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Is There Such A Thing As Repairing Turbo Actuators? How This Impacts the Options When a vehicle owner must deal with an inoperable electronic turbo actuator, he or she traditionally has only troublesome choices. This is also a “No Repair Policy” that many turbo manufacturers enforce and forces you to replace the whole chra instead of just the actuator. This policy is because many reasons are related to technical and economic issues.
Knowing the No Repair Policy
Turbochargers are precisely calibrated systems Calibrating Issues Any modification to the actuators requires specific setup for that particular turbo, with use of another actuator lead poor performance and even features such as going into limp mode or failing emissions test42. That fine-tuning makes individual repairs near impossible, because the system is so delicate that a slight tweak in one area could put all of it out-of-whack.
Complexity of Components — The electronic turbo actuator is made up of numerous intricate components such as motors, gears and circuit board. Discovery and replacement of worn parts can be expensive 46, technically difficult Manufacturers may find it more cost-effective to replace the whole unit rather than undertake repairs.
The Poser: Trying to fix an actuator when you do not have the expertise or experience will only cause more damage. One mistake in particular—like moving the actuator shaft improperly during disassembly, for example — will ruin your chances of getting things repaired1.
Repair Options Available
And yet, even where the “No Repair Policy” reigns supreme in most cases, there are specialized services that provide repair of electronic turbo actuators.
Testing and Reconditioning – Some companies offer testing to find out what the problem is with an actuator, and then recondition it back into near new condition. The process can save the user significantly from replacing an entire turbocharger25.
These services are mainly limited to just replacing the component inside other items as part of an overhaul and anything else is essentially in need for a new actuator16.
For vehicles under warranty This may also be more reasonable than risking voiding the entire 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty most Kia’s come with (7 years and unlimited mileage for Europe) over third party repairs3.
Conclusion
Overall, the “No Repair Policy” for electronic turbo actuators is understandable since manufacturers simply want to avoid calibration and complexity issues however they do not have knowledge over specialized services that might offer repair solutions. When such expensive systems with actuators go out, the car owner and installer must decide if it is worth making repairs to that actuator or simply replace them due to so many factors including cost of repair vs replacement, ability of shop techs repairing these costly components today (and in doing so properly wearing personal protective equipment), as well just how much more life does your vehicle actually have left rather than throwing away another $1.00 – 10 for something quickly forgotten once fixed right?
