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Any neglected engine may go pop at any time, turbo engines even more so.
A neighbour admits she buys her cars and barely looks at it until it dies. Her last car was a Citroen C2, ran out of oil and went bang.
A few weeks ago she had the bonnet up on her 12 year old i10 because it was 'smelling' funny. It was classic burnt oil smell, pulled the dipstick and it looked like it had oil, but the dipstick was brown because of heat stress! However gave it a litre which was enough and she is now back running around in it. A turbo engine wouldn't have been as forgiving, but shows the Hyundai small engine will take abuse.
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It's official!
SLO now adds the GM/SAIC 1.0 turbo engine to his list of cars to avoid. This is based on an extensive survey covering one failure from an owner who has neglected to service her car. Perhaps other findings from this survey are that you shouldn't buy secondhand cars from women in Scotland.
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I have absolutely no sympathy for someone who doesn't service their car.
It isn't cheap I'll grant you but then neither is a new engine.
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Give me a four cylinder car anyway.
I simply hate the unevenness of a three cylinder and the all or nothing power delivery.
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Give me a four cylinder car anyway.
I simply hate the unevenness of a three cylinder and the all or nothing power delivery.
I like the uneven beat of a 3 or a 5cyl engine. They offer more low speed pull than the equivalent 4 or 6cyl motor, typically better economy and an interesting engine note which adds character.
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We’ve heard loads of cases of Fords now infamous Ecoboost 1.0 motors going pop early doors and many a tale of woe regarding Renault/Nissan’s 1.2 TCe engines failing catastrophically. I’ve just had a friends 2015 Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 Turbo with 35,000 miles up suffer engine failure. The wee car has been neglected, she just looked confused when I asked when it was last serviced. But it looks like the car will be a write-off as a good used engine seems to be hard to find at sensible money.
Would I sink my money into one of these highly stressed tiny turbo motors? Nope, I’ll leave well alone, except maybe Toyota’s 1.2T. Again, when buying a used car, keep it simple. Had they opted for a basic old school 1.4 Corsa instead of the revvy wee 1.0 3cyl turbo it would more than likely still be running for many years to come despite the neglect.
While there certainly does seem to be some issues with the GM 1.0 turbo, in this case it would be most unfair to write them all off because of this one. I'm sure I have read your comments in the past about the (chain driven) n/a 1.0 3 cyl Daihatsu/Toyota unit being trouble if not serviced, and that is a very reliable engine otherwise.
I think you're right. The last time I was in the USA (2017) I had a Ford Escort sized vehicle (GM or Chevrolet). It had something like a 1.4 litre turbo engine and did 0-60 in 9 seconds. I do not believe that engine will last long.
Depending on the weight of the individual car, getting one of that size to 60mph in 9 seconds would require around 140-150bhp. So not particularly highly strung for a turbo engine of around 1.4 litres, so no reason to suspect unreliability (the belt driven VAG 1.4TSI is ample proof of this). If small turbo engines develop a habit of failure, it is inevitably due to poor design rather than simply because it is a turbo.
It's official!
SLO now adds the GM/SAIC 1.0 turbo engine to his list of cars to avoid. This is based on an extensive survey covering one failure from an owner who has neglected to service her car. Perhaps other findings from this survey are that you shouldn't buy secondhand cars from women in Scotland.
Wow, sexist and nationalistic in one answer!.
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"Wow, sexist and nationalistic in one answer!."
Not trying to be but I'm highlighting the conclusions you can draw from a survey of one. Another conclusion could be don't buy anything made by Mitsubishi (they supply the turbocharger).
SLO holds the position of trusted advisor on this forum. I think we trust him because his opinions are based on years of experience, not one poorly maintained example of an engine with a pretty good reputation. BBD and ORB could perhaps provide links to the evidence that suggests otherwise.
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. BBD and ORB could perhaps provide links to the evidence that suggests otherwise.
Google is your friend "GM small gasoline engine pre-ignition problems." same for MG
The MG-rover.org forum has people with that 1.0 litre engine having problems and under warranty at that.
But some people are put off cars for life with one single, (and sometimes) niggling problems.
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We’ve heard loads of cases of Fords now infamous Ecoboost 1.0 motors going pop early doors and many a tale of woe regarding Renault/Nissan’s 1.2 TCe engines failing catastrophically. I’ve just had a friends 2015 Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 Turbo with 35,000 miles up suffer engine failure. The wee car has been neglected, she just looked confused when I asked when it was last serviced. But it looks like the car will be a write-off as a good used engine seems to be hard to find at sensible money.
Would I sink my money into one of these highly stressed tiny turbo motors? Nope, I’ll leave well alone, except maybe Toyota’s 1.2T. Again, when buying a used car, keep it simple. Had they opted for a basic old school 1.4 Corsa instead of the revvy wee 1.0 3cyl turbo it would more than likely still be running for many years to come despite the neglect.
While there certainly does seem to be some issues with the GM 1.0 turbo, in this case it would be most unfair to write them all off because of this one. I'm sure I have read your comments in the past about the (chain driven) n/a 1.0 3 cyl Daihatsu/Toyota unit being trouble if not serviced, and that is a very reliable engine otherwise.
I think you're right. The last time I was in the USA (2017) I had a Ford Escort sized vehicle (GM or Chevrolet). It had something like a 1.4 litre turbo engine and did 0-60 in 9 seconds. I do not believe that engine will last long.
Depending on the weight of the individual car, getting one of that size to 60mph in 9 seconds would require around 140-150bhp. So not particularly highly strung for a turbo engine of around 1.4 litres, so no reason to suspect unreliability (the belt driven VAG 1.4TSI is ample proof of this). If small turbo engines develop a habit of failure, it is inevitably due to poor design rather than simply because it is a turbo.
It's official!
SLO now adds the GM/SAIC 1.0 turbo engine to his list of cars to avoid. This is based on an extensive survey covering one failure from an owner who has neglected to service her car. Perhaps other findings from this survey are that you shouldn't buy secondhand cars from women in Scotland.
Wow, sexist and nationalistic in one answer!.
Could not have put it better myself.
SLO's advice is one I will have and will always ignore. Owning Nissan and VAG products for the past 9 years has not cost us a single penny in repairs other than a broken spring in a 7 year old Micra. In the same period SLO's purchases have cost him quite a bit from memory.
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“ Could not have put it better myself. SLO's advice is one I will have and will always ignore. Owning Nissan and VAG products for the past 9 years has not cost us a single penny in repairs other than a broken spring in a 7 year old Micra. In the same period SLO's purchases have cost him quite a bit from memory.” Your experience of buying new and nearly new cars is something to value and listen to Skidpan, your advice on using PCP to best advantage by hoovering up manufacturer offers then paying the account off via savings or personal loan is good advice indeed. Your experience running new to nearly new cars again is worthy of note, however you know little about buying genuinely the used cars many on this forum come here for advice about. My experience comes typically from buying older cars, and yes even I get it wrong occasionally such as that wretched Volvo the wife wanted, it was a pig even though the purchase ticked every box I tell others to abide by, other than keeping it simple. I do understand that you don’t like me personally however and while I respect your advice on new car buying I also accept that you will always be hostile to any advice I give no matter how worthy.
Edited by _ORB_ on 08/09/2022 at 11:26
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Give me a four cylinder car anyway.
I simply hate the unevenness of a three cylinder and the all or nothing power delivery.
Be interested to get an example, because I have driven absolutely loads of 3 cyl cars over the years and have yet to find one with an all or nothing power delivery.
An all or nothing power delivery is only going to happen if the engine in question has a turbo, nothing whatsoever to do with cylinder count, and it is generally going to be an old school turbo because newer turbo's are smaller and spin up quicker.
One example of an all or nothing power delivery which I have experienced was an early SAAB 16V turbo.
While the unevenness may be a factor, it is only so at idling speed. With a couple of thousand rpm or more it simply manifests itself as a different timbre rather than anything else. I fact, IMO, a 3 cyl engine being pushed, sounds better than a 4 cyl.
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“ While there certainly does seem to be some issues with the GM 1.0 turbo, in this case it would be most unfair to write them all off because of this one. I'm sure I have read your comments in the past about the (chain driven) n/a 1.0 3 cyl Daihatsu/Toyota unit being trouble if not serviced, and that is a very reliable engine otherwise.”
The wee Daihatsu motor is a tough and well proven engine, but at 68PS it’s not overly stressed and it’s not turbocharged. A well cared for example should run and run.
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I have absolutely no sympathy for someone who doesn't service their car.
Part of the trouble is that some makers advise buyers (printed in the car's servicing schedule) not to bother with oil changes for 12K (or even more) miles. Some of that is so that rental firms can avoid servicing altogether before moving the cars on. But I can imagine any owner who bothers to read the service schedule thinking 'Oh I only do 3K a year, that's 4 years then ... '
Conscientious owners of Pug diesels have known for years that it makes sense to halve the oil-change interval if they intend to keep the car - from 12K to 6K in my case. Haynes manuals have advised that for a long time.
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It's official!
SLO now adds the GM/SAIC 1.0 turbo engine to his list of cars to avoid. This is based on an extensive survey covering one failure from an owner who has neglected to service her car. Perhaps other findings from this survey are that you shouldn't buy secondhand cars from women in Scotland.
Feel free to ignore my ramblings at your leisure. I’m sure your own extensive trade experience offers far greater insight than my own.
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SLO, I sense we have rattled you. Not my intention at least.
You've conveniently ignored my second paragraph where I refer to your "trusted advisor" status. But that status is built on, as you point out, years of experience NOT one apparent failure as a result of poor maintenance.
Like JohnF, I trawled the internet looking for horror stories before, in my case, purchasing an Astra with the 1.0T engine. Couldn't find anything of concern 5 years ago and still haven't seen anything which worries me. My son has the same car. Both are still low mileage at less than 40k. I'd be very interested in any information on weaknesses so that I can keep an eye open for the future.
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Sounds like the Corsa went pop due to lack of maintenance rather than a design fault?
Not sure I've heard anything bad reported about the Honda or Suzuki tiny turbo motors?
Possibly, but there are plenty of utterly neglected 1.2/1.4 NA Corsa’s running about into their dotage without catastrophic failures being common. These wee turbocharged engines are seemingly inherently less durable.
As for Honda’s 1.0 turbo, we’ll the daft belt in oil timing belt design which costs a crippling £1200-£1500 every 5yrs (according to UK dealers) to change kills this one off as a viable used purchase for me. I guarantee any used example will be in need of this job doing as no one of sound mind would pay this. These will quickly become one to avoid and I suspect neglect will do damage.
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