Cupra R engine reliability

The_one

Full Member
Mar 18, 2006
508
0
England
A few years back i had a mk3 ibiza cupra and ever since i have kinda missed the charateristics of the 20v turbo lump.

Ive seen a leon cupra r with high miles (100k) and was wondering what this mileage is like on a cupra r?

It has FSH but how does the engine cope with this mileage?

Is it something that could cost money in the near future?

Cheers :funk:
 

Fergal84

Active Member
Aug 23, 2007
60
1
from what i've read the engines cope with high mileage quite well, and 100k isn't too much of a problem, don't know how they hold up much past that though
 

Willie

LCR Track car
Aug 6, 2004
8,939
1
Sunny Scotland
I've got 90,000 miles on mine since new.
The engine is fine with no problems. What i have noticed is that the bushes and mounts need replcing to freshen and stiffen things back up again. If the engine has been treated well then there should be little or no problems with it.
 

traumapat

Leon Cupra IHI
Jul 24, 2005
5,925
4
sunny sussex
What planet are you on? :lol:

wondered the same?

after a year of BT i had a valve issue ( it had had it ages from 50k onwards ) with the head off was told there was very little bore wear and this was at 85k.

cars now around 95k with no issues and thats 2 years with BT so id say that if maintained well and warmed up cooled down correctly it should last a very long time.
 

warren_cox

Back from the dead
Depends on how they've been treated.

If serviced on the nail and then driven respectfully from cold start / and cooling down from hot you could see 160k+ without and catastrophic failures.

Add mods to the mix and that could reduce somewhat.

Every engine although generic tends to form its own characteristics based on how its kept and driven, so it's really hard to specify. Things will get a bit loose at that age, so expect some suspension work and get ready for another cam belt change.
 

m0rk

sarcasm comes free
Staff member
May 19, 2001
27,787
33
Clanfield, UK
only if it's been poorly maintained, or had the **** kicked out of it would a modern engine need any attention at this mileage
 

BCM

Keyboard Gangster
Feb 1, 2005
2,680
0
Wishaw, North Lanarkshire
The actuall block and head should last at least 200k without problem as long as its looked after, prob need to start replacing parts at about 120 to 150k, i.e. Turbo, Exhaust, poss some pumps etc..
Nothin major tho.
 

EL

Forever Alive
Mar 17, 2008
2,931
1
Bickley, Bromley
These engines don’t mind the high millage like other makes i.e. Shabby Ford. However it al really depends on the way the car has been treated. It’s a good start that it has a full service history but how was it driven on a daily basis. I’ve seen a lot of turbo cars on the road and the drivers simply do not have a clue on how to drive them. Mind you, I wouldn’t mind as much if it were one of the guys who are answering this post as these guys are Leon fanatics and know how to watch their cars. If you can find out anything about the driver then great!!

I personally tend to stay away from high millage motors, simply because there are so many low millage examples out there also. I got my 05 LCR with just under 23,000 miles earlier this year.
 

colinpuk

Active Member
Jan 2, 2008
86
0
Slough
www.colinpeach.co.uk
my lcr is on its 3rd engine , but id like to think its just bad luck, (oil starvation then broken cambet tensioner)
as for the comment about shabby ford engines , one of our pool cars (ford mondao) has been ragged all its life is on 250k
 

B3LSY

Guest
well i bought my LCR on 89k,spent about £600 on mods started off ok got to 97k ish turbo went £1100 for hybrid turbo forge tip an fitting, 2 weeks ago started getting a knocking noise from engine, so took it to Amd, said it could be small ends, they took it apart an the engine was COOKED! some point in its life the water pump has gone an they have carried on driving it, got so hot the pistons have shrunk which has caused the knocking,plus exhaust mainifold has cracked due to the heat, so my engine is having a full bottom end rebuild,uprated rods pistons etc new mainifold new clutch alot of new things so it will be a new engine £3500-4000 so be careful what you buy but just my luck all this has gone
 

BCM

Keyboard Gangster
Feb 1, 2005
2,680
0
Wishaw, North Lanarkshire
Thats exactly it, your luck, you can research all you like but your never gonna be able to see inside an engine.
Just need to find the best one you can, mine is on 114k miles and it drives sweet as a nut!
Fingers Crossed!
Regulars services and taking care of it!
 
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