Coolant line rupture: who should pay?
November 11, 2013 8:51 AM Subscribe
Yesterday, my car overheated (or got close to it) on the way home. I'm 100% certain that this is due to some work that my mechanic did, either directly or indirectly. Who should pay for this repair work?
My car (a '99 Honda Accord) suffered a small rupture in one of its coolant hoses yesterday. I noticed steam coming from under the hood of the car; the temperature gauge was nearing the red line so I pulled over. Steam was spraying out from a rupture in one of the coolant hoses leading to the engine block. I let the car cool down, limped it to a gas station two blocks away, filled the radiator with water, and then limped it the rest of the way to my garage. (The heat gauge didn't indicate above a normal operating temperature for the rest of the ride. Yes, I know this was slightly less than prudent, but it was a calculated risk that I could get it home and wait until my mechanic opened today.) Coolant's leaking everywhere from the car and I'm going to have it towed to my mechanic whenever they have an opening for me.
About 1.5 years ago I was having major engine trouble and my mechanic replaced my car's engine. In the process, they installed new lines for everything, so I'm 100% certain that this rupture was either due to incorrect installation, substandard materials, or something else involving the work that my mechanic did. It looks, to me, like there was a slight kink in the coolant hose that wound up rupturing over time.
Is it reasonable for me to ask for them to pay for the parts and labor involved in repairing this leak? When is a good time to bring this up? The car is due for a minor service (oil change etc.), so I'm okay with paying for that, but I'm not interested in paying for something that could have been avoided by the work the shop did. Are there any other questions I should be asking at the mechanic?
My car (a '99 Honda Accord) suffered a small rupture in one of its coolant hoses yesterday. I noticed steam coming from under the hood of the car; the temperature gauge was nearing the red line so I pulled over. Steam was spraying out from a rupture in one of the coolant hoses leading to the engine block. I let the car cool down, limped it to a gas station two blocks away, filled the radiator with water, and then limped it the rest of the way to my garage. (The heat gauge didn't indicate above a normal operating temperature for the rest of the ride. Yes, I know this was slightly less than prudent, but it was a calculated risk that I could get it home and wait until my mechanic opened today.) Coolant's leaking everywhere from the car and I'm going to have it towed to my mechanic whenever they have an opening for me.
About 1.5 years ago I was having major engine trouble and my mechanic replaced my car's engine. In the process, they installed new lines for everything, so I'm 100% certain that this rupture was either due to incorrect installation, substandard materials, or something else involving the work that my mechanic did. It looks, to me, like there was a slight kink in the coolant hose that wound up rupturing over time.
Is it reasonable for me to ask for them to pay for the parts and labor involved in repairing this leak? When is a good time to bring this up? The car is due for a minor service (oil change etc.), so I'm okay with paying for that, but I'm not interested in paying for something that could have been avoided by the work the shop did. Are there any other questions I should be asking at the mechanic?
About 1.5 years ago
...You can try, I suppose, but after 1.5 years, you may not get too far.
posted by thomas j wise at 9:03 AM on November 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
...You can try, I suppose, but after 1.5 years, you may not get too far.
posted by thomas j wise at 9:03 AM on November 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
Was there any kind of warranty on the earlier work they did? If so, I'd guess that it wouldn't be for more than a year. 1.5 years seems pretty dodgy for a length of time after a repair to go in and demand that they pay for it. Isn't it possible that the line kinked due to something in the interrim?
posted by LionIndex at 9:04 AM on November 11, 2013
posted by LionIndex at 9:04 AM on November 11, 2013
If i am understanding you correctly the work was done a year and a half ago. If that is correct, than no it is not reasonable to expect them to pay for parts and labor. You can ask of course, but i wouldn't hold my breath unless it is still under warranty somehow. If there was a fatal flaw in their labor or the part, it would have likely failed in a far shorter time period.
I am not in the auto repair business but we do repair equipment and things just break. i don't know how else to say it. if it was within a month and half instead of year and a half you might have an argument, but really there is no way after that long a period of time to tell what caused the problem.
posted by domino at 9:04 AM on November 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I am not in the auto repair business but we do repair equipment and things just break. i don't know how else to say it. if it was within a month and half instead of year and a half you might have an argument, but really there is no way after that long a period of time to tell what caused the problem.
posted by domino at 9:04 AM on November 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
1.5 years? No way. Fix and move on.
posted by zippy at 9:13 AM on November 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by zippy at 9:13 AM on November 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
There's no indication it was because of faulty work seeing as how it lasted 1.5 years. The hose simply failed. Pay for parts and labor to have them replace the hose and do an oil change, and very kindly ask them to look over the engine to make sure no other damage was done when it overheated.
posted by mrrisotto at 9:16 AM on November 11, 2013
posted by mrrisotto at 9:16 AM on November 11, 2013
wait a sec. A hose is a pretty durable thing, and it may take a while for it to spring a leak if it was improperly installed. I would ask to see the hose after it is removed. If they used the wrong hose any obvious kinking should be evident, and the break would be in the crease of the kink... If they tightened the clamps too tight the break would be on the clamp line. Other than that I wouldn't press it. Also replacing a hose is just about the easiest thing you can do on a car, so the expense is likely to be the minimum shop time plus the hose.
posted by Gungho at 9:22 AM on November 11, 2013
posted by Gungho at 9:22 AM on November 11, 2013
Also, when the hoses go, it is possible for coolant to no longer reach the thermostat, or for voids to form in the coolant in the engine that are no longer cooled. So when wonky stuff happens after a point your thermostat no longer is able to warn you whether your engine is too hot.
posted by zippy at 10:01 AM on November 11, 2013
posted by zippy at 10:01 AM on November 11, 2013
Best answer: I'm 100% certain that this is due to some work that my mechanic did, either directly or indirectly.
You may be, but I cannot see a possible scenario where you'd be right. Unless you have a 2 year warranty on that engine work, this is nothing at all to do with the original garage. 1.5 years is far too long to expect any kind of responsibility on their part unless you have an explicit warranty that covers this particular failure.
Besides, even if you had a warranty I'd be astonished if it covered a rubber hose.
If you are correct in your recounting of events - ie water was still coming out the hose when you stopped, you waited until the car was cool before refilling and the temperature gauge DEFINITELY didn't go into the red at any time (even if it later came down) and also that the gauge was still rising (ie hadn't plateaued) when you stopped - then this is likely to be a $40-$50 repair at most. Just swap out the hose, re-fill with coolant and go on your way. It is possible that you haven't damaged your engine at all as long as there was water in the system the whole time and you were reasonable attentive in your actions.
I cannot see any way you can realistically blame the mechanic. Hoses fail - sometimes in odd ways, other times after many years.
Personally I'd replace the hose myself (You only need a screwdriver) fill it with water and drive it to the mechanic, if I were you. See if it runs properly and if so, drop the water out and have him check the rest of the system before filling it with coolant.
posted by Brockles at 10:03 AM on November 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
You may be, but I cannot see a possible scenario where you'd be right. Unless you have a 2 year warranty on that engine work, this is nothing at all to do with the original garage. 1.5 years is far too long to expect any kind of responsibility on their part unless you have an explicit warranty that covers this particular failure.
Besides, even if you had a warranty I'd be astonished if it covered a rubber hose.
If you are correct in your recounting of events - ie water was still coming out the hose when you stopped, you waited until the car was cool before refilling and the temperature gauge DEFINITELY didn't go into the red at any time (even if it later came down) and also that the gauge was still rising (ie hadn't plateaued) when you stopped - then this is likely to be a $40-$50 repair at most. Just swap out the hose, re-fill with coolant and go on your way. It is possible that you haven't damaged your engine at all as long as there was water in the system the whole time and you were reasonable attentive in your actions.
I cannot see any way you can realistically blame the mechanic. Hoses fail - sometimes in odd ways, other times after many years.
Personally I'd replace the hose myself (You only need a screwdriver) fill it with water and drive it to the mechanic, if I were you. See if it runs properly and if so, drop the water out and have him check the rest of the system before filling it with coolant.
posted by Brockles at 10:03 AM on November 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
In case I wasn't clear: Is it reasonable for me to ask for them to pay for the parts and labor involved in repairing this leak?
No.
posted by Brockles at 10:04 AM on November 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
No.
posted by Brockles at 10:04 AM on November 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you're talking about the small (about the diameter of an adult's thumb) heater supply hose right below the distributor, yeah, those are notorious for going on that model of Accord (it has to do with the gasket on the distributor leaking oil directly onto that hose and rotting it out.) I've replaced two in my 2000, which is basically the same car under the hood. This is a dirt cheap job (sub $100), and trying to get your mechanic to pay for it is almost certainly not worth the time it would take to fight about it.
posted by deadmessenger at 10:16 AM on November 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by deadmessenger at 10:16 AM on November 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Mechanics generally warranty work for 1 year. And the limit the warranty to that time frame for good reason. You are past that warranty period. Sorry.
posted by Flood at 10:28 AM on November 11, 2013
posted by Flood at 10:28 AM on November 11, 2013
You might be 100% certain, and you might be right. But it is too late.
Make sure the new hose doesn't have a similar kink is about all you can do.
posted by gjc at 10:33 AM on November 11, 2013
Make sure the new hose doesn't have a similar kink is about all you can do.
posted by gjc at 10:33 AM on November 11, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks for the responses and the reality check. It seemed obvious to me that this was something the mechanic would repair free of charge, but I've never dealt with anything like this before so I wanted to check my assumptions.
water was still coming out the hose when you stopped, you waited until the car was cool before refilling and the temperature gauge DEFINITELY didn't go into the red at any time (even if it later came down) and also that the gauge was still rising (ie hadn't plateaued) when you stopped
The temperature gauge was very close to the red and not rising by the time I stopped (I was in traffic once I noticed and pulled over as soon as was safe). I waited for the temperature to cool to the middle of the temperature gauge and added a liter of water per the manual's instructions, then limped it to the gas station, where I filled it up and returned to my garage. Oh well, maybe this is just the death knell for this car.
posted by kdar at 11:40 AM on November 11, 2013
water was still coming out the hose when you stopped, you waited until the car was cool before refilling and the temperature gauge DEFINITELY didn't go into the red at any time (even if it later came down) and also that the gauge was still rising (ie hadn't plateaued) when you stopped
The temperature gauge was very close to the red and not rising by the time I stopped (I was in traffic once I noticed and pulled over as soon as was safe). I waited for the temperature to cool to the middle of the temperature gauge and added a liter of water per the manual's instructions, then limped it to the gas station, where I filled it up and returned to my garage. Oh well, maybe this is just the death knell for this car.
posted by kdar at 11:40 AM on November 11, 2013
From the sounds of it you may just have scraped past the point of any damage, though. If the leak was actually steam then there was still pressure in the system and so sufficient volume of coolant was still present that you may have escaped serious engine damage. Like I said, replace the hose, fill it and test it and see how you go. All is not lost yet.
posted by Brockles at 11:50 AM on November 11, 2013
posted by Brockles at 11:50 AM on November 11, 2013
This really shouldn't be a big problem at all - and certainly not a death knell! You'll need to replace the hose (you may lose more coolant at this step), then fill with coolant/distilled water mix to the proper level. Easy to do yourself, but should also be cheap at any mechanic shop. I'd really be surprised if any lasting damage occurred.
posted by sluggo at 6:58 PM on November 11, 2013
posted by sluggo at 6:58 PM on November 11, 2013
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