2007 Saturn Aura XR 3.6L engine failure
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Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 3
2007 Saturn Aura XR 3.6L engine failure
Hey guys,
I bought this car from my mother-in-law with only about 60,000 miles on it. She did meticulous maintenance on it and the car was in perfect shape - it seemed like a perfect used car. Well, it didn't last very much longer, it had an engine failure by 75,000 miles. the dealer told me it would be about $4500 to repair/rebuild the engine, I don't recall the exactly what was wrong with it. We decided instead to have them put a whole new engine in it instead, which was $7000. We figured this would be a good car for our college age kids to drive for years to come, and we figured it would be a better car than what we could buy used for that same $7000. Well here we are 18,000 miles later and the engine is overheating. I had replaced the radiator last summer thinking it was the radiator causing the overheating, but it would still get hot when the weather was warm and it was driven on hills or under load. I finally took it to the dealer to see what they could find. They told me it was the surge tank that was bad and not holding coolant. So they replaced the surge tank and some hoses they said were leaking. Apparently that wasn't where the leak was coming from. They told me today that the leak appears to be coming from an area where the block and head meet. The are suggesting we remove the head and send it to a machine shop to check and see if the head is flat, and if it is, then I guess we check the block next - ugh. I asked about the warranty on the engine, since we only have 18,000 miles on it, they said its 3 years or 100,000 miles. The 3 years was up in April, so we're 4 months past the 3 year mark and they are saying I'm S.O.L. offering no help trying to negotiate with GM on my behalf. Has anyone else had this type problem with a new engine? Do you know if there's any chance I can get GM to replace/repair it since it's only got 18,000 miles on it? I'm at a loss for what to do. I don't really want to invest $1000's more on it, but I don't really want to throw away the $9,000 or so I have into it.
HELP!
Thanks!
I bought this car from my mother-in-law with only about 60,000 miles on it. She did meticulous maintenance on it and the car was in perfect shape - it seemed like a perfect used car. Well, it didn't last very much longer, it had an engine failure by 75,000 miles. the dealer told me it would be about $4500 to repair/rebuild the engine, I don't recall the exactly what was wrong with it. We decided instead to have them put a whole new engine in it instead, which was $7000. We figured this would be a good car for our college age kids to drive for years to come, and we figured it would be a better car than what we could buy used for that same $7000. Well here we are 18,000 miles later and the engine is overheating. I had replaced the radiator last summer thinking it was the radiator causing the overheating, but it would still get hot when the weather was warm and it was driven on hills or under load. I finally took it to the dealer to see what they could find. They told me it was the surge tank that was bad and not holding coolant. So they replaced the surge tank and some hoses they said were leaking. Apparently that wasn't where the leak was coming from. They told me today that the leak appears to be coming from an area where the block and head meet. The are suggesting we remove the head and send it to a machine shop to check and see if the head is flat, and if it is, then I guess we check the block next - ugh. I asked about the warranty on the engine, since we only have 18,000 miles on it, they said its 3 years or 100,000 miles. The 3 years was up in April, so we're 4 months past the 3 year mark and they are saying I'm S.O.L. offering no help trying to negotiate with GM on my behalf. Has anyone else had this type problem with a new engine? Do you know if there's any chance I can get GM to replace/repair it since it's only got 18,000 miles on it? I'm at a loss for what to do. I don't really want to invest $1000's more on it, but I don't really want to throw away the $9,000 or so I have into it.
HELP!
Thanks!
Super Moderator
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 12,387
From: Slightly off center
It is highly unlikely that that engine is brand new. It is most likely rebuilt to factory specs. Although 3 years 100,000 MI seems like bizarre as usually remanufactured engines are 3 36 from GM. I should say they have been in the past.
Going on the assumption that this is a new engine for the amount of money you paid, the answers to the following questions are critical.
1) had you ever taken the vehicle back to the dealer with complaints related to overheating or running hot during the 3-year warranty period. It only has to have been once, not all your visits, to be a yes.
2) hoping they answer to 1 is yes, if the dealer attempted to address the issue, the same issue, did work on the vehicle which was later found not to be a proper repair for the issue, you may have a case with GM.
The complication is whether the work they performed on the expansion tank actually addressed any part of the overheating behavior. Only you can quantify how much coolant you went through before that repair versus after that repair and at what rate.
Unfortunately no one can say when the leak at the cylinder heads began. Are they telling you you have one or both blown head gaskets or are they telling you one or both of the cylinder heads are warped?
Cylinder heads on an automobile with aluminum heads are prone to warping when a vehicle is badly overheated or repeatedly overheated.
3) How soon after the expansion tank work did you bring it in to the dealer? If you waited a while, GM will likely claim that the problems ( the expansion tank and the cylinder heads) are not related and therefore the cylinder heads were not known your could have been expected to be warped before the end of the warranty. That is not necessarily the truth, as if someone had done a compression test they may have found it . But obviously they didn't.
So basically the only way I see you getting some relief from GM is to have had your first visit for this issue within warranty and your second visit hopefully within warranty. This demonstrates an ongoing issue that was never solved. Since reported within the warranty period, it should be covered in its entirety if you can convince them that the cylinder head warpage is the direct result of improperly addressing your original concern and that the cylinder heads would not have warped if the correct diagnosis was made earlier.
That's my take
Going on the assumption that this is a new engine for the amount of money you paid, the answers to the following questions are critical.
1) had you ever taken the vehicle back to the dealer with complaints related to overheating or running hot during the 3-year warranty period. It only has to have been once, not all your visits, to be a yes.
2) hoping they answer to 1 is yes, if the dealer attempted to address the issue, the same issue, did work on the vehicle which was later found not to be a proper repair for the issue, you may have a case with GM.
The complication is whether the work they performed on the expansion tank actually addressed any part of the overheating behavior. Only you can quantify how much coolant you went through before that repair versus after that repair and at what rate.
Unfortunately no one can say when the leak at the cylinder heads began. Are they telling you you have one or both blown head gaskets or are they telling you one or both of the cylinder heads are warped?
Cylinder heads on an automobile with aluminum heads are prone to warping when a vehicle is badly overheated or repeatedly overheated.
3) How soon after the expansion tank work did you bring it in to the dealer? If you waited a while, GM will likely claim that the problems ( the expansion tank and the cylinder heads) are not related and therefore the cylinder heads were not known your could have been expected to be warped before the end of the warranty. That is not necessarily the truth, as if someone had done a compression test they may have found it . But obviously they didn't.
So basically the only way I see you getting some relief from GM is to have had your first visit for this issue within warranty and your second visit hopefully within warranty. This demonstrates an ongoing issue that was never solved. Since reported within the warranty period, it should be covered in its entirety if you can convince them that the cylinder head warpage is the direct result of improperly addressing your original concern and that the cylinder heads would not have warped if the correct diagnosis was made earlier.
That's my take
Thread Starter
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Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 3
It is highly unlikely that that engine is brand new. It is most likely rebuilt to factory specs. Although 3 years 100,000 MI seems like bizarre as usually remanufactured engines are 3 36 from GM. I should say they have been in the past.
Going on the assumption that this is a new engine for the amount of money you paid, the answers to the following questions are critical.
1) had you ever taken the vehicle back to the dealer with complaints related to overheating or running hot during the 3-year warranty period. It only has to have been once, not all your visits, to be a yes.
2) hoping they answer to 1 is yes, if the dealer attempted to address the issue, the same issue, did work on the vehicle which was later found not to be a proper repair for the issue, you may have a case with GM.
The complication is whether the work they performed on the expansion tank actually addressed any part of the overheating behavior. Only you can quantify how much coolant you went through before that repair versus after that repair and at what rate.
Unfortunately no one can say when the leak at the cylinder heads began. Are they telling you you have one or both blown head gaskets or are they telling you one or both of the cylinder heads are warped?
Cylinder heads on an automobile with aluminum heads are prone to warping when a vehicle is badly overheated or repeatedly overheated.
3) How soon after the expansion tank work did you bring it in to the dealer? If you waited a while, GM will likely claim that the problems ( the expansion tank and the cylinder heads) are not related and therefore the cylinder heads were not known your could have been expected to be warped before the end of the warranty. That is not necessarily the truth, as if someone had done a compression test they may have found it . But obviously they didn't.
So basically the only way I see you getting some relief from GM is to have had your first visit for this issue within warranty and your second visit hopefully within warranty. This demonstrates an ongoing issue that was never solved. Since reported within the warranty period, it should be covered in its entirety if you can convince them that the cylinder head warpage is the direct result of improperly addressing your original concern and that the cylinder heads would not have warped if the correct diagnosis was made earlier.
That's my take
Going on the assumption that this is a new engine for the amount of money you paid, the answers to the following questions are critical.
1) had you ever taken the vehicle back to the dealer with complaints related to overheating or running hot during the 3-year warranty period. It only has to have been once, not all your visits, to be a yes.
2) hoping they answer to 1 is yes, if the dealer attempted to address the issue, the same issue, did work on the vehicle which was later found not to be a proper repair for the issue, you may have a case with GM.
The complication is whether the work they performed on the expansion tank actually addressed any part of the overheating behavior. Only you can quantify how much coolant you went through before that repair versus after that repair and at what rate.
Unfortunately no one can say when the leak at the cylinder heads began. Are they telling you you have one or both blown head gaskets or are they telling you one or both of the cylinder heads are warped?
Cylinder heads on an automobile with aluminum heads are prone to warping when a vehicle is badly overheated or repeatedly overheated.
3) How soon after the expansion tank work did you bring it in to the dealer? If you waited a while, GM will likely claim that the problems ( the expansion tank and the cylinder heads) are not related and therefore the cylinder heads were not known your could have been expected to be warped before the end of the warranty. That is not necessarily the truth, as if someone had done a compression test they may have found it . But obviously they didn't.
So basically the only way I see you getting some relief from GM is to have had your first visit for this issue within warranty and your second visit hopefully within warranty. This demonstrates an ongoing issue that was never solved. Since reported within the warranty period, it should be covered in its entirety if you can convince them that the cylinder head warpage is the direct result of improperly addressing your original concern and that the cylinder heads would not have warped if the correct diagnosis was made earlier.
That's my take
Unfortunately I did not take the car back to the dealer to address any of the overheating. Right after the engine replacement I sent the car off to college with my daughter about 500 miles from home. I didn't get a lot of feedback from her other than she said it seemed to run on the hotter side, usually between 1/2 and the hot mark on the guage. She is careful and I don't believe she ever really got it HOT HOT, but I have no way to know for sure. She's the type that would turn off the air and turn on the heater if it was looking like it was going into the red. Most of the time she was at college she would just ride with others, ad reflected in the 18,000 miles in 3 1/2 years.
The work on the surge tank is what they thought the problem was right now before they discovered the leak at the block. They had not seen the car since the engine replacement, except to fix something that was rattling right after their repair. So it's sounds like getting GM to do anything is not going to happen, mostly due to my inaction - understood.
So, I guess the next logical question is, is it worth investing more money into repairing the block/head issue? Are those repairs usually successful, and could I expect years of trouble free service out of that engine after such a repair? I'm not sure how much that repair could end up costing, but it's not likely I could get a better used car for that same amount of money. I also think I'll take it elsewhere for the repair if I decide to do it, as the service department here at our local dealer is less than satisfactory. Luckily this is not my daily driver but rather a backup car the kids can use for school.
Any additional advice is appreciated - Thanks!
Super Moderator
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 12,387
From: Slightly off center
Can you post the txt they used on the invoice that indicates the problem? May include some shorthand type stuff. Just post as is.
Personally, the only way I see an expansion tank contributing to overheating is if the relief valve in the cap is not staying closed b c it is defective, the cap isn't sealing tight on the reservoir, or the system is indeed overpressure.
For a sealed system, the coolant transfers in the direction necessary based on expansion and contraction of the coolant, driven by changes in temp which drive changes in pressure.
It would seem to me that unless it was a collapsed hose not letting fluid in and out of the expansion tank, the only way the expansion tank could "retain fluid" would be if there was a leak in the system somewhere else so that the coolant would heat up, pressure would push it into the expansion tank but because the system was not sealed, it would never be pulled back when the vehicle cooled.
Please post the text on the invoice for that dealership visit as well. It is very difficult for us to give advice on whether to keep certain things or move on without knowing exactly what the issue is in a functional sense. You're looking at a good chunk of money to sort this out.
There are others here much more qualified than myself to make that assessment, based on years of hands on experience. I am trying to help us help you by getting all of the raw information out into the open so that an informed decision can be suggested.
Personally, the only way I see an expansion tank contributing to overheating is if the relief valve in the cap is not staying closed b c it is defective, the cap isn't sealing tight on the reservoir, or the system is indeed overpressure.
For a sealed system, the coolant transfers in the direction necessary based on expansion and contraction of the coolant, driven by changes in temp which drive changes in pressure.
It would seem to me that unless it was a collapsed hose not letting fluid in and out of the expansion tank, the only way the expansion tank could "retain fluid" would be if there was a leak in the system somewhere else so that the coolant would heat up, pressure would push it into the expansion tank but because the system was not sealed, it would never be pulled back when the vehicle cooled.
Please post the text on the invoice for that dealership visit as well. It is very difficult for us to give advice on whether to keep certain things or move on without knowing exactly what the issue is in a functional sense. You're looking at a good chunk of money to sort this out.
There are others here much more qualified than myself to make that assessment, based on years of hands on experience. I am trying to help us help you by getting all of the raw information out into the open so that an informed decision can be suggested.
Last edited by derf; Aug 23, 2020 at 02:38 AM.
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