Experience with 1.2L Turbo engine 8NR-FTS

[solero]

On 1/8/2024 at 6:48 PM, solero said:

Mines is 1.2T CVT 2016 mk2.

Only had mines 4 months, and enjoying it. Plenty of low end grunt and acceleration when needed. Mostly driven in eco mode. Love the cvt turbo combination, a well matched pair.

Bought mines 3rd hand with 24kmiles on the clock 8 yrs old, no documented service history! but mileage verified. Apparently was annually serviced, but no paper proof. Engine was spotless and in original unmodified condition. All reflected in a knockdown price.

Serviced it myself when i got it. Done a thousand miles and not lost a drop of oil. Averages low 50's mpg on motorway runs. 35+ around town. Start/stop is seamless, like the way it cuts out in neutral. 

4 cylinder direct injection chain driven turbo engines are a rarity, bonus with the turbo being liquid cooled. Should help cool it down even when hot as turbo is not pumped but thermodynamically cycled.

Nissans 1.2 dig-t seem to have chain wear issues.

I wonder if miller cycle will help reduce carbon build up on intake valves?

Very pleased with it to date, wouldn't go back to a manual after driving this car. Engine is very quiet in side cabin, and a nice comfortable drive with rear trailing arm suspension. 

Overall impressed with the engine package.

 

Correction: turbo is coolant pumped in parallel with intercooler, with a thermodynamic flow when switched off.

[Realtalk123]

8 hours ago, solero said:

Full technical breakdown in detail  on the 8NR-FTS engine can be found here:
https://toyota-club.net/files/faq/13-01-01_faq_nr-engine_eng.htm

Note the TSB's:

• For 8NR-FTS engine just list a few TSBs that contain recognized defects:
·EG-00014T-TME "8NR-FTS Turbo Overboost DTC P023400"
·EG-00105T-TME "Rattle noise from exhaust (front) due to broken heat insulator bracket"
·EG-00113T-TME "8NR-FTS Noise from the vacuum regulating valve"
·EG-00219T-TME "8NR-FTS Engine Coolant Flow Noise"
·EG-00094T-TME "8NR-FTS Cylinder Misfire DTC P030100, P030200, P030300, P030400, P030027, P030085" (ignition coils replacement is prescribed)

If the measures taken are ineffective, it is recommended to clean the intake valves from carbon deposits.

• Recall #4961 (27.05.2021) for 2019-2021 JDM vehicles with 8NR-FTS engine (Corolla, C-HR). The welded part of the high-pressure fuel pump may be cracked due to low resistance against the pressure which cause fuel leakage. Prescription - replace the HP fuel pump.

Thanks for the info. This reminded me of something that I have noticed on my own car a few times. Sometimes, after switching off the engine I can hear a "liquid flowing sound" that I belive is coming from the engine bay. I have never worried about it, because I assumed that some liquid must still be circulating (maybe to cool the engine and turbo), which I thought was a good thing. Has anyone ever noticed that sound as well? 

 

Also, to be honest, most of the defects listed are rather minor issues (except for the high pressure fuel pump rupture, but this seems to affect only JDM cars, so we should be fine 😂) 

[solero]

Not heard the coolant noise myself. I do hear a whir noise after a minute or two of switching engine off. But i think thats a vent closing in the climate control.

If i get a chance I will digout the TSB to see what the fix for coolant noise is.

Agree, nothing major listed.

[cb4m]

On 1/9/2024 at 3:03 AM, TaylorD said:

I have a 2016 auris estate, with the 1.2T, 60k miles on the clock. 6spd manual.

Have to say, I'm really disappointed. 

Granted my last car was a 1999 Toyota Corolla E11 1.3, but that used to return easily 38/40mpg on my current commute. Same distance/driving style and my auris barely makes 35mpg, I typically only get 300 miles to a tank. 

Just this weekend i drove from eastbourne to Medway towns, so approx 60 miles, and it returned 33mpg on a-roads/b-roads upto Tunbridge Wells, with a short stint on the a228/m20/a229 etc where it is dual carriage ways.

I don't find the 1.2t good around town in the manual, end of the day when "off boost" you are in a heavy car with only a 1.2, this means trying to get away quickly at a roundabout etc, it's never going to happen without alot of revs.

Also the 6th gear is just for cruising, anything less than 55 on a slight hill and you can feel the engine labouring and the shift down light comes on too. As another example parts of the m25 I've often found myself shifting down to 5th when sat at 60mph in 6th just due to the engine clearly struggling. Would like to add this is just me in the car with some tools in the boot (nothing excessively heavy).

On a reliability point of view, my only issue so far was my auxiliary belt tensioner/idler was rattling around 56k miles. I bought it nov 2022 with 52k milew (used approved from Toyota main dealer) and had a nightmare of getting the warranty repair in April 2023, Toyota had the car for a week because the aux tensioner is unique to this engine (they claim). In which time the dealer had no courtesy cars so I had to rent a car for work (costing additional £500 which they denied paying me back) Over £400 for the tensioner and idler pulley (luckily that was covered by the warranty but the aux belt itself was not). No motor factors local or national stocked the tensioner/idler assembly, none had a replacement idler size on record either. IMO aux belt idler pulleys are a service item so should be available. So if you intend to do DIY repairs, still expect main dealer parts prices.

 

I suppose it is a heavy car compared to my old corolla, much safer too. Granted some of my troubles have been due to poor Toyota customer service which has left me with a bad taste regarding the car, But certainly buyers remorse in this situation. 

I bought a 3yo 2015 Auris 1.2T estate and my experience has been much, much better.  Dealer serviced (seems relatively good value). Only 60k miles but only fault in 6 years has been a leaking front shock replaced under warranty, spotted during service.   I drive fairly gently, but at fairly normal speeds.  Average low 50s mpg and on steady long run can get close to 60mpg at motorway speeds (though a few mpg less in winter).  For me, as I dislike congested stop-start driving it seems a better option than the hybrid (of that era at least).  Torque is flat from 1500rpm and pulls nicely from 1000rpm in lower gears.  Very little turbo lag too.

[solero]

7 hours ago, cb4m said:

I bought a 3yo 2015 Auris 1.2T estate and my experience has been much, much better.  Dealer serviced (seems relatively good value). Only 60k miles but only fault in 6 years has been a leaking front shock replaced under warranty, spotted during service.   I drive fairly gently, but at fairly normal speeds.  Average low 50s mpg and on steady long run can get close to 60mpg at motorway speeds (though a few mpg less in winter).  For me, as I dislike congested stop-start driving it seems a better option than the hybrid (of that era at least).  Torque is flat from 1500rpm and pulls nicely from 1000rpm in lower gears.  Very little turbo lag too.

Auto/cvt or manual?

[cb4m]

On 7/6/2024 at 5:14 AM, solero said:

Auto/cvt or manual?

Manual

[ExPolisClient]

Horrible, just horrible

Hey guys i am an ex owner for an auris 1.2t 6ML 2018 make. The car was very cool beautiful and awesome in terms of performance BUT.. while under warranty i had 2 gearbox rebuilts, 2 official toyota alarms install and a water pump. the gearbox was whinnin even after the second rebuilt plus the first time i got it repaired it was under laywer contact with toyota but still the guys in Greece could not admin that the car had a severe problem. the second dealership admitted that the problem after first rebuilt was that the previous dealership where i purchased the car did not precharge some bearing and the also used a wrong kind of gear washer.. hence the second rebuilt. 

After exactly 3 months on warranty end the car excibited SEVERE LSPI with a strong knocking sound event though i drove it like a normal driver and normal acceleration. The dealership again said it NORMAL (@#^%@!^!^!^@$%#@^). Those guys just refuse to do any serious work in cars like changing intake valves to get rid of carbon hotspots that trigger LSPI. Besides this i had many other problems with it like engine shaking, turbo lags and hesitation, premature brake wear and both breaking and gearbox whining sounds. Dealership said that all these were completely normal.

I gave 23500 euro to purchage this car brand new in Greek Polis and got rid of it after 6 years and 4 months for less than half the money i gave (dealership now selling it 2500 more than what i got). Before seeling this car i escalated this situation to general management of dealership but they refused to help me with this problem.

Please note that dealership passed this car with toyota plus and its now for sale again to an unsuspicious new client. This says a lot on how tech departments work in toyota. 

Hope the new owner will have better experience with my broken ex-car.

i feel completely betrayed by both toyota and the dealership and i wont be purchasing again a toyota crap car.

Those guys dont know how to build a turbo car. its true that toyota was always focused towards naturally aspirated cars mostly and does not have the know how to build such cars. 

I hope this message will protect new buyers and i also hope that current ones will have better mechanics and support than me. 

[TonyHSD]

7 hours ago, ExPolisClient said:

Horrible, just horrible

Hey guys i am an ex owner for an auris 1.2t 6ML 2018 make. The car was very cool beautiful and awesome in terms of performance BUT.. while under warranty i had 2 gearbox rebuilts, 2 official toyota alarms install and a water pump. the gearbox was whinnin even after the second rebuilt plus the first time i got it repaired it was under laywer contact with toyota but still the guys in Greece could not admin that the car had a severe problem. the second dealership admitted that the problem after first rebuilt was that the previous dealership where i purchased the car did not precharge some bearing and the also used a wrong kind of gear washer.. hence the second rebuilt. 

After exactly 3 months on warranty end the car excibited SEVERE LSPI with a strong knocking sound event though i drove it like a normal driver and normal acceleration. The dealership again said it NORMAL (@#^%@!^!^!^@$%#@^). Those guys just refuse to do any serious work in cars like changing intake valves to get rid of carbon hotspots that trigger LSPI. Besides this i had many other problems with it like engine shaking, turbo lags and hesitation, premature brake wear and both breaking and gearbox whining sounds. Dealership said that all these were completely normal.

I gave 23500 euro to purchage this car brand new in Greek Polis and got rid of it after 6 years and 4 months for less than half the money i gave (dealership now selling it 2500 more than what i got). Before seeling this car i escalated this situation to general management of dealership but they refused to help me with this problem.

Please note that dealership passed this car with toyota plus and its now for sale again to an unsuspicious new client. This says a lot on how tech departments work in toyota. 

Hope the new owner will have better experience with my broken ex-car.

i feel completely betrayed by both toyota and the dealership and i wont be purchasing again a toyota crap car.

Those guys dont know how to build a turbo car. its true that toyota was always focused towards naturally aspirated cars mostly and does not have the know how to build such cars. 

I hope this message will protect new buyers and i also hope that current ones will have better mechanics and support than me. 

Lol, 

that’s a horrible experience indeed. 
I think it’s more of a lemon car and a bad service from dealer rather than a typical Toyota issue. Even the 1.2t cars seems pretty good and as good as a turbo pretol with direct injection can be. 
What car have you bought? Perhaps a Toyota hybrid could have be a good replacement of a non hybrid Toyota. 

[solero]

Your bad experience seems to be partly related to a bad gearbox.I  assume a 6ML is a 6 speed manual rather than auto cvt?

Good troubleshooting dealers are hard to find. They are essentially low  paid part fitters following a flow chart.

 

[Cyker]

Yeah my experience so far is the cars are good and well made but the majority of dealers don't give a toss and/or don't know what they're doing and I would no longer trust them with any invasive work. My dealer especially seems to have a high turnover of techs which means they're very likely young and inexperienced.

We have some good dealers here in the UK but they are definitely in the minority.

 

[TonyHSD]

7 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Yeah my experience so far is the cars are good and well made but the majority of dealers don't give a toss and/or don't know what they're doing and I would no longer trust them with any invasive work. My dealer especially seems to have a high turnover of techs which means they're very likely young and inexperienced.

We have some good dealers here in the UK but they are definitely in the minority.

 

Absolutely. +1 👌

When earlier this year I needed a new hybrid Battery and visited SE Watford, oh boy, how quickly I ran away. Firstly  the service advisor couldn’t understand me what I want, ok my English may not be perfect, but when I asked  him “I want to buy a new hybrid Battery for my car “ - he looked at me like I am asking for plutonium. Secondly I had to wait 15 min someone to come from parts department to check my so special order if can be completed. Meanwhile I went on the back to see who is gonna change the Battery for me., and that was the final factor for making my choice. I simply walked away. 
I went to anther branch with who I had ok experience for parts, ordered a new battery and fitted by myself 3 days later . Best decision ever. Less you go to mechanics better for your car and for yourself. 

[Brolin]

I have owned my Auris 1,2 T since 2015 now with 162.000 km on the clock. I have never had any issues with this engine and it has zero oil consumtion so far. 

[Brolin]

Om further information, fuel consumption depends on driving style. If this car is driven below 2000 RPM during acceleration it runs 19-21 km/ltr at 80 km/hour and 17-19 km/ltr at 110 km/hour. Putting the pedal down makes more fun… 👌

[Cyker]

And it's good for the engine to get a bit of heat in and see higher loads and RPMs now and then!  

(That's what I tell people anyway...   )

 

[AisinW]

@ExPolisClient I am sorry for your bad experience but Lemon cars sometimes happened. That's why some countries have Lemon Law that we can return the car and got all money back for such problems.

@TonyHSD did you need to transfer the contactors and other parts from the old Battery to the new Battery pack from Toyota dealership? I think Toyota only sell the Battery with the casing, not a complete battery with all accessories and controllers. 

 

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, AisinW said:

@ExPolisClient I am sorry for your bad experience but Lemon cars sometimes happened. That's why some countries have Lemon Law that we can return the car and got all money back for such problems.

@TonyHSD did you need to transfer the contactors and other parts from the old battery to the new battery pack from Toyota dealership? I think Toyota only sell the battery with the casing, not a complete battery with all accessories and controllers. 

 

Yes, 

the hybrid Battery comes without accessories, but those are super easy to transfer. Here on the rear seat all been removed and ready to transfer into the new Battery.