QuestionQUESTION: My mother's 2003 Hyundai elantra with 50K miles suddenly stopped on a highway. It was towed and determined that it had overheated to the point that the interior of the radiator had melted. The engine is damaged and also needs to be replaced. There was no overheat indications on the temp or dash light indicators as well as no visible loss of antifreeze fluids or steam. The deaker seems to think this may have been caused by a bad thermostat or crack in teh radiator. Any other suggestions as to how this could have happened?
ANSWER: The thermostat is the most frequent problem I've seen. Since the car won't run and the radiator is melted and clogged, a proper analysis of the cooling system cannot yet be performed. The location of the coolant that was expelled from the system will be the largest hint as to the nature of the problem.
If there was a crack in the radiator (or a leak anywhere else, for that matter), the coolant should be primarily collected in the area of the leak. If there were no leaks, the coolant should be primarily collected in the area where it would be expelled from the overflow bottle. These possibilities include a stuck closed thermostat or an inoperative radiator fan.
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QUESTION: Thank you! My mother did all the required maintenance procedures, such as oil changes, checking fluids, brake replacement, rotating tires, etc.. but did not flush the radiator at 30K miles and required in the Hyundai warranty manual. Now Hyundai is saying she did not properly maintain the car (because of the missed radiator flush)and therefor her warranty is void and she must pay the cost of replacing the radiator, hoses and engine (>$5K new). I do not believe that a radiator flush performed approx 1 year ago when she was at 30K miles would have cuaght or prevented the overheated engine scenario I describede earlier. A stuck thermostat or broken hose/radiator more than likely would not have been a problem so long ago - nor could a flush have prevented this from occuring. Or am I wrong? Do I have any basis for pushing back with Hyundai and demanding they uphold their warranty?
AnswerFor Hyundai to deny you warranty coverage, they must be able to show that the failure was not a defect in a covered component. For example, if they were able to show that your coolant was acidic and that the head gasket was eaten through, then they would have a case.
But let's step back and take a look at your case. The dealer has posited that the radiator may have been cracked or the thermostat stuck shut. Well, guess what? Cracked plastic is definitely not due to lack off coolant change. And in regards to the thermostat, the best they could do would be to show that the coolant was not lubricative enough or somehow corroded the thermostat to the point that it wouldn't operate. Neither of these are very likely. Very rarely have I seen a car four years old that had coolant that tested acidic, even on cars that had never had the coolant changed. I've also never dipped my finger in coolant and not had it feel very slippery.
Perhaps check with the dealer again and ask them exactly what caused the overheating. Try to get them to commit, if you can, even if they're only committing to "we don't know." Certainly, if they don't know what caused the failure, they cannot make a case that it resulted from the lack of coolant change. If they do know what the cause was, then it's a simple matter to take a coolant sample and have it tested to see whether the coolant could have caused the failure in question. Chances are good Hyundai hasn't tested the coolant and won't. They probably already know that the test of the coolant will result in facts they'd rather not have to present.
You're exactly on the money here. While we both agree that the coolant should have been changed (every two years or 30k according to the owner's manual), there's likely little correlation between not changing the coolant and the failure on your mother's car. If you read your warranty material, it says that it covers defects in material and workmanship. It also says that Hyundai is not responsible for failures that occur due to lack of maintenance. But nowhere does it say that they have the right to fail to honor the warranty just because you don't do the maintenance. The only issue that's important here is whether the problem occurred due to defect or due to improper maintenance. And if Hyundai cannot show the correlation between the failure and the improper maintenance, you've got a great case in court if it goes that far.
