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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Turbo engines , should they left to idle before switching off?
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      02-24-2012, 01:26 PM   #1
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Turbo engines , should they left to idle before switching off?

Given it seems most (all?) BMW engines now have turbos in them, I alwasy thought it was good practice to let the car idle for a minjte before switching off , particularly if the turbo was hot.
Thought this had something to do with the oil 'caking' up on the turbo over time.

Is this still the case or an old myth or now resolved with newer technologies / oils?

Probably nothing to worry about fi you're leasing a car and handing back in 3 years but the owner who has it 5 - 10 years on?
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      02-24-2012, 01:43 PM   #2
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The electric water pump on the BMW's keeps working after you shut off the engine, thus cooling the oil so you dont have to idle them before shutting down.
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      02-24-2012, 01:54 PM   #3
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thanks, I guess that answers that!
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      02-24-2012, 02:32 PM   #4
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Will the water cooled oil ever reach the hot turbo whilst the oil is not circulated?
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      02-24-2012, 02:35 PM   #5
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The Mike Miller train of thought is that should wait till the car is substantially warm before really leaning on it. Same is true for the cool down procedure. You wouldn't want to be driving full throttle, then immediately shut the car down. Basically if you use common sense you will be fine.
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      02-24-2012, 02:48 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F11-Diesel View Post
Will the water cooled oil ever reach the hot turbo whilst the oil is not circulated?
The BMW design takes the coolant right through the turbo, giving direct cooling to the oil in the turbo
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      02-24-2012, 05:37 PM   #7
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when you shut off your car you should be able to hear the pump working.
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      02-24-2012, 06:00 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CVF10 View Post
when you shut off your car you should be able to hear the pump working.
Why? What if I go in the house?
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      02-24-2012, 06:07 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E90Fleet View Post
The electric water pump on the BMW's keeps working after you shut off the engine, thus cooling the oil so you dont have to idle them before shutting down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by raleedy View Post
Why? What if I go in the house?
I was referring to what E90 had posted. It's hardly noticeable. The only reason I heard was because I came back to the garage to clean up my car and when I lifted the hood, I was able to hear it.
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      02-24-2012, 06:15 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gatoman39
The Mike Miller train of thought is that should wait till the car is substantially warm before really leaning on it. Same is true for the cool down procedure. You wouldn't want to be driving full throttle, then immediately shut the car down. Basically if you use common sense you will be fine.
And that is why I don't like the Stop/Start feature. I thought that when testing a 328i today and having it shut down on me. Not a fan of that feature.
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      02-24-2012, 06:28 PM   #11
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I usually turn off that feature.
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      02-25-2012, 12:45 AM   #12
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When I picked up my car with the European Delivery the guy told me to let it idle for a bit after a long journey ~300 miles
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      02-25-2012, 11:32 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msellars View Post
When I picked up my car with the European Delivery the guy told me to let it idle for a bit after a long journey ~300 miles
Goofy. They make and sell the car so that it requires some secret practice that isn't mentioned in the Owner's Manual? I don't think so.
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      02-25-2012, 06:41 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CVF10
I usually turn off that feature.
Yeah it was a pain in the arse at roundabouts and junctions with the auto transmission!! Musn't be good for the engine components or battery... Hmm, I'd always do a turbo cool off period 20-30 seconds.
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      02-26-2012, 02:29 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raleedy View Post
Goofy. They make and sell the car so that it requires some secret practice that isn't mentioned in the Owner's Manual? I don't think so.
Not really, it's just called best practise. If you want your tyres to last longer than 1000 miles it helps not to do burnouts at every junction. Doesn't mention it in the manual though
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      02-26-2012, 11:19 AM   #16
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Left alone, the engine will stop when the car stops. So we are supposed to believe this is some sort of self abuse that has to be counter-acted by the driver? The analogy to tires is false. Tires are a consumable that the driver can use as suits his or her purpose.
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      02-26-2012, 11:30 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raleedy View Post
Left alone, the engine will stop when the car stops. So we are supposed to believe this is some sort of self abuse that has to be counter-acted by the driver? The analogy to tires is false. Tires are a consumable that the driver can use as suits his or her purpose.
Disagree.

A driver can use the engine as suits his/her purpose too. The engine that's ragged day in day out will likely (disclaimer - but not in every case before someone jumps in saying their 25 year old beemer has been ragged every day and only had 1 litre of oil topped-up ) suffer more problems down the line than one that has a little care taken over it.

Don't treat this as straight black & white - you seem to have the attitude that you HAVE to let it cool down a little or you WILL have problems. All people are saying is some TLC can go a long way, no different in idea to those people that choose to change oil earlier than the BMW advisary.

If you don't have 20-30 seconds of life to spare then fair enough, I doubt your car will spontaneously combust.
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      02-26-2012, 12:26 PM   #18
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I'm mostly opposed to idling engines and the associated waste of fuel and added air pollution. I believe BMW has designed the car to make that unnecessary with the automated cooling that is directed to the turbine. Folklore that encourages people to try to do better seems completely counterproductive to me. You seem to be saying that BMW has put a design on the market, in an effort to reduce fuel consumption, that now requires, or at least benefits from, extra engine use (idling period). Call me skeptical on this.
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      02-26-2012, 12:37 PM   #19
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ok Skeptical

As it's only recommended after hard driving or long journeys at cruising, if you're in the habit of frequent long journeys then a 20-30 second cool-down isn't going to make any difference one way or the other. I've certainly not noticed any detrimental effect to my consumption.

I owned a Mazda diesel once upon a time too, nothing in the manual about cool-down but more than one Mazda qualified technician/engineer/mechanic suggested it would be beneficial (but not critical). Maybe it's a conspiracy to get us to buy more fuel.

If you think it's folklore, great but don't forget to add IMO to the end of your statement - we'll call it quits at that.

To the OP - well, hope that's all clear for you
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      02-26-2012, 01:08 PM   #20
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I can only add my personal experience with a Motor Caravan (RV to those across the water) a Turbo Diesel. If it had been working hard I would normally let it idle a while to cool down. One day we climbed this very long steep hill and stopped at a picnic site at the top - With the kids seeing the Ice cream van about to leave I completely forgot to let it cool down while idling. From that day on the turbo always whined!!
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      02-26-2012, 02:16 PM   #21
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I'm certainly not pretending to describe anything having to do with other cars or engines. I'm only saying that this one is designed to be shut off when it is done propelling the car, so much so that it does it without the driver's intervention. Oh, and I would say the "folklore" characterization is factual. You could look it up.
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      02-27-2012, 12:23 PM   #22
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I let the turbos cool down by running the car in park if I have been running it hard.

My home is right next to an autobahn exit/entrance and it is unrestricted one way for better part of 50 miles, running that long between 120-160 mph I give the turbos the benefit of the doubt and let them idle for a minute or so in the garage.
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