Late service call leads to a cooked engine
Q: I was on the highway when the “low coolant” light came on. My first instinct was to get to the dealership in case it was serious.
I was less than a kilometre from the dealership when my car stalled.
The dealership said that my driving the vehicle was an “outside influence” and want $6,400 for a used replacement engine. I can’t pay this, and don’t feel I should have to. I lease vehicles so they are under warranty, safe and reliable.
I’ve been told that I should have stopped and read my manual when the warning light illuminated. Since I didn’t, my warranty is void. Addition- ally, they say I that if I’d done the recommended — not mandatory — service at 60,000 km, I would have known my coolant was low. My coolant was checked at an oil change at around 68,000 km, and it was not low. As a driver, any one of us could be doing something to void our warranties without even knowing it. My contract says my responsibility is to maintain the vehicle. I did so the best that I knew how, and made the most responsible and practical decision I could at the time. They keep telling me I should have called a tow truck. I now have an unusable, fully paid leased vehicle.
Don’t shoot the messenger but, A: frankly, I believe that drivers share the same duty of care as an airline pilot, ship captain, or bus driver to have read the owner’s manual and be familiar with emergency procedures. Perform a basic “walkaround” check: look at the tires underneath the vehicle. A weekly walk-around check might have spotted a coolant leak before it became a serious issue. Leaks can occur anytime in any part of the cooling system. A leaking water pump will soon fail, and impact damage (i.e. airborne pebbles) can cause an immediate radiator leak. Driving with insufficient coolant will quickly cause the engine to overheat and seize. Likewise, an underinflated tire due to neglect or a slow leak (i.e. nail in it) will eventually overheat and blowout.
Both examples above can either be easily repaired or result in catastrophic damage — all depending on whether or not the driver notices the problem and takes action.
Whether an automaker issue caused the initial leak may be near impossible to determine from the now, fully-cooked engine with resulting damage throughout. Email your non-mechanical questions to Eric Lai at wheels@thestar.ca.