Experience with 1.2L Turbo engine 8NR-FTS

[Realtalk123]

Hi

Tell me about your experience with the 1.2 turbo engine 8NR-FTS. 

I read a lot of bad comments in german forums, but believe that they are often based on prejudice against small capacity turbo engines rather than true practical experience. Do you face reliability issue with the engine? 

About myself :

I bought a 2017 Auris with the 1.2 liter turbo engine at 67'000 km in October 2022 and have driven it for 8000 km at an average fuel consumption of 5.7 - 6.0 liters per 100 km. 

I had it repaired twice. Once because someone else bumped into it on a parking slot, once because a marten separated a vacuum hose. Of course the car is not to be blamed for either of the repairs. 

I know that the hybrid system is very reliable and well proven, but would like to keep it out of the discussion. I am merely interested in people's experience with the 1.2 turbo engine. 

[Bper]

Hi Luca, I have also owned for the last 2 years a Auris 1.2T but mine is Automatic with 44,000 miles on the clock and have had no problems with the engine.

A number of reports have criticized this engine as you say being a small turbo engine. However I have yet to see any owners reports of this actually being the case.

I believe that this really depends on how the car is driven. Obviously if you floor the accelerator at every occasion and thrash the turbo then you will no doubt encounter problems but this can also be attributed to most small engines.

I always wait a couple of minutes before turning the engine off after a long drive to allow the turbo to cool down and a couple of minutes when first starting .

IMO I think Toyota did a good job with this engine, unfortunately the Auris wasn't a big seller in Europe but it is in fact a rebadged Corolla so I wouldn't worry.

Drive it sensibly and with regular Toyota scheduled service and you should have a car that you can have total confidence in. Well I do for one and would be the first to say if I did have any issues.

 

 

 

 

 

[Konrad C]

Driving an Avensis, it's obvious that I don't have this engine. Going by Toyota with the previous Valvematic engines, I don't think reliability should be an issue so long as the car is routinely serviced! Think of the poor souls driving Ford with the 1.0L Ecoboost (Ecoboom) and the Peugeot with the 1.2L Puretech engine used in a lot of their current cars, and Citreon and latest current cars in the Vauxhall range like the Corsa. These cars use a 'wet' timing belt that needs replacing  at much shorter periods or mileage than the manufacturers original recommended. The job to replace the belt and parts of the engine can cost up to £2000! I would rather have a Toyota 1.2T engine.  

[solero]

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.

 

[solero]

No EGRs to clean either

[Cyker]

It's definitely one of the more reliable small displacement turbos out there - I haven't seen many problem reports aside from the intake valves getting coked up, but alas that is common with most direct injection-only engines and not just limited to the 8NR-FTS.

Toyota didn't chase horsepower figures, so the turbo is on the small side, but this means the engine is less stressed and the turbo spins up faster. From what I've read, it has the sort of nice low-end torque that makes diesels nice to drive! The power band is tuned for real world use instead of automotive journalists.

I reckon it didn't sell well because it was a bit of a late entry, not because there was anything wrong with it - I think if it had come earlier it would have done better, but everyone was getting the hybrid by the time it came out, and I feel most of the people that got the 1.2T got it because they wanted a manual or because the hybrid was too expensive.

I would have loved that engine in my old Yaris  

 

[Bper]

22 minutes ago, Cyker said:

It's definitely one of the more reliable small displacement turbos out there - I haven't seen many problem reports aside from the intake valves getting coked up, but alas that is common with most direct injection-only engines and not just limited to the 8NR-FTS.

Toyota didn't chase horsepower figures, so the turbo is on the small side, but this means the engine is less stressed and the turbo spins up faster. From what I've read, it has the sort of nice low-end torque that makes diesels nice to drive! The power band is tuned for real world use instead of automotive journalists.

I reckon it didn't sell well because it was a bit of a late entry, not because there was anything wrong with it - I think if it had come earlier it would have done better, but everyone was getting the hybrid by the time it came out, and I feel most of the people that got the 1.2T got it because they wanted a manual or because the hybrid was too expensive.

I would have loved that engine in my old Yaris  

 

Cyker, you are making me feel left out because I have an automatic 😂

I wonder what percentage of those sold were autos?. I would have to go back 30 odd years since I owned a manual. Not only that but my wife can only drive auto and she wont let me buy a Koenigsegg.

[Cyker]

Well I could just be talking  since, as always seems to happen, right after I said that all the 1.2T owners who've replied in this thread so far have the autobox  

If I was right tho', that just means your car will be worth more as it'll be rarer!  

 

[Bper]

10 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Well I could just be talking  since, as always seems to happen, right after I said that all the 1.2T owners who've replied in this thread so far have the autobox  

If I was right tho', that just means your car will be worth more as it'll be rarer!  

 

Now I really like you and should I ever win the National lottery I shall remember your wise words.

[solero]

If you search autotrader for 1.2 auris, theres usually 5-10 CVTs versus 60-70 manuals. CVTs also demanding a higher price.

[TaylorD]

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. 

[Wooster]

You might be interested in a review of the engine, here:  hwww.motorreviewer.com/engine_id=138

[solero]

. The EGR valve quickly becomes dirty. The cleaning process for EGR valve may be needed already at 20,000 miles mileage

I would love someone to show me the egr valve.

I suspect its an AI generated page with extracts from the net.

[Realtalk123]

Thank you all for you replies, I really enjoy reading them. 

To me it seems, that people rarely report serious issues when they are asked about their own experience with the 8NR-FTS engine. I posted the same question in a german forum and got only one reply from a guy telling me that his car hat water in the rear lights and a torn off exhaust (most likely because he hit a block of ice on the road). 

When I last serviced my own car, I asked the mechanic about common issues with the 1.2 turbo. He said there were no particularly bad issues with the engine. When I asked about carbon built up, he told me that he could clean my engine, but that it was most likely an unnecessary waste of money. 

In Autoscout24 there are currently 71 cars with the 8NR-FTS on sale in Switzerland. The highest mileage car has 253'000 km, the second highest 231'000 km and the third highest 198'000 km. 

It would currently take me 17 years to reach 253'000 km with my car considering I only do 8000-10000 km a year. 

I think the engine might actually be much better than what people give it credit for. Maybe it just sits in the shadow of the hybrids that people trust in a lot and which are very comfortable, effortless and econimic to drive. 

In any way I will keep you posted on my experience with the car and am very keen to hear from you about yours (if you decide to keep yours..) 

[Bper]

Hi Luca, well that's very positive and will give other owners confidence that they also made a good choice when they purchased their 1.2T and have a very reliable  8NR-FTS engine. 

[Realtalk123]

13 minutes ago, Bper said:

Hi Luca, well that's very positive and will give other owners confidence that they also made a good choice when they purchased their 1.2T and have a very reliable  8NR-FTS engine. 

I would like to gather a little bit more data and experience before being very confident, but at the moment I don't really understand were all the negative comments about the engine come from. But let's also keep in mind that the cars which were mentioned in this thread are all rather low mileage at the moment. We will have to wait and see what people report 🙂

[Cyker]

I kinda assume it's a general distrust of small-displacement turbo engines; The other manufacturers really didn't to its reputation any favours, with Ford's "Eco-BOOM" being the most infamous.

But Toyota have Toyota'd this one so I don't think it'll have the same problems. As I said they didn't go for high horsepower figures, so the engine has a much easier life, and it's been designed much more conservatively than other marques

.

It's like CVTs - CVT gearboxes have an awful reputation for being fragile, unreliable and expensive to repair and maintain, with some of the worst cases coming from Nissan somehow.

When Toyota started making them, everyone shat on it expecting the same sort of problems, but somehow Toyota made the CVT reliable. I can't remember the last time someone posted on here about a problem with one; I think it's had less problem posts than even the hybrid drive or manual gear boxes!

 

[Rhymes with Paris]

Yes the Ford ecoboom, I was looking at a very clean honda jazz one of the members had for sale for my daughter in law, unfortunately it had a CVT, so was a non starter.

She seems fixated on fords though anyway, despite me trying to convince her of Toyota and Honda engineering quality.

I have warned her about the ecoboom, I think this was fitted in a lot of fiestas and focuses around the MY/price she is looking at, around 2015-2017 I think.

My fear is that she will get stitched up on one of these on finance, and be stuck with a car that goes bang, and still has to pay for it.

I reckon a early 2000s Yaris, other Toyota or honda, especially jazz for roominess carrying teenage daughters would be the best compromise between price and reliability, and could be bought outright, without getting involved in endless monthly payments.

[Konrad C]

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. 

At last, a complaint about the 1.2T. I have done journeys in my much larger 1.8 Avensis Tourer, on similar roads around the Bexley, Dartford, M25, Tunbridge, Lewes, Brighton, basically South East London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and getting much better fuel mileage. I even had fake spark plugs that did worsen the economy and running, but still bettered your results. I used to own a Mk1 '98 1.8 leanburn Avensis and that had great economy. My current '09 (58 plate) Valvematic is close in economy even though it is a much larger heavier car. It has 6 gears, but the old Avensis was fine with 5 speed, just more revs. The old Corolla is really low geared, so at motorway speeds will be at 3500 to 4000 rpm.

The 1.2T has more torque quoted at 185Nm 1500 - 4000 rpm. My 1.8 Valvematic is quoted at 180Nm at 4000 rpm so the 1.2T should be more useable and less revs to achieve the same power!  

I think there is a problem with your car! Some faults may not trigger the EML until set parameters are triggered. The injectors could be partially blocked, the turbo not spinning properly, the oil is not the preferred grade, the inlet has carbon. Also check the tyre pressures, the brakes are not rubbing. General servicing should be done at least once a year or even more if doing lots of stop/start journeys. When last was the spark plugs check or changed? 

Read this even if not related -   

 

[Bper]

After reading the posts and the comment by @Konrad C I am asking am I the only one on this forum that has a Auris 1.2T Auto petrol. I have had no problems with lack of power or acceleration at roundabouts or any other roads. If I need any additional boost then I switch into sports mode and the throttle response is more then enough. As I have said before my only gripe with this model is the headlights, I went out the other night and taped two candles to the headlights and they were better then the light output you get from the halogen bulbs.😂

I am currently looking at replacing the complete headlight with LED after confirmation from the DVSA that they are MOT compliant.

[Realtalk123]

Hi Bob

I have the 6 speed manual, but personally I feel that the torque above 1500 rpm is impressive and enough for every driving situation I have faced so far. I think the idea is that you can drive tha car like a diesel, shifting early at low rpms, thus improving fuel consumption and engine longevity... The red line is very low as well at only 5200 rpm. 

[Realtalk123]

Just got a comment in the germam forum from a guy who's wife drove/drives an Auris 1.2t.

After 2-3, years of ownership he had an ignition coil failure and a broken exhaust mount. Apparently the ignition coil problem was solved by Toyota in 2017 and mainly concerned the first few batches of the engine (i cannot verify this info at the moment) 

If I understand him correctly, the repairs were covered by warranty. 

Generally he thinks fuel consumption is too high for such a small engine. 

To be honest I still don't consider that a bad review for the car. 

If you are interested in the link to the German forum, you can let me know, but I figured it was pointless unless any of you understands german 🙂

 

 

[Bper]

6 minutes ago, Realtalk123 said:

Just got a comment in the germam forum from a guy who's wife drove/drives an Auris 1.2t.

After 2-3, years of ownership he had an ignition coil failure and a broken exhaust mount. Apparently the ignition coil problem was solved by Toyota in 2017 and mainly concerned the first few batches of the engine (i cannot verify this info at the moment) 

If I understand him correctly, the repairs were covered by warranty. 

Generally he thinks fuel consumption is too high for such a small engine. 

To be honest I still don't consider that a bad review for the car. 

If you are interested in the link to the German forum, you can let me know, but I figured it was pointless unless any of you understands german 🙂

 

 

Hi Luca, Of course you will always find motorists that has had problems with any make or model. You never know how the car been driven or looked after since ownership. Irrespective all cars will have problems new or old at some stage.

I always think the best experience is your own, Its interesting to read but for every poor review you can find a hundred positive ones.

Many motoring reviews say the Auris is boring and lacks this and that but it's their individual view. I don't need a car that does 0-60 in three seconds and costs a fortune to run and breaks down when you most need it.😀

 

 

 

[Cyker]

He'd maybe be right about the fuel consumption being a bit high if the engine was a 1.2, but it's not, it's a 1.2t - T for Turbo - and that makes a whole chunk of difference as it's going to be ingesting more like 1.6-1.8L of air-fuel mix than 1.2. Given it literally replaced the 1.6L engine, that would be a fairer comparison.

It's also in a fairly large and heavy car, so really it's about right - It'd be difficult to get much higher without going diesel or hybrid.

The 1.33 engine might be able to get higher mpg, but you'd be in danger of being overtaken by bicycles waiting for it to get up to speed   - People that bought the Auris with that engine must have been very patient people  

[solero]

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.