Re: Complaint ID Dear Sirs, The owner of the Honda Civic VIN 2HG [redacted] (DEALER PLATES) came to us with a complaint of overheating and smoke coming out from under the hoodHe showed us an invoice from another shop that indicated that it was overheating and that they replaced the radiator cap Nothing else – no notes, no diagnosis, no recommendations We requested and received permission to perform a diagnosisOur primary concern was that the 1.7L engine in these Civics have a history of head gasket problemsOnce they overheat it is often only a matter of time, often days, before the head gasket “blows” into the combustion chamberWe performed a chemical test of the cooling system checking for the presence of combustion gasses in the coolant and found none at this time, as noted on the owner’s repair orderWe did find that the radiator was leaking coolant, and found sealant in the coolant, probably in an attempt to repair the leak on the dealer’s lotOur customer authorized replacing the radiator, hoses, and thermostatThis is the industry standard and recommended practice on a car with this many milesAfter the repairs we pressure checked the cooling system to verify it was free from leaks and test drove the car, as well as letting it idle long enough to allow the electric radiator fan to cycle Customer picked up the car after hours and found that after driving it a short distance that it had developed another leakWhen he returned to Morin Brothers we found that the water pump was now leakingWe also rechecked for combustion gassesWe provided him with an estimate to replace the water pump and further offered contact the seller on his behalf, as he clearly bought a “lemon”Customer declined our offerCustomer was clearly and understandably upset by the need for further repairs and felt that we were treating him unfairlyWe offered to provide him with the phone number of the Bureau of Automotive Repair so he could lodge a complaint and he declinedCustomer further declined to allow us to top off his cooling system, despite our warnings that further overheating would inevitably lead to head gasket and/or engine damage, regardless of the current lack of combustion gasses in the cooling system At Morin Brothers Automotive we take our customers’ satisfaction seriously and spend a lot of time and energy trying our very best to satisfy everyone that walks in our doorA satisfied customer is the best advertisement a business can possibly have With respect to the unhappy owner of the Civic, we feel that he is suffering “buyer’s remorse”, and that he realizes that he bought a lemon and is hoping that someone else will bail him outWe completely understand how much stress and anxiety a problem car like this one can causeHaving spent what is perhaps all the spare cash he might have and then finding out that the new car he bought is a lemon has to be extremely stressful, and we are concerned that radiator alone did not bring his car back into serviceable conditionHowever, we do not feel that we should buy him another car, which is essentially what he is asking us to do The person he should be directing his anger and frustration at is the seller of the car, not the auto repair shop that attempted to revive it I have faxed a copy of the search results we found on Identifix Direct Hit, an online data base we subscribe to, as well as copies of the invoices in questionThe search terms included the year, make and model of the Honda and the word “overheating”The results of the search are presented in order of the frequency of what caused it to overheat and what fixed itAs you can see, out of a total of confirmed fixes, no less than concerned the head gasket, with the radiator and water pump coming in 4th and 5th respectivelyWe repeated our concerns about the head gasket several times to our customer, and should he get the water pump repaired, it still may have issues with the head gasketWe are repeating this as a precaution, and would like to point out that he bought the car with the problems it had and has, and that they did not originate with us Thank You M [redacted] ***, former owner J [redacted] , Owner, Morin Brothers Automotive
Re: Complaint ID Dear Sirs, The owner of the Honda Civic VIN 2HG [redacted] (DEALER PLATES) came to us with a complaint of overheating and smoke coming out from under the hoodHe showed us an invoice from another shop that indicated that it was overheating and that they replaced the radiator cap Nothing else – no notes, no diagnosis, no recommendations We requested and received permission to perform a diagnosisOur primary concern was that the 1.7L engine in these Civics have a history of head gasket problemsOnce they overheat it is often only a matter of time, often days, before the head gasket “blows” into the combustion chamberWe performed a chemical test of the cooling system checking for the presence of combustion gasses in the coolant and found none at this time, as noted on the owner’s repair orderWe did find that the radiator was leaking coolant, and found sealant in the coolant, probably in an attempt to repair the leak on the dealer’s lotOur customer authorized replacing the radiator, hoses, and thermostatThis is the industry standard and recommended practice on a car with this many milesAfter the repairs we pressure checked the cooling system to verify it was free from leaks and test drove the car, as well as letting it idle long enough to allow the electric radiator fan to cycle Customer picked up the car after hours and found that after driving it a short distance that it had developed another leakWhen he returned to Morin Brothers we found that the water pump was now leakingWe also rechecked for combustion gassesWe provided him with an estimate to replace the water pump and further offered contact the seller on his behalf, as he clearly bought a “lemon”Customer declined our offerCustomer was clearly and understandably upset by the need for further repairs and felt that we were treating him unfairlyWe offered to provide him with the phone number of the Bureau of Automotive Repair so he could lodge a complaint and he declinedCustomer further declined to allow us to top off his cooling system, despite our warnings that further overheating would inevitably lead to head gasket and/or engine damage, regardless of the current lack of combustion gasses in the cooling system At Morin Brothers Automotive we take our customers’ satisfaction seriously and spend a lot of time and energy trying our very best to satisfy everyone that walks in our doorA satisfied customer is the best advertisement a business can possibly have With respect to the unhappy owner of the Civic, we feel that he is suffering “buyer’s remorse”, and that he realizes that he bought a lemon and is hoping that someone else will bail him outWe completely understand how much stress and anxiety a problem car like this one can causeHaving spent what is perhaps all the spare cash he might have and then finding out that the new car he bought is a lemon has to be extremely stressful, and we are concerned that radiator alone did not bring his car back into serviceable conditionHowever, we do not feel that we should buy him another car, which is essentially what he is asking us to do The person he should be directing his anger and frustration at is the seller of the car, not the auto repair shop that attempted to revive it I have faxed a copy of the search results we found on Identifix Direct Hit, an online data base we subscribe to, as well as copies of the invoices in questionThe search terms included the year, make and model of the Honda and the word “overheating”The results of the search are presented in order of the frequency of what caused it to overheat and what fixed itAs you can see, out of a total of confirmed fixes, no less than concerned the head gasket, with the radiator and water pump coming in 4th and 5th respectivelyWe repeated our concerns about the head gasket several times to our customer, and should he get the water pump repaired, it still may have issues with the head gasketWe are repeating this as a precaution, and would like to point out that he bought the car with the problems it had and has, and that they did not originate with us Thank You M [redacted] ***, former owner J [redacted] , Owner, Morin Brothers Automotive