failed turbo charger

[amos68]

2005 GMC
The service garage claims mine is starting to come apart at 109,000 miles.
Is this normal?

[DmaxMaverick]

It isn't normal, but any component can fail at any time, for a number of reasons. Turbos fail, on rare occasion, but there's usually an external cause of it. I'd ask for more info, such as, what does "starting to come apart" mean? What part, is "coming apart"? Why is it in the shop, in the first place?

[amos68]

I was told the fins were coming off and not safe to drive.

[DmaxMaverick]

That is very unusual. Either it was defective from new, or you have a serious issue that caused it, and it may repeat with a new turbo. If possible, I'd like to see some good pictures of this condition.

Do they have the turbo off the engine and on a bench? Or are they diagnosing this by looking into the compressor inlet?

How many hours and total fuel usage on the engine?

[Kennedy]

If the "fins are coming apart" you would almost certainly hear a lot of grinding/scraping sounds.

I've seen a lot of things misdiagnosed as failed or failing turbo from EGR to vane controls to leaky ducts/boots.

These turbos are pretty darn durable so long as you keep them oiled. Probably the most common failure is the vane control ring sticking. This is a relatively easy fix once the turbo is removed.