You are not going to believe this! Need mechanics input on 2014 engine issue!

Just a little info as far as the fan blowing air towards the engine. The force of that air is not huge. A rock, or other similar piece of road debris could easily bounce up and not get blown back from the fan. Ever had a small rock hit your windshield on the highway? A LOT of force there. A bouncing rock can get up into that area. Slim chance, yes, but a chance none the less.

 

I can and will share pics when I get them. I appreciate your input and that is why I posted this to get others ideas.

I agree option 1 is a possibility as the truck was in the showroom when it got delivered from the factory and sat inside in the delivery section of the dealership for a few days over the holiday weekend, but thats not my error. the dealer should take some responsibility if this was the case since it was in there possession.

The dealer claims Option 2 is not an option, can't happen they say... Yeah ok....

Option 3 seems to not make sense to me but I suppose in a "perfect storm" it could happen. But looking at how the tips of the fan blades are damaged and the erratic 5 punctures all over the radiator, it seems to have been something other than a rock. More like a screwdriver or something.. We'll never know.

Option 4 doesn't seem likely after looking at the damage, but I am not a mechanic. I will offer the pics when I get them for you to decide.

Thanks again for your input.

 

^^ Bill is right on the money here.
The only sure thing at this point - the extreme overheating of the engine was one person's doing - that would be the driver. All too often the attitude is "Screw it, its under warranty!", yet warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship, not foreign object damage, or damage incurred by ignoring abnormal conditions, the loss of heat and temp gauge reading far above normal in this case.

 

You inspect just for this reason... Things are left behind by mechanics/detailers all the time. Inspect for damage also, scratches, nicks, dents, grease, oil spills, dirty hand prints. I could keep going on and on.
I maybe OCD, but I want my truck back in the same shape, or better when I pick it up.


Again, I believe they did leave something under your hood... That's why I say inspect.

 

Always here to offer whatever I can. I know the rock theory seems impossible, but I have seen it happen more than a couple of times over my career. You figure even if your fan is turning at half engine speed, it would be doing over 1500 rpm at highway speeds. That is FAST. A single rock can get hit by the blade and do all SORTS of damage. The radiator is a very thin amount of aluminum. I can fracture it by accident EASILY. I have seen a guy get his thumb almost severed off with a plastic fan and an engine at IDLE speed! It was NASTY looking.

I would like to see the photos when you get them.

 

I once had an older model nissan truck in for service at a dealership. Back in the day of distributer caps, those dumbasses left 4 plug wires unattached to their respective spark plugs, so the wires dangled on the side of the engine block and began to roast wireing harnesses as I drove around all day after picking it up. Dealer mechanics make mistakes. Smells like they left a tool in your engine bay the day your truck was prepped.

 

Good luck getting a dealer to admit fault!

 

The fan maybe wasn't even spinning when the damage happened. Correct me if I'm wrong but, until engine reachs operating temperature, the fan should not be spinning.

 

The fan is ALWAYS spinning. It uses a viscous fluid clutch system so that it does not run at full engine speed unless engine is hot.

 

sucks, I hope you get it sorted out with the dealer..
inspecting the engine bay? S**t, your bought a brand-new toyota and should expect quality product.
If you can't get anything sorted thru the manager, Id go one up in the chain of command. go to his boss.. and when they sort it out demand for compensation for time loss and the bullS**t you have to go thru.

But for now, hope everything gets sorted out..

which dealer ?

 

There is so many variables to when it comes to this case. Some of you have to understand that the dealership is going to fight tooth and nail not to pay for it. Especially when there is no evidence that someone had left something in there from the dealership during PDI or at factory. They are a business, there to make money, not lose it. The same thing is going to be with your insurance. Your insurance is going to do anything they can to where they don't have to pay for it. They're going to fight tooth and nail too not to pay anything. Maybe it was a freak accident and something got sucked into the engine and did damage? Maybe it was someone at the dealership left something behind before you took the vehicle? Maybe a customer left something in there by accident? Yeah! The dealership could say that you were in there and left something behind. You can tell people that you were never in there, but really, they are not just going to take your word for it. It's the same thing as you not taking the word of the dealership not leaving something in there. The dealership shouldn't be blamed yet until everything comes out in the wash. But we know that there are going to be some people(even members here) are going to straight out and accuse the dealership even though not all the information is there presently.

When it comes down to things right now, no one really is going to know. To be honest, no one may never know what caused it. If you have evidence that it was the dealership then they can be held liable for it. I just think that there is really no evidence then the damage is hard to pin on the dealership. You're saving grace is your insurance company in your corner. You're going to have an uphill battle because neither the dealership or the insurance company are going to want to pay if a new engine is needed. I just think that you won't be one paying for it. Only time will tell what the two companies are going to choose to do. Everything now is based on assumption. Everything can be led to interpretation. When it comes to the side, we only have one side and that's yours. That can be led to interpretation as well.

 

I once saw a new Mercury, with the plastic on the seats and the acid rain sheets still on the hood, roof, and trunk, leak almost every drop of ATF out of the trans cooler line. Went on for almost a mile down the street, until the car stopped going, all because some dick either at the dealer or the assembly line didn't properly affix the clamp to the hose.

Vehicles are made by humans, humans make mistakes. I wonder if the tech didn't find someone's tool embedded in your radiator and deep six it while claiming it must be your fault.

"Oh shit John, your screwdriver with your engraved name on it is in this guys radiator! Here take it back before someone finds out!"

 

Without any evidence of cause, you are shit out of luck.

Tough break, but the dealer won't budge.

 

The whole situation sucks IMO, any dealer down here would gladly fix it if you complained enough.

As far as this comment goes, if I'm driving a brand new truck with 1400 miles on it, there is no reason to believe the truck is overheating and I wouldn't even look at the temp gauge.

 

That's not a smart assumption.

 

What side of the radiator are the punctures on?... grille side or engine side?

 

I completely agree I inspected everything as soon as the truck was home. I even went as far as checking the diff's, tranny and transfer case for fluid. I remember awhile back reading about someone that fried their rear diff because the truck was shipped with no fluid from the factory.



RJM

 

Stranger things have happened. Problem is no way to really prove it one way or the other. Items can get thrown up from the road, it happens. I was traveling across the country in my GoldWing in the middle of Colorado and had to stop for gas. Noticed something leaking from underneath. A small phillips head screw driver had flown up and into my coolant reservoir bottle. It was a perfect fit as if you had done it yourself. Think about the freaking odds of how that happened!!

If I was in your shoes I would have the radiator and fan replaced. If the engine does not overheat within 20 miles of driving it I would trade it in or sell it. I am way to anal to keep something like that. I'm not sure exactly how hot the engine got, but if it did get so hot to blow a head gasket I would dump it so fast! Ask the dealer what they will offer you on trade.

Ask them if the service dept has cameras or better yet look yourself so you know they don't bullshit you. If they do, find out exactly what day it was PDI'd and go from their! A lot of service depts have cameras now.

 

That's a shitty situation. The worry with the engine is the possibility of warping the head. Eventually that would lead to a blown head gasket and the head needing resurfaced. Doesn't matter what temperature it is outside, the motor can still overheat without sufficient coolant drawing the heat away from the motor. The engine will still increase in temperature once you shut the engine off.

 

Engine side...