jthang

Saturday Night my car started to over heat and when I looked in the engine, the engine coolant tank had a cracked top. So i take it in monday morning and they said they can replace the tank, but need to run a compression test on the engine since apparently engine coolant was spraying all over the engine.

So they go to run the compression check, then they say they can't because the spark plugs are seized and they can't get them out without damaging the engine.

They then call in the warranty company too see what they say, but the warranty company says they won't do anything for the engine since i was running hot, that they will just replace the engine coolant tank. Then the mechanic tells me I should probably buy a new car because they can't get the spark plugs out / rant

So i guess i want to know, is it really possible for the spark plugs to get so stuck that they can't get them out without damaging the engine?

Also didn't mazda have some extended manufacture warranty where it covers the engine till 100,000 miles now?

and isn't the engine coolant tank a recall? Should that be replaced for free?

Also if anybody has tips on dealing with warranty that they can give me? because I paid a lot of money for this warranty and the first thing that comes up they don't want to cover it. They are saying the engine over heated, but the engine over heated because of the engine coolant tank being cracked? I need to call them and see if this mean anything that happens with the engine in the future isn't covered since it overheated.

jthang

can i get some help please?

Mazurfer

I'll take a crack at some of these for you, and hopefully others will chime in..............but I also have questions for you!

So i guess i want to know, is it really possible for the spark plugs to get so stuck that they can't get them out without damaging the engine?
Yes, but the only damage that could really be caused is by stripping the threads on the plug holes which would be bad. I can't believe that they didn't try some small amount of liquid wrench or something just to loosen them up.


Also didn't mazda have some extended manufacture warranty where it covers the engine till 100,000 miles now?
Yes.................but you have nothing that says your engine is bad at this point.


and isn't the engine coolant tank a recall?
No....it is not.

Should that be replaced for free?
No......not currently and don't hold out hope here.

Also if anybody has tips on dealing with warranty that they can give me? because I paid a lot of money for this warranty and the first thing that comes up they don't want to cover it. They are saying the engine over heated, but the engine over heated because of the engine coolant tank being cracked? I need to call them and see if this mean anything that happens with the engine in the future isn't covered since it overheated.


Talk to us about this overheating. What I wanna know is(and it may sound silly), but how did you know it was overheating and when it did happen, how far did you drive with it like that?
Also..........is the place you are working with a dealership? It doesn't sound like it and it also doesn't really sound like these people know what they are doing. That's just my opinion.

BTW..............when you say warranty, are you saying the factory warranty or some extended? How old is your car and what is your mileage?


I'm not sure why they want to give it a compression test. Especially if it didn't really overheat by much or too long. Having coolant all over the engine is NOT a valid reason for a compression check in my mind.

If it was me............I'd see if they will replace the coolant bottle under your extended warranty. Either way(if if you have to pay for it), I'd have them do that and then take the car elsewhere to get the plugs removed(I'd actually do it myself.........very carefully) and then go from there.

jthang

Well i took it to the mazda dealership around here. They said they weren't able to get the sparkplugs out and I should probably look at buying a new car because of that. Well I know it was over heating because when i was driving all of a sudden I saw what i thought was steam coming from the engine because it was real cold out. Then after a while my temp gauge shot up all the way. After that I stopped the car to let it cool down, after the temp gauge dropped all the way down I drove it back to my house. thats when i went to pour some coolant in the tank and I saw that the cap was busted.

I assumed the engine was bad because it was starting to stall whenever i would come to a stop light and to keep it from stalling I had to put octane booster in it.

My extended warranty is through through a third party that was offered when I bought the car used from another dealership. It is a 2005 with 63,000 miles on it. they said the CEL reading was that it over heated to about 200 degrees.

They are replacing the engine coolant tank under the warranty. I want to take it to a different dealership, but i am afraid now because of this they are going to void my warranty completely if something else happens saying that because the engine over heated this time.

Mazurfer

From what you describe and what you did, there is nothing wrong with the engine. Oh.....and you can see 200 degree temps all day long, so that line they gave you was BS.

You need to be careful, but another shop can get the plugs out. I'm will bet money that the reason your car was stalling at lights is because you need the coils, plugs, and maybe wires changed out.

The dealership will rape you if you get them to do any of this anyway. You are better off buying the coils, plugs, and wires from vendors on this site, and then having some reputable place(or a friend) help you out in getting the old ones out and the new stuff on.

Don't worry about them voiding your warranty over this. Sometimes cars overheat and you did the right thing by stopping, letting it cool down, and then driving home(as long as it was very far).

Oh...............and the coils, plugs, and wires won't be covered under any warranty anyway, so you will have to pay that!

BTW, you say it's got 63k miles on it.........how many when you bought it?
And......if you add your location to your profile, you might be surprised that someone local to you will help you out!

Good luck and don't sweat the warranty thing at this stage!