Advance Auto Repair

I disagree with several things that Chuck stated, first I was aware of the upper hose needing replacement, not that there was a coolant leak.  As far as I knew, there was NOTHING wrong with the radiator.  When my vehicle stopped and I had it towed to him the first time, there were no indications that it was overheating.  There was no steam, no boiling, the gauge was in the normal position.  I took him at his word that there was a leak in the radiator and needed to be replaced.  The other thing that Chuck stated is that I drove it a few days and called because it wouldn't start.  I picked up my vehicle from him on Tuesday September 29, by the time we paid and I left it was well after 5:00.  I went straight home.  On Wednesday September 30, I drove it to work and back, approximately 6.4 miles each way.  Thursday October 1, I left the house and went to Tempe to pick up my husband's check.  As I came back out to my car, it wouldn't start.  There was NO fuel smell, no oil leak, no fuel leak anywhere, no puddles, nothing. There was NO explanation at that time as to why it wouldn't start.  When the car was towed back to the house, I noticed "No Oil" written on the windshield.  Nothing was said about the hole in the oil pan.  If he had looked under it, shouldn't he have seen that and reported that to me right away?  Also, there still is no mention of a block test being done.  If the damage was done by me, wouldn't the results of that test state there was prior damage?  There is a definite hole in the pan and that was never mentioned to me whatsoever.

I am empathetic to April's problem.  However the problem the vehicle has now is not congruent with the what it originally came in for.  The original problem was crank (engine rotates) but won't start.  The problem it arrived with the second time was the engine would not rotate (crank) and therefor could not start.   The repairs we performed were more in alignment with maintenance than repair of her original problem (engine cranks but won't start).  That problem of not starting was never figured out because during testing the car started and with the exception of a coolant leak it ran properly.  I gave the customer the option of leaving the vehicle for more testing to see if it would fail again and they declined and authorized the maintenance work.  We installed a new timing belt because the belt was way overdue for replacement according to the manufacturers specifications.  We replaced the radiator and related items because they were leaking.  The vehicle ran properly when it left the shop and I can not attest as to why the engine failed.  We checked our work to ensure the failure was not due to the timing belt or radiator we installed.  I understand how confusing this could be, however the fact is we did not cause or contribute to this failure.

Vehicle was towed in as stated and at that time the engine would rotate (crank over) with the key as normal however it would not start and "sounded" like it had no compression.  I asked the customer to authorize tear down to inspect timing belt, check for fuel pressure and...

fuel ignition pulse as well as ignition spark and do compression test.  I also mentioned there was a coolant leak and fuel smell coming from vehicle.  Customer stated that they had not smelt fuel and knew about coolant leak.  While attempting to confirm if vehicle had injector pulse it began to run weakly at first and got better quickly.  We went on to test for fuel pressure, ignition spark at plugs and fuel injector pulse all good at that time.  Cooling system was low on fluid and had signs of leakage at upper radiator hose connection.  Cooling system pressure test revealed leak at radiator and ph strip test revealed little to no coolant in cooling system. I recommended replace radiator, upper radiator hose clamp and adding proper coolant mixture and re-test.  Upper radiator hose appeared new and lower hose had original equipment markings.   Due to vehicles mileage(160,000+) and original equipment markings on timing belt and lower hose I recommended replacing those as a precaution.  Timing belt replacement interval for this vehicle under normal conditions is every 60,000 miles and when questioned customer stated they had never changed the timing belt. I advised customer that none of this spoke to why the vehicle died and would not start and that the vehicle may have overheated and shut down due to excessive heat.  Radiator, lower hose and timing belt work was authorized and completed properly.  Vehicle ran properly and had no further coolant leaks.  As customer states they drove it a few days and called because it would not start.  Upon arrival this time engine would not rotate.  We found battery was depleted and vehicle had strong fuel smell.  After charging battery vehicle would still not rotate.  We removed front three spark plugs to inspect and see if there was coolantor fuel inside the cylinders.  None was found and vehicle would not rotate by hand or with engine starter.  We inspected starter, drive belts and timing components to ensure they were not causing engine lock up.  I called customer to explain that although the result was the same (vehicle would not start) these were two different problems because originally vehicle rotated and would not start (crank/no start) and upon return would not rotate (crank).  I had our technician confirm proper installation of timingcomponents, charge battery and test/inspect for cause of engine malfunction all at no charge.  Our conclusion was that engine had internal failure and recommended replace engine.