Need some car repair advice...

[ohiominnie]

My dh's truck overheated yesterday. If you want the full story, go here:
http://www.pediascribe.com/20070208/my-day-in-a-nutshell/

otherwise the Cliff notes version is:
about 2 weeks ago he had the 90,000 mile maintenance done (full check, flush all fluids, etc) and new tires.
a few days ago his heater wouln't blow hot air. he turned it off, waited several minutes, then turned it back on and it worked.
yesterday he was driving to work when suddenly his temp guage went sky high, lights lit up on his instrument panel, a horrible alarm started buzzing, and smoke came from under the hood.

he stopped driving it within 1 minute (to get to a safe place to pull off)

the tow truck took it to our Toyota dealer who looked at it yesterday and couldn't find anything wrong with it other than "we were missing two gallons of antifreeze"

today they've had it running all day, haven't found any leaks, took it out for two intensive road trips, and nothing is wrong.

they are saying maybe it was an "air pocket" in the antifreeze compartment, the head gasket is not damaged, and that "it's fine" and nothing needs to be done.

dh has talked to a couple of car knowledgable ppl at work who said once a car overheats, the head gasket warps and it's only a matter of time (weeks, maybe months) until something bad happens again.

we have always been very pleased with our toyota service department, but wonder what's up with this assessment of the truck. we are wondering if maybe when they did the 90,000 mile maintenance they didn't fill it up with antifreeze again and they are covering their butts with this "air pocket" story. would it have taken 2 weeks for a problem to happen?

dh was thinking recently of trading it in but he knew it needed the 90,000 check and new tires, so thought he'd at least do that to get a better trade in value.

if you know anything about cars, i'd appreciate any advice you have.

We are a very active family and must have two reliable cars. as it was yesterday, dh (pediatrician) had to call into work and cancel the whole day of patients which left his partners and his patients in a bad position. he can't be doing that all the time!

Anyone???

 

[shrubber]

mmm couple of things
A lot of things can cause the car to overheat besides low coolant.

oops, just read the clue about the heater not blowing hot air at first, then working.
Check two things.
New radiator cap with the correct temprature release.( Allows fluid to pass through at a certain temp)
Also the truck might have a heater control valve. The heater control valve is on the top of the engine with a heater hose attached. Check for flow or coolant out of the valve.
I believe it opens and closes with vaccum pressure.

 

[shrubber]

What year truck was it?

 

[ohiominnie]

2003, so not that old. the shop did say there didn't find any leaks in any of the hoses or components. They really don't know where the antifreeze "went" although then they claim an "air pocket" so was it there all along?

 

[shrubber]

What model truck? And are you sure they said two gallons?

 

[Hercules10]

dh has talked to a couple of car knowledgable ppl at work who said once a car overheats, the head gasket warps and it's only a matter of time (weeks, maybe months) until something bad happens again.

Not true unless he ran it hard for a long period of time while it was over-heating and if that was the case you'd already have problems.

They might have messed up the thermostat when they flushed it.

 

[ohiominnie]

It's a toyota sequoia limited.
Yup, pretty sure it was "2 gallons"....they talked to dh.

But what I don't understand i yesterday they said "we were missing two gallons" of antifreeze....
but today they "filled it back up" and then claimed "air pocket" caused the problem.

Could you add an additional 2 gallons of antifreeze to the system if in fact there was enough but it was an air pocket?

I just feel weird about it. We've always loved this dealership and their service department, but we've always felt like they've been up front and honest and haven't tried to push things on us that we didn't need. Just seems weird that 2 weeks after MAJOR maintenance we're having problems and the story doesn't seem to be consistant.

dh and I know squat about cars, so we are at their mercy.

 

[shrubber]

I am thinking that most Toyota trucks have a radiator that holds about 3.5 liters or 2.25 gallons. ( I am sure my conversion is off a bit ).
That equals pretty much empty less what the block holds.
If they told you that it was low 2 gallons that fluid was never there.
If its true that there are no leaks and they did a pressure test, there was no 'air pocket'. Somebody did not fill the radiator, or left the drain plug loose and it just ran out.

The drain plug loose is the likely culprit. Somebody did not tighten it all the way, the fluid drained under pressure , the truck comes back in, somebody checks the plug without pressure by hand and it becomes tight again.

They say no leaks...mmm airpocket? I say ask them if they did a pressure test after the flush and fill.

 

[Hercules10]

The drain plug loose is the likely culprit. Somebody did not tighten it all the way, the fluid drained under pressure , the truck comes back in, somebody checks the plug without pressure by hand and it becomes tight again.

They say no leaks...mmm airpocket? I say ask them if they did a pressure test after the flush and fill.

Good thought. That would also explain the smoking if the loose drain plug shot coolant onto a hot engine block.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Dh says they messed up somewhere and they are CYAing....

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If the drain plug was loose they would have seen fluid in their driveway/garage.

So OP evidence of that? My dh is not buying the "loose drain plug" unless you can say you saw fluid.

 

[Hercules10]

If the drain plug was loose they would have seen fluid in their driveway/garage.

So OP evidence of that? My dh is not buying the "loose drain plug" unless you can say you saw fluid.

It's possible if the drain plug wasn't tightened all the way. The cooling system operates under pressure. That's why the suggestion of them pressure testing it was made.

 

[Tiggeroo]

I'd get another opinion at an independent garage that works on toyotas. I'd also try to get them to sign something that if you have a problem related to this in the next so many miles they'll cover the repair. I would say they didn't fill it enough. I had an acura legend and they were known for air-pockets, triggering over heating. Even in those I don't think you'd be two gallons low. There were things the garage was supposed to do to prevent the air pockets though. So if you had a radiator flush/fill at the garage they were supposed to do things to prevent the air pockets. Even an air pocket over heating can cause damage. These cars had aluminum motors making the damage worst.

 

[ohiominnie]

Dh says they messed up somewhere and they are CYAing....

Yup. I get the feeling this is true.

Went to pick it up. There was no charge. But the service record only said "vehicle towed in for overheating---unable to reproduce condition in shop."

No mention of testing pressures (like they said they did) No mention of adding 2 gallons of antifreeze (like they said they did).


So dh and I did our OWN CYA which by FAR trumped their CYA.
We traded it in! HA! We go the absolute HIGHEST value you can get from Kelly Blue Book (considering it just had major maintenance, new back brakes and new tires). Of course we didn't mention we just got it out of the service department. Why should we? There wasn't anything wrong with it??? Oh, and for our trouble, the service department had detailed it, inside and out....so it was in PERFECT trade in condition.

HA!

Thanks for all of the advice. We just absolutely had to have a reliable car. With dh's job he can't be breaking down on the side of the road all of the time. It was bad enough he had to cancel an entire day's worth of patients the other day. After all, this is his busy season (viruses, flu, strep) and he left a lot of people scrambling.

 

[ms1031]

My Toyota technician DH says it's very possible that there was an air pocket (most likely in the heater core, which would explain the heater not blowing hot air), that finally caused the engine to overheat enough to blow out the 2 gallons of coolant. He said they probably didn't "power flush" the system, just drained and refilled, which often causes the air pockets. The amount of damage to the motor, if any at all, would depend on how long it was kept running after the incident.

So, they could very well have been telling you the truth.

Either way, enjoy your new vehicle.