New Owner (hopefully not for long) 2012 Equus Signature

[79MGB]

Earlier this week I bought a used 2012 Equus Signature, and the 40 mile drive home from the dealer was marvelous, but a little chilly. Following day, I spent a bit of time in the car, to adjust to it. Put about 100 pleasant miles on it. Following day, I drive the car to work, and the temperature gauge becomes erratic-pegged all the way to hot, then straight to cold-and stayed there for the remainder of my drive. Car sounded fine, and drove fine. 12 miles after this, I come to a stop at a traffic light, and suddenly hear a tap coming from either a valve or lifter-or both. At the same time, the CEL and oil pressure lights came on. Drove the car a further mile, and shut it down. Oil was full and clean, and coolant was full, though there was a coolant smell. I had it towed back to the dealer (at my expense), and they are trying to tell me that it overheated due to a air pocket in the cooling system, and that they would clear that out. Of course, that does nothing for the tap (that I could hear over the radio), or the low oil pressure. Are any of these issues common, and what is the fix? I also noticed that having the climate control set on high temp, it blew cold the entire time. Obviously, any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. First thought is to get out of the deal, but the dealer is extremely resistant!

 

[Mr. Incredible]

An oil circulation problem can cause the engine to overheat,, coupled with the noise and the oil light, there is likely more going on than air in the coolant system.

cold air through the heating system would be normal if as you say the car went straight to cold, meaning the t-stat stayed open because the car was overheating, thus the coolant was not getting up to temp.

with a t-stat closed the coolant stays in the motor, the motor gets hotter than the t-stat is set for and then the t-stat opens and pumps the excess water/coolant back into the radiator. If the t-stat never closes, the engine never gets to operating temps.

Air in the system can cause this, yes and an over heat situation can cause knocking/tapping, especially if it is coupled with an oil circulation issue.

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[Spanky61]

Also have them check what type of oil filter is being used. If it's an aftermarket oil filter, have them replace it immediately with the OEM unit.

 

[Mr. Incredible]

Also have them check what type of oil filter is being used. If it's an aftermarket oil filter, have them replace it immediately with the OEM unit.

yup a clogged or improperly installed oil filter can cause circulation problems.


I believe the Equus has the same top access oil filter as the current G80 and G90s, and if so cheap filters are known to disintegrate and clog the system.

 

[79MGB]

With this having happened, though the dealer cannot get the car to duplicate the problem, am I going to want to own this car? It just feels like the trouble will be ongoing, become major, and quickly. From a noise I heard (once), I'm thinking the heater issue may be a blend door issue.

 

[PMCErnie]

You didn’t mention your odometer reading, car price, or warranty status. I’ll assume there is no warranty, or just a very brief one from the seller. If you are buying a ‘12 vehicle (of any brand) with no significant warranty run, don’t walk, away from the deal. Disregard this suggestion if you are prepared to tackle expensive repairs down the road. It will all be on your wallet.

 

[Mr. Incredible]

With this having happened, though the dealer cannot get the car to duplicate the problem, am I going to want to own this car? It just feels like the trouble will be ongoing, become major, and quickly.

I would demand they change the oil, and the filter, and if the air is out of the system and the problem doesn't repeat I would say you are fine.


if this isn't CPO, there is no way of knowing the shop put the proper oil or proper amount of oil in the car, the 3.8L takes 5.5 quarts and the 4.6L takes 6.86 quarts. Both recommend 5w30.

I believe the signature has the V8 correct?

you can't imagine how many shops will only put 5 quarts in and call it a day, never looking to see that the car actually takes more. my last 5 vehicles have all taken > 8 quarts and while the dealerships for the most part get it right, the quick change oil places NEVER do.

 

[79MGB]

By no means a CPO, 99k miles, but quite nicely kept. Recently widowed, I thought I'd do something nice for myself, and it is becoming a nightmare. Oil level was correct, and oil was clean. I am just trying to avoid big issues in the immediate future. I'm not terribly confident in the car at this point.

 

[pmckechnie]

Air pocket in engine cooling system is a good possibility. The first sign of air in the system is no heat. If the system got low at some time and the reservoir was only filled then the air pocket will remain and the engine will overheat again. If the engine gets too hot, the oil will get thin and cause noises in the engine. Another thing that can happen is the water that is still in the engine will boil and because of the pressure in the system it can make a knocking type sound.
What it needs now is to get the engine full of coolant, the radiator full of coolant and then find the leak that caused the low coolant in the first place.

 

[PMCErnie]

By no means a CPO, 99k miles, but quite nicely kept. Recently widowed, I thought I'd do something nice for myself, and it is becoming a nightmare. Oil level was correct, and oil was clean. I am just trying to avoid big issues in the immediate future. I'm not terribly confident in the car at this point.

Unless you have deep pockets, it’s never being nice to yourself to buy a car without any warranty. For what you paid, go find a nice new, or gently used, vehicle with a warranty. Your return window is narrowing, or gone. If you drop off the car today you will sleep well tonight. As my late Dad used to tell me about women, there are plenty of fish in the sea.

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[79MGB]

UPDATE: Dealership bled and flushed the cooling system, and that did indeed solve the problem. Have put a little over 1000 miles on the car, and it has been fantastic! What a pleasant car it is!

 

[Hueydriver]

UPDATE: Dealership bled and flushed the cooling system, and that did indeed solve the problem. Have put a little over 1000 miles on the car, and it has been fantastic! What a pleasant car it is!

Glad you got it corrected!! Happy driving!

 

[Chad86tsi]

Thermostats are often mounted at the highest point in the coolant path. Air rises to the top in water, so trapped air will be where the stat gets it's temperature source. hot air won't provide enough "heat" conductivity to open it, it needs a flow of hot coolant to heat the stat enough to open. A motor will quickly overheat once up to temp, and overheated engines will often tick/tap as viscosity of the oil becomes too low.

I had the same thing happen to a car of mine I replaced the coolant in, it took 3 air purges to get all the trapped air out of that block.

Your event will likely never reoccur. They flushed the coolant and didn't do a good job of road testing it before sale.