Nissan Murano 2005 - problem

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Ozimandius
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Post by Ozimandius » 16 Nov 2011, 7:50 pm

Hi All,
My brother's wife uses his Nissan Murano (2005) for her run to work and back.

My brother is pretty anal about the maintenance of his car, and has a FSH from Arabian Auto, with no expense spared, and the car recently had it's 115,000 kms service done 1.5 months ago. He's also not a rough driver.

Yesterday, on her way home from work, she noticed the temperature needle crawling towards Hot so she stopped it at a gas station, and then later drove it back home slowly.

My brother and I checked the car out and it had the CEL on, and the radiator fan wasn't moving. When we drove the car for a few metres we kept hearing a grating sound coming from the bonnet, as if the radiator fan was scraping against something intermittently. He then thought of taking it to Arabian Auto for a check, and on the way there (it's a 6KM drive), I noticed light grey smoke coming from the exhaust, and then the car automatically slowed down, so he stopped it at the side of the road, hailed a recovery truck and had it transported it to Arabian Auto.

At AA, they connected the scanner and it said the engine had over-heated and there was a knocking sensor problem. The engineer opened up the bonnet and saw that there was no coolant left, and there was a burning smell, and when they tried starting the car, it would stall, so he left it there.

Today, they said the radiator was damaged and needed to be repaired (estimate below). They also needed the remove the engine to inspect the damage, for which they're charging AED 3500! Finally, they said if the coolant leaked, it wasn't their problem, and they only inspected such parts visually during their maintenance.

And btw, they still don't know what the problem is, and will only know if they 'lift' the engine, for which they're charging AED 3500.

Their estimate below:

1. Pulldown engine for inspection - AED 3,500 (labour)
2. Replace radiator assembly - AED 405 (labour)
3. Replace radiator hoses - AED 320 (labour)
4. Replace thermostat valve - AED 160 (labour)
5. Radiator Assembly - AED 2,576 (part's price)
6. Hose top - AED 79 (part's price)
7. Hose bottom - AED 157 (part's price)
8. Generic - AED 45

Total - AED 7,242

My question:

1) Who screwed up? Were they negligent during their previous service? How does a coolant leak out, and why did it damage the radiator?
2) Is it just a simple head gasket and radiator issue?
3) Can it be something more major, such as the whole engine getting screwed?
4) Can I get a second opinion somewhere else?
5) Even if we go ahead with the above quote, it won't fix the problem as they need to check the engine. Were their heads stuck in their arses when they quoted us for a partial job?

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Tribal
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Post by Tribal » 16 Nov 2011, 9:14 pm

Hmm Seems Somebody forgot to Put Coolant in Their Radiator on Time :grin: Did the owner refill radiator with Coolant or even water at least once every 3 weeks to a month.. or was it only done during the major Servicing times at the dealer?

I dont think its anything major.. Just replace the faulty parts including the Fan and it should be good to go, But Don't do it at the Dealer.. 7200 bucks to change a Radiator!? LOL.. Get it done locally!

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Ozimandius
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Post by Ozimandius » 16 Nov 2011, 11:42 pm

But aren't they supposed to do this in their service? Do you know of any place where I can get these parts and get the job done properly?

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WKZ
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Post by WKZ » 17 Nov 2011, 1:32 am

Tribal wrote:Hmm Seems Somebody forgot to Put Coolant in Their Radiator on Time :grin: Did the owner refill radiator with Coolant or even water at least once every 3 weeks to a month.. or was it only done during the major Servicing times at the dealer?!
You are not supposed to check your coolant level if you own a '05! IMO its the service centers fault for not spotting a faulty radiator/hoses etc. AFAIK an engine overhaul is not necessary, a detailed compression test should help you in spotting blown gaskets/bent head. Grey smoke might be bad news bud, I suggest getting it repaired and selling it off.

real_ashwin
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Post by real_ashwin » 17 Nov 2011, 11:21 am

115,000 kms so far so i doubt there is any warranty left? If that is the case just take it to any good garage and let them fix the same for like half the price instead of getting shafted at the dealer.

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CaL][CaB
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Post by CaL][CaB » 17 Nov 2011, 12:57 pm

i say fix and sell...and if u are gonna sell...have a budget fix...im sure it will selll

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7afe
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Post by 7afe » 17 Nov 2011, 6:03 pm

I still dont understand why did you continue driving even if the car was over heating. It makes small issues become bigger!
Tribal wrote:Hmm Seems Somebody forgot to Put Coolant in Their Radiator on Time :grin: Did the owner refill radiator with Coolant or even water at least once every 3 weeks to a month.. or was it only done during the major Servicing times at the dealer?
If radiator is not leaking then coolant is not a problem. It usually runs for a 100K MILES before a car needs a coolant flush. If the service was recently done, you need to check in the receipt what they did to your car, and only then you can claim. But i think they should have inspected everything in the car before letting it go like that. Get a compression test, if each cylinder has more than 14psi of difference then you have a problem. :twisted:

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Ozimandius
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Post by Ozimandius » 17 Nov 2011, 6:23 pm

Thanks for all the info guys!



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