My 07 Coupe started to have louder fan noise kick on and earlier this week I noticed my temp gauge was going high (like 90%) so decided to take it in to Sac Infiniti thinking it's the radiator motor that Infiniti extended the warranty on.

They took my car for a day, told me it's $125 for diagnosis. Got a call back later saying it's not the radiator fan but my coolant was running low and they need to do a bunch of other stuff. Stuff they listed (ac belts, filters, coolant flush, etc) sounded a lot like a 60k mile service and since I was nearing that anyway, I told them to go for it. They wanted $700 for all that plus $125 for diagnosis.... $825 total. That's a **** ton right there already and I know this but I really wasn't going to risk taking the car elsewhere without the overheating issue being fixed.

Got a call back today saying now I need a new themostat. They did all the repairs that they said they would, tech drove it out to test, and was still overheating. They want $225 for that now.

Now I'm a bit pissed. I started asking what I'm paying a diagnosis for. Told them, as far as I know, coolant doesn't just evaporate. If I'm running low on coolant, theres a hose going bad or radiator has a crack/leak somewhere (someone correct me if I'm wrong on this). Service writer basically explains to me that the coolant in the reservoir will evaporate over time and whoever has been changing my oil hasn't been filling that up when it's low.

I got tired of hearing this and just wanted my car back fixed. Asked him to just do the t-stat job but at least take off the diagnosis charge since I'm dropping a ton here already. He says his hands are tied on that but will check with his boss... also asks me if I'm not happy with their diagnosis

He does happily offer 10% off the whole bill... told him I was already planning to use that 10% off coupon that's readily available at their website anyway.

Either way, am I getting screwed here? I'm not a mechanic but I'm not buying that whole coolant evaporating claim. Again, I'd be more than happy if I'm wrong in that department but I've always thought that the radiator/coolant is a closed system. My only concern here on out is that if they didn't address the core problem (leak, radiator plugged up, etc) and I run in to this issue sooner or later.

Any ideas?

 

sounds like they are idiots. if they replaced the thermostat they probably didnt burp the system good enough, this is a tricky task if you have never done it but it is still easy. i would take it home and burp it yourself or have them redo it. as far as the fan noise if it comes on and dosnt wine then it should be fine. as for coolant loss you will just have to look for leaks. i hope this helps out but dont let the dealer throw parts at you or push you around that gets expensive fast

 

If it got as hot as you say, I would make sure you didn't blow your head gasket. I had a g sedan in a few weeks ago that had an intermittent overheating issue and I found exhaust gasses in the coolant.

Did they pressure test the cooling system?

Over time the coolant level may drop very slightly, but what I see most common is cars coming in after cooling system service with low coolant due to insufficient top off. If there is a significant change in coolant level, then it went somewhere. Regarding the tstat, they can get damaged during overheat incidents.

 

Id go with anything Eugene had to say.

 

QFT. Eugene is hella knowledgeable about our cars so his word is golden as far as I'm concerned.

 

Just to add a few comments about Sacramento Infiniti. To be blunt they're stupid. I always have an issue everytime I go there. Just like one of the service reps said my G35 couldn't only use J-matic and that S-matic would damage it. Last time I had it serviced I had the coolant flushed, thermostat, and rad hoses changed. When I got home the overflow bottle was empty and the car stunk to high hell of coolant.