Faults:
First thing that went wrong was the engine coolant over flow tank would drop low enough for the "low engine coolant warning to flash." Fill the the tank up and the warning goes off. All is well for approximately 2500 miles, and the warning is flashing again.
First: the dealer simply discounted the issue as not a problem.
Second: the dealer began to keep the car over night, and then return it saying they could not find an issue to correct the problem.
Third: the dealer kept the vehicle, and claimed they had let it idle for over an hour, and the over flow tank did not drop any. By this time I suggested they drive it for 40 miles, and when they returned, they would then be able to identify the leak was occurring.
Fourth: they kept the vehicle, and provided a junk type loaner car for me to use while they "tore down the engine." They called me in and had me look at a cylinder head that allegedly had came off my vehicle, and pointed out an oil bubble they said resulted from water entering my oil, and that was the problem all along. Well the reality was they never removed the head, did not replace anything and did not fix the problem. By this time I was convinced they had no intention of repairing the problem, so I continued driving and adding anti freeze as needed.
Finally, a private garage identified a radiator leak, so I gladly replaced the radiator in anticipation of this fixing the leak. NOPE! Over flow tank continued to leak down and I would have to add anti freeze to shut the warning light off. The next thing that was decided needed replaced was the heat sensor relay, so I agreed to that. Nothing changed. The engine to date still does not heat up above 195 degrees and the heat is not as hot as it should be. However, I did finally find a person that identified the HEATER CORE was leaking anti-freeze behind the passenger front floor mat, so now WE HAVE replaced the heater core and found the CAUSE of the anti-freeze leak.
I am of the opinion that had the dealer replaced the heater core when the issue was first brought to their attention, the replacement of the radiator and heat sensor would not have been necessary.
29th Dec 2010, 21:52
I would replace the steering damper. It goes out in these vehicles, and it will eventually become very dangerous to drive.