[damonb10]

I just got this car, I have not put more than 1,500 miles on it. It's about to clock 40k any day now. I have never owned a Q50 or an Infiniti so I am learning a lot as I go here. I did not know these 3.0t turbos were such crap! And yes I think they are if everyone is having failures between 20 and 50K miles. That is BS when its a $5k fix every 2 or 3 years! When I first got the car the Turbos where amazing! Of coarse it was 30 degrees outside. I just put 20" rims on and I noticed just yesterday when I needed to make a pull to get in front of a truck... I had zero turbo action. I doubt seriously its the added weight of the wheels. It was not turbo lag it was simply no turbos at all. I have no gate rattle, no whining, not oil leaks that I can tell, no smoke from tail pipes that I can see, but I have smelt an odd burnt smell occasionally inside the cabin. Hard to tell if it smells like burnt oil. It sort of does and It sort of doesn't. Car runs great other than no fun power!

I was anticipating the turbo replacement but I'm not ready yet. I had other things I wanted to mod. This changes my plan! So I am now looking at replacing the turbos (With stock ones because from what I am reading unless I plan on exceeding 600hp there is zero need for upgraded turbos, I'm planning on a 400-450hp build only I'm 52 years old and drive back and forth to work interstate mostly and although I feel 20 years old in my head I plan on being calm driver but ist nice to know there is something there if I'm feeling it

Anyway, New Turbos, new upper downs (because the they are right there in front of your face if your replacing turbos so I don't want to hear it takes 12hours for UDP's at that point because now its 10 minutes), heat exchanger and cold air intake all at once to start my platform. Then I will do LDP's and CBE later Then a tune or Race chip

Here is my question for all. IF my turbos are indeed out...Can I drive the car safely for several months until I have the cash to do the repair. I have read I can, but in the same paragraph it said but be prepared for repercussions! So that was confusing. If its safe to drive how are there repercussions for doing so. In my mind If I drive the car like grandma for four months I should be fine but you tell me...am I rolling the dice on anything here?

Why haven't you brought your car to the dealer for addressing this concern as part of your powertrain warranty?

Errr... nevermind. I see you have a rebuilt / salvage title. I suggest you not bash the car considering the example you are dealing with.

 

[InfinitiWard]

Nothing makes me giggle more in the auto business then people complaining manufacturer’s when they buy a salvaged titled vehicle… wait I mean rebuilt because that sounds nicer

 

[Avedis53]

What size tires did you put on with the new wheels? If your ratios are wrong, the computer may see the rears spinning faster than the fronts and pulling power.

If there is a sufficient difference in wheel diameters between the front and rear wheels to cause an AWD warning to be displayed, the protection function is to switch from AWD to RWD. Engine power is not affected. An ignition cycle will clear the warning and resume AWD function if it was temporary.

 

[jcb]

Turbos are manufactured by Garrett. Last time I checked they make quality turbos lol

Not for the VR 😂.

With mergers and acquisitions, don't know if this necessarily proves GoyQ60 correct, but this article says "What you’re looking at is the FZ5t Turbo by Honeywell/Garrett. "

A closer look at the VR30DDTT’s Turbochargers – Concept Z Performance Blog

conceptzperformance.com

 

[xBlitzkriegx]

yeah, i dunno why anyone would think theyre not made by garrett. theyre mgt1446 chra center sections. the F25t is just the model number for them from garrett i believe.

 

[Ddnspider]

They're definitely Garrett's, they're just not up to their usual standards.

 

[Tdoug22]

Didn’t you post a few days ago issues with your transmission? Maybe that’s gone/the cause and not the turbos.

 

[xBlitzkriegx]

They're definitely Garrett's, they're just not up to their usual standards.

the mgt1446 turbos are used on the nissan 1.6l, alfa/fiat/chrysler 1.4l, vw/audi 1.8l, gm/holden/opel 1.4l, and the hyundai/kia 3.3l. yes, the 3.3 stinger engine uses the same turbos as the vr30. the CHRAs are slightly different between the engines but its the same general design.

theyve been in production in some for or another for well over a decade. theyre definitely "up to their usual standards".

 

[Ddnspider]

the mgt1446 turbos are used on the nissan 1.6l, alfa/fiat/chrysler 1.4l, vw/audi 1.8l, gm/holden/opel 1.4l, and the hyundai/kia 3.3l. yes, the 3.3 stinger engine uses the same turbos as the vr30. the CHRAs are slightly different between the engines but its the same general design.

theyve been in production in some for or another for well over a decade. theyre definitely "up to their usual standards".

The CHRAs are the entire problem. People in general aren't trashing compressor or turbine wheels. They were flat out manufactured incorrectly.

 

[xBlitzkriegx]

The CHRAs are the entire problem. People in general aren't trashing compressor or turbine wheels. They were flat out manufactured incorrectly.

so, what i mean is that they might have different inducer or exducer sizes but the bearings are identical between them all. they all use the z bearing. if there was a flaw in one turbo, theyd all have the same flaw.

nearly all center sections fail due to lack of maintenance via dirty oil, low oil pressure (lack of oil), or excessive boost. almost all turbo failures fail from one of these reasons, especially in oem and mildly modded oem turbos.

there are tens of millions of mgt1446 turbos running around. it would not be in garretts best interest to produce a subpar item.

 

[Ddnspider]

so, what i mean is that they might have different inducer or exducer sizes but the bearings are identical between them all. they all use the z bearing. if there was a flaw in one turbo, theyd all have the same flaw.

nearly all center sections fail due to lack of maintenance via dirty oil, low oil pressure (lack of oil), or excessive boost. almost all turbo failures fail from one of these reasons, especially in oem and mildly modded oem turbos.

there are tens of millions of mgt1446 turbos running around. it would not be in garretts best interest to produce a subpar item.

I would suggest you look at the consolidated failured turbo thread. There's plenty of bone stock boost people who had oil changes regularly and no low oil or high boost. The batch of turbos for the VR are defective. I guarantee that there are plenty of people ignorant that their own cars need their turbos replaced in addition to thousands who will realize that they need turbos once they're outside of the power train warranty. Combine this with the fact that Infiniti has not issued a recall but is replacing turbos essentially no questions asked, means they know there is a defect, did the cost tradeoff analysis for a full recall, and elected to replace any turbos that people ask to have fixed within warranty but are banking on most people getting outside the power train warranty before they notice an issue.

 

[21QSig]

I would suggest you look at the consolidated failured turbo thread. There's plenty of bone stock people who had oil changes regularly and no low oil or high boost. The batch of turbos for the VR are defective. I guarantee that there are plenty of people ignorant that their own cars need their turbos replaced in addition to thousands who will realize that they need turbos once they're outside of the power train warranty. Combine this with the fact that Infiniti has not issued a recall but is replacing turbos essentially no questions asked, means they know there is a defect, did the cost tradeoff analysis for a full recall, and elected to replace any turbos that people ask to have fixed within warranty but are banking on most people getting outside the power train warranty before they notice an issue.

Are the replacements improved/redesigned? If not, it doesn't sound like any real issue has been acknowledged (if there is one).

 

[Ddnspider]

Are the replacements improved/redesigned? If not, it doesn't sound like any real issue has been acknowledged (if there is one).

Nobody from Infiniti has acknowledged what the "updated design" is but my guess is they either updated the tolerances on the CHRA or they/Garrett simply had a bad batch as far as tolerances/defects and the "improved design" is actually the original design manufactured correctly.

 

[rpiotro]

Mechanically inclined but have not invested a few bucks in an OBDll reader? Or bothered to take it to one of those auto parts stores that are prevalent as McDonalds for a free scan? Umm, OK.

 

[Ddnspider]

As a complete side track, I found an app that I like significantly better than Torque with my bluetooth OBD2 reader .

 

[demr7777]

Nothing makes me giggle more in the auto business then people complaining manufacturer’s when they buy a salvaged titled vehicle… wait I mean rebuilt because that sounds nicer

Well, I'm glad I can amuse you!

 

[wretched73]

Well, I'm glad I can amuse you!

So what have you done to figure out your issue?

 

[demr7777]

Mechanically inclined but have not invested a few bucks in an OBDll reader? Or bothered to take it to one of those auto parts stores that are prevalent as McDonalds for a free scan? Umm, OK.
[/QUOTE

1. You bought a rebuilt title car that had the engine replaced with a “donor” engine. Not only was that engine not new, but it’s a donor. A used engine from another car always increases the risk for point of failure. Also, who knows if this engine was properly installed and everything connected correctly, no damaged wiring, missing parts, etc. Third owner on a 2018….jeez. How much money did you save buying this? You will always be better off buying a sorted car with a factory warranty. If this wasn’t rebuilt, you would have still had the factory power train warranty since it is a 2018.

2. Don’t say everyone’s turbos are blowing up because you are WRONG. Myself and multiple forums members on here are running way past 40K miles on the original turbos. This forum is only a small non existent fraction and peon compared to the actual amount of people that own Infiniti Q50’s globally. Not everyone Q50 owner on the planet is here reporting turbo failure. The only reason your assuming that is because you see posts about it on the forums. Which makes it appear to be common. Also, most of the time people come here and post only when they have a problem. If this had been a big enough problem there would have been a recall or service bulletin.

My suggestion since you since you said that you are mechanically inclined is to grab a flash light and do some poking around and inspection in the engine bay. Also, invest in an OBD code reader. Otherwise, you are going to get no where without some troubleshooting. Lack of boost is a symptom that no one on here has experienced with turbo failure. Only thing here has been leaks, whining sounds, etc

Saved a bunch of money buying this car for your information. Rebuilt titles are not always a bad option. The engine was installed by the Infiniti dealership not concerned about it being improperly installed. I have an OBD2 scanner, thank you? Someone earlier mentioned getting an OBD2 app....no thanks, apps suck. Those are toys. My scanner shows nothing wrong.

 

[demr7777]

What size tires did you put on with the new wheels? If your ratios are wrong, the computer may see the rears spinning faster than the fronts and pulling power.

Tires have exact circumference so that's not the issue.

 

[wretched73]

Saved a bunch of money buying this car for your information. Rebuilt titles are not always a bad option. The engine was installed by the Infiniti dealership not concerned about it being improperly installed. I have an OBD2 scanner, thank you? Someone earlier mentioned getting an OBD2 app....no thanks, apps suck. Those are toys. My scanner shows nothing wrong.

Can your OBDII scanner show current vacuum or boost?

The sucky app I use does... And it can read and clear codes.........