Coincidence or human error ?!
Discussion
Morning all,
I took my car into the garage to have a coolant leak fixed. Coolant was apparently leaking into the V in between the cylinders (it’s a 3.0 TDi Audi A6 Allroad, 2015… details below).
No warning lights, no signs of any problems it was just that I noticed I was having to top up the coolant a bit more often than expected and it wasn’t leaking on to the drive.
That was apparently fixed by the garage and then when the garage took the car for a test drive the car had a turbo failure.
I agreed to have that fixed and a replacement turbo was sourced and fitted which seemed to take much longer than expected.
I phoned the garage yesterday morning for an update and was told that the garage had taken the car for another test drive post turbo fitting and 6 miles down the road the car had a catastrophic engine failure as the bearings had failed ! the car has been in the garage for over 5 weeks now !.
What are the chances of this happening in the normal course of things ? Turbos do fail of course and engines fail too, but all at the same time ! There were no signs of any problems at all with the car when I dropped it off and it drove perfectly.
Coincidence or human error ?
And what the heck do I do now ?
I’ve asked the garage to provide me with a thorough and detailed breakdown of everything they have done to the car to date and am waiting to hear back from them. I’ve also told them that I do not authorise them to do anything further on the car until we have resolved this.
Audi A6 Allroad. 2015. 3.0 V6 turbo diesel. 100000 miles. Good service history
I took my car into the garage to have a coolant leak fixed. Coolant was apparently leaking into the V in between the cylinders (it’s a 3.0 TDi Audi A6 Allroad, 2015… details below).
No warning lights, no signs of any problems it was just that I noticed I was having to top up the coolant a bit more often than expected and it wasn’t leaking on to the drive.
That was apparently fixed by the garage and then when the garage took the car for a test drive the car had a turbo failure.
I agreed to have that fixed and a replacement turbo was sourced and fitted which seemed to take much longer than expected.
I phoned the garage yesterday morning for an update and was told that the garage had taken the car for another test drive post turbo fitting and 6 miles down the road the car had a catastrophic engine failure as the bearings had failed ! the car has been in the garage for over 5 weeks now !.
What are the chances of this happening in the normal course of things ? Turbos do fail of course and engines fail too, but all at the same time ! There were no signs of any problems at all with the car when I dropped it off and it drove perfectly.
Coincidence or human error ?
And what the heck do I do now ?
I’ve asked the garage to provide me with a thorough and detailed breakdown of everything they have done to the car to date and am waiting to hear back from them. I’ve also told them that I do not authorise them to do anything further on the car until we have resolved this.
Audi A6 Allroad. 2015. 3.0 V6 turbo diesel. 100000 miles. Good service history
I'd say all of the issues are linked.
The turbo oil feed and oil cooler all need to be disturbed to resolve the coolant leak and if these have not been replaced correctly it could result in turbo problems and potentially oil pressure issues that may affect the engine bearings.
It will be interesting to see what the garage say on the engine failure.
The turbo oil feed and oil cooler all need to be disturbed to resolve the coolant leak and if these have not been replaced correctly it could result in turbo problems and potentially oil pressure issues that may affect the engine bearings.
It will be interesting to see what the garage say on the engine failure.
Guessing that the 'engine failure' was oil starvation to the crank? If so then i would imagine that these are connected. Low oil pressure or starvation will kill the turbo and crank within seconds.
Get the report from the garage, tell them when you have it that you believe poor workmanship has caused this series of failures and you want to know their offer on how to sort it before you go the legal route to recoup your loses.
Get the report from the garage, tell them when you have it that you believe poor workmanship has caused this series of failures and you want to know their offer on how to sort it before you go the legal route to recoup your loses.
swisstoni said:
Does a coolant leak fix really need a 'road test' in the first place?
I would have thought just running it for a few minutes would indicate whether the leak was sorted.
Car may need to be run up to temperature to get the cooling system moving and the thermostat opening so there's an argument a road test would be required because it may struggle to get warm enough just letting it idle outside the garage. I don't know this specific model of car thoughI would have thought just running it for a few minutes would indicate whether the leak was sorted.
I agree that this sounds connected. Proving it with a sensible financial outlay may be another matter.
I’d guess it comes down to how much store the garage place in their reputation locally. If they are a respected village mechanic with a long-standing reputation to uphold you may be lucky, but if it is a large chain or one of a thousand similar back street garages in a big city you may have a fight on your hands to get a resolution that is satisfactory.
Frustrating position to be in.
I’d guess it comes down to how much store the garage place in their reputation locally. If they are a respected village mechanic with a long-standing reputation to uphold you may be lucky, but if it is a large chain or one of a thousand similar back street garages in a big city you may have a fight on your hands to get a resolution that is satisfactory.
Frustrating position to be in.
gazza285 said:
I cannot recall owning a car that wouldn't get hot while idling, as there's no air flowing through the radiator. If the fans didn't kick in then the engine would boil over.
Have you never idled a car on a cold breezy atumnal day. Garage forecourts are generally not sheltered from the elements
My word, what a terrible stroke of luck.
I'm assuming the car was running when it went to the garage? Just a case of topping up coolant?
Generally if I work on cars, before anything is undertaken I will have a cursory look over the car and also listen with a keen ear. If anything seems awry I will always have a discussion first. Check the vitals - oil levels.etc
With Turbos, I have found that before they "go" they tend to whistle or the intake system will have more oil residue than usual - this will have been evident as I think most of the intake system needs removing to get to the dreaded EGR leak on the 3.0TDi.
Bottom end is an unusual one, if they were ready to go on a test drive, I would imagine they would have already been knocking.
Seems very, very odd that all this would happen if the engine was running fine before any work was done, I'm not saying its impossible, but im very skeptical.
A lot of parts need removing to get to the coolant leak, I wonder if something happened and they hadnt noticed when it was all going back together - dropped bolt into the intake / coolant into one of the cylinders and its taken the engine out?
I'm assuming the car was running when it went to the garage? Just a case of topping up coolant?
Generally if I work on cars, before anything is undertaken I will have a cursory look over the car and also listen with a keen ear. If anything seems awry I will always have a discussion first. Check the vitals - oil levels.etc
With Turbos, I have found that before they "go" they tend to whistle or the intake system will have more oil residue than usual - this will have been evident as I think most of the intake system needs removing to get to the dreaded EGR leak on the 3.0TDi.
Bottom end is an unusual one, if they were ready to go on a test drive, I would imagine they would have already been knocking.
Seems very, very odd that all this would happen if the engine was running fine before any work was done, I'm not saying its impossible, but im very skeptical.
A lot of parts need removing to get to the coolant leak, I wonder if something happened and they hadnt noticed when it was all going back together - dropped bolt into the intake / coolant into one of the cylinders and its taken the engine out?
Sorry to hear this OP and I suspect that you are going to be in for a long fight to get your car put right without you paying a significant amount of money. Wouldn't it be nice if the garage said 'we've looked into it and it was our error, we will be putting a new engine into the car at no cost to you, or offering full market value as compensation'. I very much doubt that will happen though. Please keep us informed.
swisstoni said:
Does a coolant leak fix really need a 'road test' in the first place?
I would have thought just running it for a few minutes would indicate whether the leak was sorted.
Seems to me it's just as well they did road test it, so it broke whilst they were driving it at least. Better than the OP collecting the car and 'breaking' it themselves. I would have thought just running it for a few minutes would indicate whether the leak was sorted.
swisstoni said:
Does a coolant leak fix really need a 'road test' in the first place?
I would have thought just running it for a few minutes would indicate whether the leak was sorted.
Had a pint hole leak on egr coolant hose,only opened up at full working temperature,soon as you stopped it closed up by the time you got bonnet openI would have thought just running it for a few minutes would indicate whether the leak was sorted.
Its a difficult situation. If you are a member of RAC/AA they have a legal helpline I think so you could see if they could advise.
The problem will be burden of proof; if the garage pushes back, it will need an independent engine strip-down and diagnosis which will put you on the hook for a bill in the meantime, but on the other hand may be required for a fix/rebuild anyhow.
Worth comparing to the cost of an exchange engine and see if the garage will make a goodwill contribution and see off a protracted disagreement.
The problem will be burden of proof; if the garage pushes back, it will need an independent engine strip-down and diagnosis which will put you on the hook for a bill in the meantime, but on the other hand may be required for a fix/rebuild anyhow.
Worth comparing to the cost of an exchange engine and see if the garage will make a goodwill contribution and see off a protracted disagreement.
Thank you everyone for your input and advice which is really appreciated. I've just spoken to the AA legal advice team and at the moment I have to sit tight and wait for a full report back from the garage before we can to anything further. I would be nice if they simply admitted they made an error and offered to fix it ... but at this stage it's impossible to know which angle they will take. I'll keep you informed : -)
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