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

So I will pose the question first to not bore you with the details, but will include them in the next post for your entertainment...

I have a 2014 Tacoma TRD Sport DCSB 4x4 with 1,400 miles.

Here's the question...

Is it reasonably possible to have a foreign object come up from below and get sucked up into the fan and puncture the radiator multiple times leaving no marks underneath? The only damage observed by the dealer is the radiator and fan blades. I have only driven on paved roads and have never opened the hood...

They are claiming that I drove over something (rock came up and hit the inside of my radiator (engine side)) and caused the damage and are not covering the repairs.

Am I missing something? Thanks for your time and input! Much appreciated!

 

You're not going to believe this one. Need mechanics input or people who are familiar with 2nd gen Tacomas

So, I have a 2014 Tacoma Sport TRD 4x4 w/ 1,400 miles on it. Heres the "situation"... I was driving home on Tuesday when I noticed I didn't have heat. Strange. I then realized that while i was warming up my truck when leaving work i heard a bubbling sound under the dash, very weird, like a fish tank. So I called my local dealer to let*them know what was going on and said I'd be there in 20 minutes since I was furious (but was very pleasant to them).*

I happened to notice my temp gauge start to rise a little about 3/4 mile from the dealer, then about 1/2 mile away the temp gauge went into the red. However, no lights came on so I assumed it would be acceptable to drive the 1/2 mile to the dealer. Mind you, we were in the middle of a snow storm so i really didnt think pulling over was a good or safe idea. When I got there and parked in the service bay, smoke started to pour out of the engine bay. ANTIFREEZE!*The dealer was about to close and said they would look at it the first thing in the morning and gave me a loaner. (fine I guess-a new Tacoma for a loaner at least..)

Wednesday- they call me to tell me the radiator has 5 holes in it and my fan blades are slightly damaged. I said that's interesting. I asked how could something like that happen? Their response, "you must have run something over and it came up under the truck and got sucked into the fan and did the damage". I said, nearly impossible considering I didnt run over anything and if that was their claim, did they notice any damage under the truck or skid plate, or anywhere for that matter? They said nope, nothing damaged or any signs of marks besides the radiator and fan blades. Ok, now I'm a little agitated. So I said I'll be down to investigate with them.*

When I get there I asked if there were any missing parts from the engine that could have potentially come off and cause the damage. They adamantly said NO WAY IN HE!! *I said then how can we explain the damage from a hard object that came from below which did not leave a mark on anything underneath and somehow made it's way around the skid plate and all other items below and then get sucked into the fan and cause the damage.... They just said that's what happened and now I should file a claim with my insurance company since its not Toyotas fault.

One interesting note was that I said that whatever caused the damage most likely came from above, within the engine compartment, and surprisingly the tech agreed with me but couldnt say what it could have been. At that point I said to them, the tech and the customer relations manager, that thehood has not been opened since the pre delivery was done! I have not opened the hood since ownership so it was clearly not from me, but possibly the manufacturer or the dealer durning prep leaving a tool of something under the hood! They werent very pleased with the last part of that comment... Their only answer to me was to make a claim with my insurance co since in their mind it was considered road debris and an accident. I started a claim but told them if the cost wasn't too high, I would pay out of pocket since I had a $500 deductible anyway.

Surprisingly, my ins co adjuster came down that same day and authorized the repair of the fan and radiator. They were excellent. *However, as I mentioned earlier, I do not believe this was caused by some object coming from underneath, but rather a manufacturer or dealer error.*

To throw another curve ball, the dealer tells me that I may have a problem with the engine and it "may" need to be replaced due to the high engine temp*but they won't know until the new radiator goes in. *Wth.*

During this, after going back and for hours in person and over the phone, the customer relation mgr says that they are not admitting vault but would like to offer an extended warranty on the truck to 125k for being a loyal toyota customer. (we own several Toyotas) The warranty would be on the new engine, OR, the current engine if their tech determines it wasn't affected after several tests. (Cool! But that doesnt last long....)

After the test drive since the radiator and fan were put in yesterday, everything seems fine. This is where the story takes another turn and not for the good... Now the rep says, after speaking with other managers, reps, etc, they're not sure if Toyota will cover the engine since they can not be 100% sure the engine was not affected at all by the rise in engine temp. *Now they are backtracking and they definitely want my insurance co involved in case a new engine is required down the road. I told them I may not have the insurance co involved and pay the radiator cost out of pocket since I don't want a claim on my policy (not to mention I dont think it was my fault). The mgr said they needed to get more clarification from the regional rep on how they want to proceed and what, if anything, will be covered and who would be responsible for a new engine down the road if one would be needed, 6 months, 12 months, 2 yrs, etc.*

Unfortunately, the mgr was off today and until Monday so I won't have any answers till then.

That's the breakdown of it so far, I'll keep you posted but would like input on the likelihood of a foreign object getting sucked up underneath the truck and into the fan and damaging the radiator. Seems quite unlikely to me but i would like an unbiased opinion from the experts here.
Sorry for the novel....*
Much appreciated!*

 

There is nothing to fly off under the hood and a daily driver will never "suck" anything up. Ever stick your head over a radiator fan? It expels are out away from the fan. Nothing is going to go past the skid plate, and the radiator fan deffinitely won't be "sucking" anything up.

I am assuming while they were busy ripping off the plastic and such they had the hood open when the guy put the license plate(s) on he left a screw driver somewhere and eventually it fell out.

Sounds like BS to me. Nothing could really even possibly rattle off in a mere 1400 miles lol

 

Sounds like something was left under the hood.

 

As far as the engine. You shouldn't need to replace it with an overheat. The worst that will happen is you warp or crack the head and have to replace that. The block should be fine. It doesn't sound like you overheated it for long. Next time though pull over. You should have free towing under toyota care.

 

Agreed, Idk if the tacoma has it but a lot of vehicles auto shut down on you if over heating. Since you said snow storm, I am going to assume the truck didn't get too hot

 

But, whatever happened with the object coming from above, or from bellow, shouldn't
you had to stop when the temp. gauge got into the red? You are right about a tool left in the engine bay, but who damaged the engine?

 

Dang op sorry to hear hopefully everything works out

 

Nobody damaged the engine, the gauge went into the red 1/2 mile from where he parked it at the dealership

 

This is crappy. Sorry dude

 

If you don't get it resolved through the dealer or Toyota to your satisfaction, I'd suggest calling your state's Department of Consumer Protection and/or motor vehicle department assuming they have a group that regulates dealers and repair shops.

 

Thanks for the thoughts and concerns. I completely agree that something happened at the dealership when prepping the new car delivery. Unfortunately, they are not take one ounce of blame!

As far as overheating, I was 1/2 mile (about 25 seconds in the bad weather) away from the dealer and no lights come on. And it was 10 degrees out. I can't imagine there was damage caused that fast. It was interesting to note that the dealer tech claimed he had a reading from the onboard computer that stated my engine got up to 273 degrees at one point but he couldn't say for how long.

Always something...

So is it reasonable to assume it was not a manufacturer error/defect and was most likely a dealer error, which probably makes the most sense? That would also explain why the dealer customer relation mgr was taking this so personal when I suggested it could have been the dealer prep in the first place. I think I may have hit a nerve.

 

That's the first thing that popped into my head.

OP: you would have HEARD something. Something loud. Te tacomas come with a factory skid plate in the front, it is incredibly unlikely that you picked something up while driving. It woul have to jump up, around the skid plate, forward, past the fan, then bang around for a bit. It's a lot more likely that something was left under the hood during the PDI. I'm a licensed automotive tech.

 

That was my point to the dealer. I said, so you are telling me, something hard had to have been driven over (me not hearing a thing), sucked up under the truck, then go around the skid plate, then somehow get sucked "up" and into the fan (even though the fan is blowing toward the engine) and not leave a speck of marks under the truck or anywhere else besides the radiator and fan blades... I'm not a mechanic however something sounds fishy...."

Surprisingly, the tech agreed that something must have come from above but couldn't comment on what or how.... I told him I agreed and that the only person under this hood was the manufacturer and the dealer... my fingerprints are not on the latch or hood for that matter!

So that's where we are at... No accountability...

 

This... & Hard to believe, you never opened your hood. I always inspect, a new truck/car top to bottom, before leaving the dealer. When it's new, or if it was in for service.


Sucks you are going through this on a new truck, but lesson learned... inspect, inspect& inspect before you leave a dealer.

 

Do you have pics of the damage?

 

Sounds like some Muppet at the dealership left a tool in the shroud area and went for a drive and the rest is history...

 

Yeah, lesson learned for sure. But as far as inspecting the engine compartment before leaving, I "ASSUMED" the engine was there and in working condition as it drove fine on the test drive. Also, since it is new, why would I "check" the engine with 1,400 miles on it. On that theory, I also didn't check the tranny fluid, shocks, and every other component of the truck. Buying new, you have to give the dealer/manufacturer some credit or you shouldn't be buying it in the first place. But, you are right, lesson learned...

I do not have pics of the damage yet, but you can be sure those parts are not getting thrown away! The ins adjuster already went there and took his photos so there should be some documentation if the dealer decided to get rid of the evidence. I wouldnt think they got rid of anything since the case is still open and I am not taking back the truck until this gets resolved.

 

Not going to place blame or direction on anyone. Just going to discuss this with my knowledge.

Lets make assumptions to look at the options:

Assumption 1: Something was left under the hood.
Unfortunately there is NO way to know what, or when it could have been left. After the PDI, was the truck ever on the lot for other customers to look at it? Could someone have left something under the hood when they looked at it at the lot? There are MANY variables. IF there was something in fact left under the hood, it could have been there by several options, and since there are options that it COULD have been by someone not employed by the dealership, there is a reasonable chance of doubt. (Think legal terms here)

Assumption 2: Part/tool/etc left in from factory, not seen by PDI
This is a possibility, but can't obviously be proven. Would put Toyota technically at fault, but again, can't be proven.

Assumption 3: Road debris caught up in fan.
Yes, believe it or not, this CAN happen. A radiator and plastic fan blade can EASILY be damaged by a rock no bigger than a dime. This rock can cause SEVERE damage, and make little noise when going down the highway. It would take less than 1 second at highway speed for a rock to do major damage. I have seen it happen more than once.

Assumption 4: Crack in fan blade, piece of fan blade came apart and bounced between fan and radiator.
This is another option. It is possible.

Is there any chance that you have pictures of the damage? (I know if I were being told it was not a warranty issue, I would want LOTS of pictures)

 

Sounds like you ran over a screwdriver and hit it exactly right so it deflected off your front tire and immediately and drastically changed its trajectory so as to fly straight up into the radiator on the inside of the fan and proceed to get bounced around like a rock in a blender.

Happens to me once or twice a month.