SDV6 reliability

[jtmesa]

Hi Guys,

I've had a look on forums and carsales to see what owners are clocking up on their SDV6. I haven't really found anything so I wanted to see what your experiences are on SDV6 with reliability etc.

Our 2013 MY14 RRS SE SDV6 has clicked over 250,000km's and still feels tight, and fuel efficient around town.

Fingers crossed!

[Barryp]

No issues with my 2011 L320 SDV6 SE.
Car has now been replaced with a 2017 L494 SE but with the TDV6 motor.
As the car is 400KG lighter than the L320 I don't miss the loss of the second turbo.
Performance of the TDV6 feels better if anything due to the lighter car weight and eight speed gearbox.
A plus is that and I have one less turbo and associated control systems to worry about!
Regards
Barry

[SBD4]

No issues with my 2011 L320 SDV6 SE.
Car has now been replaced with a 2017 L494 SE but with the TDV6 motor.
As the car is 400KG lighter than the L320 I don't miss the loss of the second turbo.
Performance of the TDV6 feels better if anything due to the lighter car weight and eight speed gearbox.
A plus is that and I have one less turbo and associated control systems to worry about!
Regards
Barry
Barry, the TDv6 in the L494 has the same output as the SDV6 on the L320 (+ 10KW for the L494). So with the L494 being lighter you have a much more nimble vehicle. Also, all versions of the diesel V6 have two sequential turbos. That's why you have that massive amount of torque available virtually from idle.

[Barryp]

Interesting that the workshop manual only shows one turbo on L494 TDV6 and when I have a look I can't see one where it was on my L320 SDV6.
Totally different EGR and turbo system on the TDV6 from what I can see on mine and in the manual.
Regards
Barry

[Barryp]

140876140877

Pictures L494 TDV6 on the left and L494 SDV6 on the right.
Small hole above the exhaust on the TDV6 is the new style low pressure EGR system that draws cooler exhaust from back near the DPF, SDV6 still uses the high pressure EGR system that draws exhaust from near the turbos on that engine.
Note nothing under the right hand manifold on the TDV6. I hope this helps.
Regards
Barry

[donh54]

Yep! That exhaust gas is going to be so much cooler! Still have issues with understanding how you can put dirty air into an engine, and profess to make it run cleaner.
Same as back in the '70s when the anti-pollution stuff first came in. You set up an engine to burn more fuel, to produce less power, and call it a "cleaner" engine!

[SBD4]

140876140877

Pictures L494 TDV6 on the left and L494 SDV6 on the right.
Small hole above the exhaust on the TDV6 is the new style low pressure EGR system that draws cooler exhaust from back near the DPF, SDV6 still uses the high pressure EGR system that draws exhaust from near the turbos on that engine.
Note nothing under the right hand manifold on the TDV6. I hope this helps.
Regards
Barry
Thanks for that. Interesting change. Never assume anything I think they say. I'll have to have a closer look myself. Even the 155KW TDV6 of discos past have two turbos.

[SBD4]

Yep! That exhaust gas is going to be so much cooler! Still have issues with understanding how you can put dirty air into an engine, and profess to make it run cleaner.
Same as back in the '70s when the anti-pollution stuff first came in. You set up an engine to burn more fuel, to produce less power, and call it a "cleaner" engine!
Defies all logic doesn't it?

[simmo1]

I have a 2014 TDV6 which has twin turbos. They have changed since. I wonder what the turbo lag is like with the new versions, mine can be a pain in the backside particularly when trying to filter along gently in slow traffic.
Cheers, Simmo

[Barryp]

My L494 with TDV6 has virtually zero lag compared to my L320 with SDV6. Can't guess why, but 8 speed auto vs 6 speed may help off the line.
Regards
Barry

[SBD4]

I have a 2014 TDV6 which has twin turbos. They have changed since. I wonder what the turbo lag is like with the new versions, mine can be a pain in the backside particularly when trying to filter along gently in slow traffic.
Cheers, Simmo
Try keeping it in sport mode. I found this to be universally better than ordinary drive mode in the D4 and now in the sport. The slowness off the mark seems to be programmed and is extremely annoying when trying to keep an even pace with slow traffic especially when you want just a bit more and instead of that you "wake the beast". Sport mode seems to give a more natural response to the throttle. I only ever leave it in "Drive" when cruising. When I first started doing this I thought I was going to have a big hit on economy, I've found it to be negligible and if anything, better.

Anyway give it a go and see if it works for you.

[Barryp]

Regarding the discussion above on the TDV6 and SDV6 and the number of turbos fitted to the L494 RRS I found this online which may clarify:

"For MY 2014 & 2015.0 the TDV6 and SDV6 are mechanically the same engine with a double (sequential) turbo with different ECU programming. From MY 2015.5 the TDV6 only has a single turbo, but with a more aggressive & efficient ECU programming so the power and torque remain the same with less fuel consumption. The SDV6 (still double turbo) has received new ECU tuning which has increased the power and torque."

This may explain the confusion.

The low pressure EGR system was fitted on the TDV6 at the same time as going to the single turbo.

Regards
Barry