AC died, then car died
 

Hi, I've seen similar posts and the possible solutions, but I need recommendations on how to deal with the dealership on this. On a particularly hot No. CA day-still 90 at 8--I was on the freeway when I noticed the AC for my '04 RX8 wasn't working, and shortly thereafter the car died. Tried restarting it then and the following day to no avail. I had been checking the coolant everyday and replaced the cap b/c the coolant light was constantly on. After the breakdown I discovered the coolant was totally gone; we added coolant and tried restarting and noticed that now there was a whining from a starter element-sounds like it needs to be replaced.

The dealership tells me they think the engine needs to be replaced. I don't think that's the case-the car wants to turn over-and I think the coolant reservoir (possible leak) and the starter part that is whining need to be replaced. Please note: I bought this car used in '09, and at that point the engine had already been replaced. I think I have a beef under the coolant sensor recall-or could it be TSB BUlletin 01-015/08, " car cranks, but won't start!" but I'm wondering what to do. How should I approach this with the dealership?

Unfortunately, yeah, your engine is probably done at this point.

No coolant = bad news bear VERY VERY quickly for our car. It is possible that it was a leak, an overheating event that pushed all the coolant out, or a failed coolant seal that pushed what coolant out that it wasn't dumping into the engine. Either way, our engines don't survive overheating, which is what happens with no coolant, or even too low of coolant. Any engine survival is strictly pure luck, or it managed to only be "lightly damaged".

There have been no recalls for the RX-8, only TSBs. TSBs are not recalls, and are nothing more than a set of instructions to the dealer on how to fix a particular customer complaint. If the fix is something that an active warranty covers, then the fix is covered under warranty. If the fix is not covered, then the TSB just tells them how to fix it when you agree to pay them for the fix.

My short guess for the whining from the starter is that you have some pretty damaged engine internals, and the starter can't provide the power needed to rotate it.


I would say to get a compression test, but for the test, the engine is spun with the starter, and that clearly isn't working, so the test can't be performed.

Just so I follow, you let your car run with the coolant light on without first ruling out a defect in the coolant sensor? Any idea what your water temperature was -- you know that big ol' gauge on the console next to your tachometer?

The best way to approach this with the dealership is ask them how much they'll take for it on a trade-in and get yourself a Civic.