Radiator leak

[Levrac13]

Brand new to the forum and am seeking advice. Purchased a 2015 Gensis signature about 2 months ago. Car had 39k and now has 42k. Paid to have the car certified to extend the warranty. Wife took the car out of town yesterday and called me stating car over heated. Sd. she immediately pulled over and turned off motor. Car towed back to dealer. Dealer states "you must have hit something to cause a hairline crack at bottom of radiator." I go to dealer today and ask them to show me damage. They remove the cover which covers the bottom of the radiator but I can see no real damage. There is a plastic piece that runs under the radiator that had 2, what I would call nicks, about 1/8 inch. There are some scrapes on the under side of the spoiler. I tell service manager I don't see anything that looks like a hard enough hit to crack the radiator. Quote was $900 to replace radiator. Is the radiator really that fragile? If they deny warranty coverage what recourse do I have? I hate car dealers and now I know why. Any info or suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[Mark_888]

Radiators are somewhat fragile, since they need lots of surface area to dissipate heat.

If the dealer claims it is not covered by the warranty, contact HMA directly and open a case. If you don't get prompt satisfaction, you need to go on the warpath and do everything you can think of to destroy the reputation of the dealer and the manufacturer. There are lots of places on the Internet where you can do that.

 

[Levrac13]

They knew by the time I left that I was NOT happy with their response. I understand radiators are fragile but I honestly don't think the car hit anything nearly hard enough to damage the radiator.

 

[EdP]

I go to dealer today and ask them to show me damage. They remove the cover which covers the bottom of the radiator but I can see no real damage. There is a plastic piece that runs under the radiator that had 2, what I would call nicks, about 1/8 inch. There are some scrapes on the under side of the spoiler. I tell service manager I don't see anything that looks like a hard enough hit to crack the radiator.

Yes, they are somewhat fragile but not being able to see it, none of us can say if it was physically damaged by something or if it was a defect. Is the car driveable at all if filled with water? If so, you have choices. You can contest the dealer findings and perhaps they and you could agree to accept the findings of a reliable radiator shop. I would think a pro that has done radiator work for years would take a look and know for sure. If you do have to pay, they may be able to repair or replace it cheaper than the dealer.

Go through the warranty book and look at the system to contest a warranty denial. If you have it fixed, be sure to get the old part to be checked by someone.