My dad bought the car of his dreams with this RL. He faithfully followed every warranty item to the "T" and has had it serviced by Lithia motors in Des Moines since he bought it. Recently, he lost heat and drove it the two hours down to Des Moines to learn the radiator fluid had a strange gray color, which was investigated and determined it had backed up into the engine. He is now in the middle of a complete rebuild they have estimated at $10,000.00.

Anyone have any idea on the best way to approach Acura on this. I can't believe this occurred without a design flaw Acura should fix or negligent maintenance that Lithia should fix.

Your input would be appreciated!

 

Warranty coverage? Did they determine how this happened? If it's not his fault he shouldn't have to pay if the car still has warranty remaining.

 

I think its technically out of warranty - just recently. But how does this happen on this type of car? And I would think Acura would offer some means of assisting in the cost or determining how this could happen.

 

Did your Dad buy the car new?

Has he had a/c work done under warranty. There was a TSB that sometimes the radiator is damaged when doiing some of the a/c work. If need be, I will help you find the tsb.

 

from the same dealership that has done all of the maintenance - ALL of it. He lives in a town without an Acura dealership and trusted no one else. I vaguely remember his doing some A/C work. He doesn't get on the computer much, I'll call and find out.

If you could help find this TSB, I would greatly appreciate it. This just isn't fair. $10k for a retired guy might as well be a million.

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...83#post7535183

So if you have a radiator problem after your AC repair....

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I was adding the latest Acura ServiceNews bulletin when I came across an interesting comment pertaining to our RLs:


Quote:
Radiator Damage From Doing A/C System Repairs
Currently Applies To: ’05–06 RLs

We’ve noticed an increasing number of radiators being replaced shortly after doing A/C system repairs.
Inspection of these radiators tells us that they’re getting damaged during these repairs. To avoid damage,
make sure that you’re really careful when you’re working near the radiator. Any damage to the radiator that
comes from doing A/C system repairs is not covered under Acura warranty.

I don't recall reading about cases pertaining to it here but thought I'd pass it on.

 

Thanks. I'll check it out. I guess he did not have A/C repairs on this car - it was his old RL. But maybe I can find something. Thanks again.

 

Before blaming a design fault, first find out what the problem is. Are you saying the engine blew a head gasket? 10K to repair? An engine from a scrap yard can be had for considerably less even rebuilt.

He drove the car for 2 HOURS with an engine problem? If that is the case, and that is what I am interpreting then why would Acura even do anything at all?
I surely would not. The fact that the car lasted 2 hours is a testimate to the durability of the motor.

But again, if the car had no fluid (causing no heat through the climate control) then the temperature gauge would be pegged and all sorts of warnings would go off in this car. Whether that was caused by a damaged radiator, stuck thermosat, cracked hose, etc is inconsequential as he should of pulled over and had the car towed.

Sorry, perhaps I am missing something here, but I am getting my opinion above from the information provided. Perhaps some more information will shed additional light on this.

 

if it was a head gasket, usually the fluid goes from coolant into oil. Coolant is under pressure, oil is not.
I oculd understand if they said oil was a gray color - that's what happens when coolant gets in the oil.
Agree that it is strange that he could loose all coolant and drive 2 hours

 

You can have both coolant and oil mix. Remember, the combustion chamber is under more pressure than the cooling system is, so it really depends on where the head gasket leak developed. Not all head gasket leaks dump coolant into the oil. He also stated the coolant has a gray color to it-thus head gasket and/or warped head(s).

 

got it - I stand corrected.

 

Takes me back years when I had my 924 Porsche (hold the laughter please). Drove 20 minutes with a stuck thermostat. Figured car would make it-it didn't. That was pricey.

 

^^^^^ holding laughter, I actually liked the similar 944 while living in Germany in the mid-80s.

Seriously, I haven't heard of a single engine rebuild in the J35 series as applied in the RL. So far as we know, this engine is bulletproof. There had to be a specific issue with your dad's engine.

 

If it was a blown head gastket, I don't think he could have driven the car for 2 hours without overheating. Even a small tear in the head gasket. What do others think?

 

It all depends on where the head gasket developed the leak, if that was indeed the cause which most likely is not. The head gasket generally is the outcome of an underlying problem. He could have driven with a busted hose and the head gasket went at the end of his trip.

But to answer your question, I drove a 944 for 6 days on a blown head gasket. Car did get hot but never failed completely until I could get to it (it was a very small hole). Again, it all depends on where the gasket goes.

 

I had leak in head gasket years ago in a GM product and probably drove a week or so before checking oil. Never overheated.

But his key symptom was "no heat". That's what caused him to drive to the dealer. Assuming no heat means no or very low coolant, thats a long way to drive whether loss was caused by leak in head gasket or elsewhere. Seems like the engine would have shut down.

 

FYI, there is a 05 motor currently on Ebay with a starting bid of $1500.00.

 

My dad - Pete - is an avid car lover. I grew up with jags caddies and such. He gave up on used years ago and only bought new. Anyway - the point is he would not have driven it had there been any more of an issue than no heat. He was told to drive it down to have it checked out. I had an old corolla with vent regulator issues which would not blow heat.

Lithia Motors will need to step up to the plate on this - or Acura. The suggestion of user error gets my goat actually. You're entitled to your opinion of course - but I don't buy it for a second. Seeing as how they advertise on this site, I would assume they may be reading. If so, you will get to know me.

 

The question is, why should they ,"step up"? No coolant would have sent off several bells and whistles in the car. Why do you feel the dealer did your dad wrong and they should assume responsibility for a car out of warranty?
And being a car lover and mechanically inclined are two different things. Sometimes one leads to the other but not always.
I'm not trying to bust your chops, just trying to get a grasp on your reasoning on this is all. Thanks.

 

Fair enough. There were no bells and whistles. Only no heat. I didn't get to drive or see the car, but I trust him on that. He also called it in to find out what to do and described the issue. No, he is not mechanically inclined, but he can see an engine warning light.

Coolant was in the car, but it was tainted by the oil. I'm not sure what your background is, but if you had a customer with no heat is your response "don't drive the car".

I don't believe this could have happened without a mechanical design issue or maintenance negligence. I have yet to figure out exactly how to prove it other than how - "but for" negligence how does this happen. Nobody touched this car other than the dealer.

 

I deal with mechanics and customers all day long, everyday. They are both a challenge, most the time the customer is incorrect-not implying anything here-just my observation. That stated, many(most) techs out there are borderline in terms of overall ability.

As stated above in another post, there are no known other instances of head gasket failures on this car. Not saying yours is the only one, just not a problem area and if you read any of my prior posts on this forum I am critical of the cars reliability in areas such as instrumentation, leather, etc. Not on the engine though (other than not enough oomph for me).

If your coolant level was good then perhaps the water pump gave out-another area that is not known to be a problem on the RL. But again, lights and warnings would have been indicated. Most strange. I have seen most every mechanical failure in a car. Given the information provided I am a bit stumped. Unless your temp sensor went out at the same time which would really be stretching it.

Keep us posted on what happened. You peaked my curiosity.

 

That's actually a really good point....I would go with a used engine rather than a brand new one for $10,000. Junkyards typically warranty their motors for 6 months or a year. I might go that route before dumping 10 grand into a 2005. If Acura picks it up then no big deal, but still...

Just something to consider.

 

He found warranty information indicating the warranty expires Feb. '09. Hopefully this changes things dramatically. Thanks for all of the input. I'll let you know what happens from here.

 

Interesting. The dealer should have known when the warranty is due to expire.

Let us know what happens.

LL