Today, the turbocharged cars they are the norm. Although there are exceptions to the rule and there are still some naturally aspirated cars for sale, the tremendous popularity of turbodiesel cars over the last two decades and trends such as downsizing in gasoline engines have meant that virtually all cars have a turbocharger in his bowels Turbos give us a lot of joy, but they require some care if we don’t want an expensive and even catastrophic breakdown. That is why we have to talk to you about the danger that awaits your turbo car at gas stations.
The rule of the minute, and why you should never break it
Turbochargers are mechanical elements subjected to very intense work. They rotate at speeds that can exceed 100,000 rpm and can reach up to 600 degrees of temperature, the result of the torrent of hot exhaust gases that make them spin. The turbochargers are lubricated and cooled by oil, fed by an oil line that carries the same lubricant as the propellant. That is why it is extremely important that we let our turbo “rest”, in addition to letting it “warm up”.
The thermal and mechanical stress to which a turbocharger is subjected is really intense.
When we arrive at our destination, let the engine idle for a minute while you remove your seat belt, send a couple of messages with your phone, listen to an audio or collect your things. When you turn off the engine, the hot oil will have left the turbocharger circuit to a large extent, and its low speed of rotation will have reduced its temperature. You will prevent carbonized oil deposits from formingwhich will eventually create play in the spool, cause rough turning, wear out the blades, and ultimately, damage the turbo.
The rule of the minute it is also necessary to respect it when we start the car. In this case, we want the oil to properly lubricate the turbo and reach all its nooks and crannies. We will avoid excessive friction that, in the long run, will produce the same effects described in the previous paragraph. It’s not dead time or wasted time, it is a time that in the long run will translate into reliability and absence of breakdowns. And it is that a failure of a turbo, in the best of cases, will imply changing a turbo. At worst, the engine will be completely wrecked.
One minute at idle, both when starting the engine and when going to stop it. It’s not that complicated.
The breakage of a turbo can catapult pieces of metal into the intake, which will be “chewed” by the pistons and valves, causing damage to the internal mechanical components. For many cars, it will mean a one-way trip to the junkyard. That is why we insist so much on the “minute rule”.
The hidden danger that awaits your turbo car at gas stations
When refueling, it is mandatory and logical that we do it with the engine off. At attended gas stations, employees have to attend to different cars at the same time, and they tend to work in a certain hurry. For this reason, and without blaming them in the least for it, it is logical that they want to quickly refuel your vehicle. As customers, we can feel pressured to turn off our engine quicklyand if we have vehicles waiting behind us, it is normal for us to feel the urge to stop the engine quickly.
We can feel pressured, due to the rush, to turn off our turbo engine early.
This same thing can also happen at self-service stations, especially if we have other cars waiting. In this situations, we will be breaking the rule of the minute, and causing damage to our turbochargers. It is a particularly critical situation on the highway or highway, where our turbo is working at high temperatures for a long time. If we stop it suddenly and don’t let it cool down… it would be the equivalent of train very intensely and go home without doing a measly stretch. We will buy tickets for an injury.
The good thing is that it is in our hands to manage this hidden danger. Personally, I stop my car next to the gas station, away from the pump, and wait for the minute of rigor. Only then do I slowly drive the car closer to the pump, and turn off its engine. That someone finds this behavior “confusing” shouldn’t matter to us, just as it shouldn’t make other users “sneak” into us. When the refueling is finished, I start the engine, move the car slowly away from the pump area, wait another minute, and resume my journey.
Simpler, impossible. Don’t let gas stations become “killers” of your turbo.
