2016 Tacoma Radiator Issue leads to engine Issue

This sounds suspect to me.

 

First off, let me say kudos to USAA....I have them as well and will NEVER use any other company. The best hands down. Glad they are helping make you whole again.

Second, you should ask for the compression test and cylinder leak down test results. Ask specifically what the point of failure is. Ask what the diagnostic pathway that lead them to condemn the engine. Was the engine torn down, or did they just bring out the diag shotgun?

One problem with Toyota’s being historically reliable is many of the techs working on them spend most of their time doing timing belts and oil changes, and don’t really have a lot of diag skills (not trying to dis Toyota techs, I know some of them are fantastic diagnosticians...just making a generalization). This may lead to a “better just replace the engine” diagnosis, instead of a proper “let’s fix what’s broken” diag.

 

Good to see you are getting somewhere.
The insurance adjuster must have seen something that led him to believe road hazard. I work with insurance adjusters often(mostly progressive) and they are usually pretty good at determining what would be warranty or manufacturer defect and what would be insurance. Also, the adjusters job is to have the insurance pay out as little as possible while still taking care of the customer, so something had to stick out for them to agree it was a flying object.
Next, OP, did you get the compression test results and leakdown? I am still curious to see those results.
Now, you are getting a used engine, did I read that correctly? I would ask if that will have the sensors in it, or will they be swapping your sensors over. If swapping over, I would want a full test on each sensor before moving forward.

 

probably a good thing that his insurance stepped up to pay for the damages, the insurance company can then investigate whether the Dealer over charging for the repair if they smell a rat.

 

As an aside - whether or not the engine is actually having problems as a result of the coolant leak, who knows. I'm not getting into this because you have not provided enough facts..but let's assume the likely scenario that it is actually blown.

This is common on cars that are extremely low or out of coolant...the sensor to sense the coolant temp needs to be completely immersed in the coolant to provide an indication of temperature. Take it from an engineer who designs this stuff. Sounds like you had a hole in the radiator (who knows the cause), a lot of coolant leaked out, and you overheated the engine and blew it up. There is no coolant PRESSURE sensor that you speak of. I bet every dollar I have that when they refill the cooling system, the coolant temperature indication works just fine, still.

I'd honestly even go to the point of placing some burden on you. If you truly do get the truck serviced and fluids checked every 5k miles (as you say), you should have noticed a "catastrophic" coolant leak in a short period of time. Either smelling it, or it leaking onto the ground. Coolant leaks leave deposits all over everything under the hood, it should be obvious. Don't blame your dealer. Why force them to pay for your misfortune? They are right - shit happens...and I've heard of people much more unlucky than you. Why does everyone feel entitled to a car that runs forever without requiring repairs? And then they blame the representative of the manufacturer (their dealer) when it does? Your dealer personally did absolutely nothing to cause this issue, why should they pay for it? Toyota Corporate certainly won't.

The vehicle is out of the warranty period, there's nothing that can be done at this point (short of expensive repairs). Maybe next time, you should spring for the comparably cheap Toyota Extra Care Platinum extended warranty which would have made this problem disappear with 0 deductible. This is the exact reason why it exists. Consider yourself blessed that USAA was kind enough to cover your unfortunate mechanical failure because of a UFO that flies backwards through the cooling fan and into your radiator.

 

At worst he could have warped the head and blew a head gasket . It shouldn't have ruined the bottom end . He needs a second opinion from a professional in person . Sounds like the dealer heard the cash register sound.

 

Well he'll never forget the smell of coolant now and keep an eye on it.

 

Happened to this guy twice @The Riddler , First time:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/possible-defective-radiator.511828/

Second time:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/overheating-for-2nd-time.537677/

Difference these were "cracks" not "hole"

 

Great news that your insurance is stepping up to the plate on this, but I'm curious on how they determined what repairs were needed? Was it based on your explanation of the situation, which you don't even seem to recall when or where this issue began, or was it based on the dealers diagnosis? Did your insurance have a 3rd party look over the engine and they also determined the same resolution as Toyota that the motor was toast?

The engine block and heads are made from aluminum which don't take well to excessive heat and easily can warp from lack of coolant passing through the internal passages and compromise the integrity of head gaskets among other things. While a gallon low on coolant isn't much in the grand scheme of things, it's possible that a pocket of air formed at the tstat, which is also typically where the coolant temp sensor is located, I'm not 100% sure on the 2GR. That would have not allowed the tstat to open normally, and when a burst of water or eventual build up of hot vapor hits the tstat causing it to open the coolant temp sensor spikes suddenly without warning and unknown damage could have been caused.

Just a possible scenario but doesn't seem likely if the temp guage didn't even spike or hit the H, imo it's unlikely catastrophic damage was done. Sounds like you caught it in time. Only being down a gallon, I'm assuming the hole in the radiator must have been towards the top if it only lost that much. Like others have said, without the result of a compression test and a coolant system leak down test, it's hard to say for certain the motor is toast. Surely you should have the results from the dealer and I'd hope your insurance has those results before they go approving replacement of a motor that could have nothing wrong with it and it could be a simple replacement of the radiator.

Usually when driving road debris comes from the direction you're heading and not from behind. Have you looked for any rock chips or damage that may have been caused elsewhere besides the radiator? Or any indication on the radiator itself that would determine the source of entry from suspected road debris like the fins being blown out toward the front or rear of the radiator?

When was the last time you had it serviced? Did you have any work done in proximity to the area damaged on the radiator that could have been inadvertently caused by the service tech? Just a thought.

Subbed for supporting evidence and outcome.

 

the OP is and should consider himself very lucky that his car Insurance stepped up to pay for the required repair, since the car was way out of warranty at 72k miles for a repair thru Toyota, if my truck incurred a mystery hole in the radiator that caused my engine to get fubared I would be SOL on receiving funds for a repair, my insurance would say no comprende homie we aint paying for that, they wouldn't even consider it without a Police report at the time of the engine meltdown on the side of the road.

 

That's the thing, I've given all the facts. There aren't a lot of facts. Noise, one milisecond "on off" temp light, engine ruined. Case over. There was antifreeze on the engine, the service tech showed me. But, there wasn't a smell. When I looked under the hood during all this there was no unusual smell or signs that I could see. But, a lot of this happened at night so I was under lights at gas station. I used to have an old Datsun 260Z that used to run hot all the time. The radiator would leak and I would fill it up. It would run almost over to the H. I ran forever. The engine never burned up. So, I know or I thought I knew the indicators of an overheating engine. What is the Toyota Extra Care Platinum? Never heard of it.

 

Extended Warranty.

 

Since insurance is paying I'm not going to push the issue but I do want to push the issue about indcators. One other thing the windshield washer pump failed. The tech commented he'd never had a wash pump fail so new. I asked him if this was indicative of some systemic problem with the engine.

 

I'll ask about it. You have to understand I drive about 42K miles a year so extended warranties are usually a bad idea.

 

Also, I had it serviced at 70K miles on February 8th and determined ruined on Feb 23rd. No radiator service only oil change and tire rotation. But, also had washer pump replaced.

 

One thing I've learned through all this is today's Toyotas aren't your Father's Toyotas.

 

I had three Silverados before this. First one a tree fell on it at 107K miles, second I drove for 346K miles, 3rd rear-ended by tractor trailer at 170K miles.

 

I still doubt the motor being ruined. I would need to see an actual compression test, leak down, and test the coolant for combustion before I believed what they said.

 

I have a friend who is a race car driver. He said I might have warp the heads by putting the coolant into a hot engine. He said he did that to one of his race car motors. I told him I thought I let it cool down long enough.

 

I'm swapping a 72K motor for a 21K motor. Moot point.