Would you sue for this?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Although I have limited experience with dealers, it appears to me that import dealers seem to charge a premium. Volvos, volkswagen, saab even more so. Somewhere there may be a dealer more reasonable but I just don't see it. Domestic manufacturers are not angels but domestic parts typically are quite a bit cheaper. I have been a car nut for over 35 years and been in the auto parts business for over 5 years and this is my opinion.

Keep looking for a shop you can trust.

Your car being 5/6 years old is at that point in time where maintenance really comes into play. Poor maintenance/no maintenance of cooling system (flush and replace coolant) may have had something to do with your problem. On many vehicles there are at least two coolant temp sensors--one for the computer and one for the fan. Cooling problems can be simple and then there are the ones that just have you pulling your hair out. It takes a dedicated mechanic to get to the heart of the matter.

Also, some cars are easier to work on than others--I dread the day I have to work on a new beetle. styling came first on those cars.

A lot of the parts on this appear to be proprietary - a cracked headlist cost us $400 for replacement unit. Total nightmare. Next time we're going to go with either an American or Asian car...

Thing is all of this stuff came after I put the car through a 60,000 mile service - supposedly to prevent a problem from occurring. Got the coolant changed (though I think not enough or cheap anti-freeze can mess up a water pump), along with a flush of the fuel system.

I suspect that they're probably right in that the water pump failed - though I think now that this may have been the problem all along. It seems that VW has a known issue with the plastic impeller in the water pump on this car which fails long before the mileage that the part is rated for. Our car has done the right sort of mileage for that to happen - though obviously I'm taking the mechanics word for it.

I am kinda pissed off though that 3 different mechanics haven't been able to pin down the problem - especially the dealer - that's pretty unforgiveable. It seems to me that if you know that the water pump in certain model of car you sell has a design issue (though not one that resulted in a product recall) this sort of thing should have been one of the first things they should have checked if you know the problem is somewhere in the coolant system. As a result - I'm now having to pay for yet another coolant temperature sensor which was replaced only 2 months before...

[joelunchbox 0]

Your car engine light comes on - so not wanting to take chances you take the car to the garage who perform an obligatory computer diagnostic (for $100) and tell you that the error is in the coolant system. You then pay $500 to replace the thermostat and one of the coolant hoses which you are given to understand is the cause of the problem.

You drive the car for 2 weeks - at which point the car inexplicably overheats and boils over (and the engine light comes back on).

You have the car towed to the dealer garage where you originally got it fixed as they did the last batch of work. They get to looking at it "when they get around to it" and quote you an $800 repair bill for a busted water pump and a boiled coolant sensor. "Generously" the garage offers you a 10% discount on the cost of the *new* repairs.

Knowing that there aren't too many reasons why a car will overheat and boil over - does the garage have some responsibility for not correctly identifying the original problem?

Oh, where are you? Maybe someone here knows someone nearby.

I have been looking over the various vw forums and the original water pumps are poor due to plastic impellers. Make sure a metal impeller water pump gets installed.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Thanks. The garage is working on it now - should be done tomorrow. I'll check with them on that when I pick up the car.

What I'm a little concerned about from reading some of those messages is that this may not actually fix the problem - and that people have reported overheats after all these things (water pump, temp sensor, thermostat, radiator fan switch) have been replaced.

Seems there is an issue on some VW's with coolant migration where coolant leaks into the electrical system - giving false positive overheat readings - which can do enough damage to basically total the car.

We're in NJ BTW - though we've not been here long enough to have any idea about decent auto-mechanics. Kinda makes me wish we were still in California - though there's other reasons for that of course...

[kaydee457 13]

I am kinda pissed off though that 3 different mechanics haven't been able to pin down the problem - especially the dealer - that's pretty unforgiveable. It seems to me that if you know that the water pump in certain model of car you sell has a design issue (though not one that resulted in a product recall) this sort of thing should have been one of the first things they should have checked if you know the problem is somewhere in the coolant system. As a result - I'm now having to pay for yet another coolant temperature sensor which was replaced only 2 months before...

Most of these yokels have the diagnostic skills of a baker- none!

In the future my advice is to learn a bit about the car you drive and when such things happen and be observant.

If your wife had noted whether or not the fan was on when this occurred that would have told you much more about what's working vs. what's not.

The point is that you don't want to rely on the "technicians" limited diagnostic skills for as you've learned first hand, you'll pay in the end for their ignorance!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Agreed. Time to buy a Haynes guide I think.