Bad Turbocharger After 70 Miles (2.3L Manual)

[BamaBronco98]

Hello all. First time poster. I've been reading these boards for well over a year and have learned a lot. I appreciate all of the folks that contribute views and advice.

So after a long wait, I signed the paperwork last week on my 2.3L manual base (with upgraded wheels from a Big Bend). I was so excited to be driving home on the interstate from the dealership… until the check engine light came on after 70 miles. It pained me to drive it back to the dealership in less than 24 hours.

The verdict: bad turbocharger (wastegate motor bad). Now driving a dealership loaner and on day five waiting to hear back. Apparently, there are no spare parts in the system to correct the problem, so who knows how long this will go on.

To add to the misery, Ford keeps emailing me surveys asking about my recent experience. I finally called Ford customer service to relay my experience firsthand. They promised to call me back, but no response after four days.

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[Shotsy]

You mean Ford customer service told you something to get you off the phone sooner? WHAT?!?! The amount of times I've been bounced around and hung up on by Ford customer service is staggering.

Hopefully you get a resolution via your dealership soon! That sucks. The 2.3L is a common enough engine - you'd think they would be able to source parts pretty quickly.

 

[70&22bronco]

Hello all. First time poster. I've been reading these boards for well over a year and have learned a lot. I appreciate all of the folks that contribute views and advice.

So after a long wait, I signed the paperwork last week on my 2.3L manual base (with upgraded wheels from a Big Bend). I was so excited to be driving home on the interstate from the dealership… until the check engine light came on after 70 miles. It pained me to drive it back to the dealership in less than 24 hours.

The verdict: bad turbocharger (wastegate motor bad). Now driving a dealership loaner and on day five waiting to hear back. Apparently, there are no spare parts in the system to correct the problem, so who knows how long this will go on.

To add to the misery, Ford keeps emailing me surveys asking about my recent experience. I finally called Ford customer service to relay my experience firsthand. They promised to call me back, but no response after four days.

That is heartbreaking!! Sorry to hear that. I’ve got a 2.3 on order. I hope they get the needed parts soon to get you back on the road in your Bronco!

 

[HotdogThud]

makes me wonder who's making the turbos for the 2.3's and 2.7's, (probably BorgWarner?) as I've heard anecdotally from some friends that the new tundras are chucking wastegates like crazy on the new engines in that platform.

 

[etmccaus86]

makes me wonder who's making the turbos for the 2.3's and 2.7's, (probably BorgWarner?) as I've heard anecdotally from some friends that the new tundras are chucking wastegates like crazy on the new engines in that platform.

My guess is either B-W or Honeywell.

 

[HBTFD]

Sorry for your bad luck. Lean on the Ford customer hotline. Ask for expedited parts to repair and an extended warranty. All they can say is no.

 

[JoeSpeed]

That blows, sorry to hear that

could a Focus RS or Mustang EB HPP work?

 

[thesocalexplorer]

What a bummer... I've also heard a lot about the new Tundra TT V6 blowing wastegates left and right. Wonder if Ford is using the same manufacturer.

 

[echance01]

Wondering if we are having the same problem. Went to pick up my 2.3 MT Bronco BD on Friday, signed all the paperwork, was on the way home and 2 miles in (29 miles total on the Bronco) it felt like it wasn't getting any power when stepping on the gas pedal. Had to limp to back to the dealership. Tech drove it, same problem, check engine light came on and got an alert on the FordPass app "The Engine Control System is unable to control the fuel system pressure as expected". Dealer said it was a bad high pressure fuel pump on Monday, replaced it today and the problem is still there. We are back to square one.

Have you gotten any updates? Did replacing the turbo fix it?

 

[BamaBronco98]

I've been meaning to provide an update today. I got my Bronco back yesterday from the dealership. It ended up being a bad wastegate on the turbocharger (stuck in the closed position). They ended up ordering a new turbocharger and it took them 3-4 days to install (11 days total). They had to remove the front passenger wheel and some other things to gain access.

The night it happened, I hooked up my ODB2 code reader and it read a P25B4, which turned out to be the exact problem. It was very sluggish, as you can imagine. My Bronco showed the error in the attached picture (the blurry one), and the FordPass app also showed a "Powertrain Malfunction/Reduced Power" error.

Never heard back from Ford customer service BTW, despite multiple calls (shocker, I know).

All is well today. I put about 100 interstate and city miles on it and it drives like it should. I am very pleased with the 2.3l manual. It has plenty of power, and a correctly functioning turbobooster gives more than enough punch when you need it.

 

[adamruiz2001]

Thanks for the update, glad you got your ride back, hope everything is smooth sailing for now on for you!

 

[etmccaus86]

Looks like I'm in the same boat with 70 mi...

 

[Wanted33]

Looks like I'm in the same boat with 70 mi...

Oh no, that ain't good. I hope these turbo problems are few, and doesn't turn out like the 2.7L dropped valves. Good luck, I hope you're back on the road soon.

 

[DDGator]

I had the same type of problem. With 61 miles (on the interstate on the way home), I got the Service Engine Soon along with the Reduced Power messages. Definitely was doggy at highway speeds. When I turned the car off at home the service light went out and never came back, but I took it in anyway.

Dealer today confirmed the code was for a stuck closed wastegate. However, the problem seems to have resolved itself. They cleared the codes, ran the full battery of tests, and test-drove the car. All seems to be fine for now. No parts replaced.

We will see...

 

[etmccaus86]

I had the same type of problem. With 61 miles (on the interstate on the way home), I got the Service Engine Soon along with the Reduced Power messages. Definitely was doggy at highway speeds. When I turned the car off at home the service light went out and never came back, but I took it in anyway.

Dealer today confirmed the code was for a stuck closed wastegate. However, the problem seems to have resolved itself. They cleared the codes, ran the full battery of tests, and test-drove the car. All seems to be fine for now. No parts replaced.

We will see...

Wow. I could have written this myself.

CEL came on during my drive home from selling dealership after delivery...roughly 40 miles on the clock. Boost was severely cut back; 4-5 lbs at most?

Fired the Bronco up several times over the next 2-3 days - CEL still there; boost still capped.
Made arrangements with selling dealer to drop vehicle off for inspection...but fired it up to drive there, and the code was cleared. Started driving...full boost available. Kept driving (got 3/4 of the way to dealer) and it was perfectly fine.

I wound up putting on about 80-100 miles that day - engine performed flawlessly. Not sure what to do, especially since I know if I'd taken it there they would have dismissed me as a fluke case. Guess I might take it in locally to have it scanned and see if they can't somehow document it for history's sake...

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