Sheesh that thing sounds like a Freightliner. At idle you can hear the steady whhooooooooooooooo from INSIDE the house! It's got a vicious boost overrun too when you switch up gears sort of a loud pwooooooo! sound. Part of the noise issue is that other than a cat on the exhaust it's a straight pipe all the way back. But other than the turbo being pronounced the car isn't more than a few Db louder than stock.

[XCMark]

Approaching 29,800K and our turbo just "puuurrrrrrs"... As a matter of fact, our cabin seems so 'tight' that I really have to listen to know the engine is running. No noise, barely hint of vibration.