Turbo on a long trip

[Lucky7Wrangler]

This is my first turbo vehicle ever and have a question(s). I have a road trip coming up with a majority of the trip is on the interstate for approximately 421 miles out of 529 70-75mph cruising. Does the turbo require any down time after so many hours of driving? I usually take a break every 2.5-3 hours.

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[yokramer]

I've driven mine from NC to FL many times and did from NC to CO in 3 days with no problems other than the regular fuel stops. Its a modern engine and can take being driven long distances just fine.

 

[Red Rubi 22]

Just drive it. Been from Michigan to Florida and back. Been from Michigan to Tennessee. You are good to go.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Downtime for the turbo? Nah. Keep pushing it.

 

[jellis4148]

Yes, just drive it. Nothing wrong though when you stop if you can let it idle and cool down. You're off road pages shows temps. I don't have a turbo, and wait till the oil and water has cooled down before I shut it off when driving long distances.

 

[Jtimbrook]

Like the others have said, you'll be more than fine. When I purchased mine, I drove it 584 miles (10 miles on the odometer) straight through as I had work the next day.

 

[svtrit]

I let my EcoBoost twin turbo F150 idle for 20 seconds or so before shutting it off to allow some spool down time while oil is flowing. Otherwise, you'll be fine just driving it. OTR semi trucks have had turbos forever!

The Auto stop start kills me with turbocharged engines. I turn it off everytime in my F150, as it will shut off immediately at a stop light at the bottom of an exit ramp. I don't see that as good for turbo longevity.

 

[Mifsuud]

I've done many 350 mile each way trips without any concern. And I'm in the southwest where it's crazy hot during the summer. In those months I run 91 octane for stability.

 

[calemasters]

After you have been at highway speeds for a time, when you make a stop, let the engine idle for 2-3 minutes so the turbo can cool. Also, never rev the engine and then shut the engine off.

 

[Twojayhawks]

Under almost any circumstance you are fine to just pull off an interstate (after any amount of driving) & just shut the engine off. In the remote chance you just pulled a mountain pass in the Rockies, reached the summit, pulled over, no I wouldn't shut the engine down.

 

[jharp]

My granddad was a diesel mechanic his whole life - generally he said it was good to idle a minute or two when getting off the freeway when hauling heaving or moving at speed. Mainly this was to prevent conventional oil from coking up the sleeve bearings in the turbo from the residual heat.

Modern turbos are water cooled as well as oil cooled, and synthetic oil cokes up at a much higher temperature, so its likely less of an issue.

Only time I've ever idled my diesel trucks when towing was pulling into rest stops, and if you park where the semi's are you'll see they are all idling a while after stopping as well. GM Duramax engines will actually re-start and high idle to cool down the turbo if you shut them down too soon (had it happen to me once at a rest stop)

Most of the time when you exit a freeway and cruise surface streets for a bit, you're giving the turbo enough time to cool down and not coke the bearings.

 

[Rogersocal]

As many have said, Just drive it. I would recommend a couple min idle time before shutdown though.

 

[Avar928]

As others mentioned, just drive it. When I had my 2.0 I would take an annual cross country trip often driving hundreds of miles over 12-15hrs. Never had any issue.

They do tend to develop a coolant leak over time since the design for the overflow reservoir and lower T-line sucks. Incredibly easy replacement, lots of posts about it. Not sure if that was corrected in the later years though but since yours is a 2025 that's not something you will have to deal with until many many heat cycles later. I did a cross country within a year of my 2018 and drove 11,500+ miles over 3mos without any issue.

 

[Guv]

I let my EcoBoost twin turbo F150 idle for 20 seconds or so before shutting it off to allow some spool down time while oil is flowing. Otherwise, you'll be fine just driving it. OTR semi trucks have had turbos forever!

The Auto stop start kills me with turbocharged engines. I turn it off everytime in my F150, as it will shut off immediately at a stop light at the bottom of an exit ramp. I don't see that as good for turbo longevity.

Truer words have never been spoken!

 

[Red Rubi 22]

To add, as far as I know coolant continues to circulate cooling the turbo when the engine is shut off. You can hear it running for a little while if it’s quiet enough. Secondly, once you hit highway speeds and are cruising along you aren’t into the turbo.

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