Lauren333
New member
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2023
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- Buick Ownership
- 2015 Buick Encore
Hi, everyone -
I am new to the forum and came to get some advice on continued coolant leaks. I have read some of the other posts relating to this trouble but wondered if my experience is out of the ordinary for number of fixes and issues. A brief summary:
October 2018/32K miles - heard sloshing noise behind the passenger dashboard area. Problem diagnosed as turbo inlet and outlet lines leaking coolant. Repair done under original warranty. I have not seen anything on the forum talking about fluid sounds coming from behind dashboard.
July 2021/58K miles - burning smell distinctive of coolant (I guess). Problem diagnosed as cracked water outlet. This was replaced. (total job: $654 and I had an extended warranty with a $300 deductible.)
September 2021/59K miles - car overheated, had to be towed to dealer. Replaced water outlet hoses, which were brittle. Replaced oil cooler coolant inlet and surge bleed hoses. This work was covered under warranty of previous work done two months earlier.
December 2021 - Noticed the previous week that coolant was a little low when the heater emitted a strange smell. Several days later, the car began smoking but the thermostat remained steady (not overheating). I was near a small repair shop and they diagnosed a crack either in the upper tube or the top of the surge container that was causing the coolant to spurt out and hit the engine. Dealer replaced coolant reservoir and bypass hose. They charged me for the parts but not the labor. The service manager stated that they should have actually replaced these parts during one of the two previous (July or September) fixes, but that it wouldn't have mattered because my extended warranty would not have covered this particular part. (WRONG - I checked with the warranty provider and they would have covered it, if the work had been done during the initial repair.)
January 23, 2023 - Car overheated but fortunately I was near a gas station and was able to get coolant and make it back home. Drove to the dealer the next day. Problem was diagnosed as being a leak in the thermostat housing. The thermostat was replaced. (Repair was about $562 and I used my $300 deductible). Drove home. Did not take the car out for two days. January 25th, opened the hood before using the car (call me paranoid) and saw that the coolant reservoir was almost empty. Told dealer to send a tow truck, which they did. The tow truck operator figured the coolant leaked out as I was driving home from the dealer two days earlier, since there wasn't really a stain on the ground. I spoke with a service advisor briefly and he stated they "think" its a hose leak and the decision to cover it is up to the service manager.
These are only the COOLANT-related issues I have had with the car. There have been others (gasket leak, tire pressure sensor, door lock, passenger airbag sensor not working for probably two years, compass chip needing replacing, stuck brake caliper...)
I feel like the dealer has been fixing everything piecemeal, so my deductible keeps getting hit over and over - or if it's under the deductible, obviously, I pay the full cost.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I am waiting to hear back what the latest "fix" is. The car's extended warranty expires in about ten days, so I definitely will be selling it. Perhaps if I had taken it elsewhere and not had the dealer work on it in the beginning, this would have a different ending. I know cars can have problems from time to time, but it feels like the dealer's poor work has exacerbated what might have been a one-time fix (?).
I am new to the forum and came to get some advice on continued coolant leaks. I have read some of the other posts relating to this trouble but wondered if my experience is out of the ordinary for number of fixes and issues. A brief summary:
October 2018/32K miles - heard sloshing noise behind the passenger dashboard area. Problem diagnosed as turbo inlet and outlet lines leaking coolant. Repair done under original warranty. I have not seen anything on the forum talking about fluid sounds coming from behind dashboard.
July 2021/58K miles - burning smell distinctive of coolant (I guess). Problem diagnosed as cracked water outlet. This was replaced. (total job: $654 and I had an extended warranty with a $300 deductible.)
September 2021/59K miles - car overheated, had to be towed to dealer. Replaced water outlet hoses, which were brittle. Replaced oil cooler coolant inlet and surge bleed hoses. This work was covered under warranty of previous work done two months earlier.
December 2021 - Noticed the previous week that coolant was a little low when the heater emitted a strange smell. Several days later, the car began smoking but the thermostat remained steady (not overheating). I was near a small repair shop and they diagnosed a crack either in the upper tube or the top of the surge container that was causing the coolant to spurt out and hit the engine. Dealer replaced coolant reservoir and bypass hose. They charged me for the parts but not the labor. The service manager stated that they should have actually replaced these parts during one of the two previous (July or September) fixes, but that it wouldn't have mattered because my extended warranty would not have covered this particular part. (WRONG - I checked with the warranty provider and they would have covered it, if the work had been done during the initial repair.)
January 23, 2023 - Car overheated but fortunately I was near a gas station and was able to get coolant and make it back home. Drove to the dealer the next day. Problem was diagnosed as being a leak in the thermostat housing. The thermostat was replaced. (Repair was about $562 and I used my $300 deductible). Drove home. Did not take the car out for two days. January 25th, opened the hood before using the car (call me paranoid) and saw that the coolant reservoir was almost empty. Told dealer to send a tow truck, which they did. The tow truck operator figured the coolant leaked out as I was driving home from the dealer two days earlier, since there wasn't really a stain on the ground. I spoke with a service advisor briefly and he stated they "think" its a hose leak and the decision to cover it is up to the service manager.
These are only the COOLANT-related issues I have had with the car. There have been others (gasket leak, tire pressure sensor, door lock, passenger airbag sensor not working for probably two years, compass chip needing replacing, stuck brake caliper...)
I feel like the dealer has been fixing everything piecemeal, so my deductible keeps getting hit over and over - or if it's under the deductible, obviously, I pay the full cost.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I am waiting to hear back what the latest "fix" is. The car's extended warranty expires in about ten days, so I definitely will be selling it. Perhaps if I had taken it elsewhere and not had the dealer work on it in the beginning, this would have a different ending. I know cars can have problems from time to time, but it feels like the dealer's poor work has exacerbated what might have been a one-time fix (?).
