My wife complained about hesitation in the car, after it sat still. You felt it more when the engine was cold or when it didn't run for a longer period of time. I didn't really had the time to check things out, because of water damage to the basment and I had to strip everything out. So, I let it pass. BUT! Recently I blew up the engine. I got trouble code PO302: misfire in cylinder 2. I checked almost everything myself, without tearing the engine apart. Because that would void the warranty. Ignition fine, no vacuum leaks, no visual defects,... I couldn't check compression and fuel injector performance of cylinder 2. So, I dropped it off at the dealership. They told me that the engine overheated because of a radiator hose clamp was not thight enough to hold pressure. And that they won't cover a new engine, because I put the hose clamp on there with an aftermarket radiator hose. BTW, they only spent 1 hour on my car, never checked compression, never checked fuel injection, or anything else that could be related to an engine misfire in cylinder 2.

So, I swallowed everything, searched for a donor engine and swapped everything over. Well, the car is driving and guess what. It's doing the same thing again, just like it did before it blew the engine.

Here is the other catch:
They also told me that the engine was destroyed because of coolant got mixed in with the oil and that "probably a bearing is bad or even the valve train". After I swapped out the other engine, I opened up the broken engine. To find only a rod twisted, piston damaged on the bottom side and a nick in the block (bottom side of the cylinder #2). No wear was found on anything else, what-so-ever!

So, to make an end to the story. I am back with the same problem. Different engine, no help from the dealership and very frustrated. I will bring the car to a different shop and have them give me a diagnose of the problem and I think I will have to persue the issue with the dealership that they didn't won't to help me/deny my warranty.

What do you guys (girls) think or suggest I should do.

Thanks for the input.

Sven

 

so, you're saying the warranty is a rip off? i was actually thinking about getting it......

 

Well, I bought the car brand new in 2006. It has only 17000 miles on it. So, everything should still be covered. But I feel they just didn't want to issue me a new engine. They just saw an aftermarket part on the car and blamed that. They didn't really searched for the cause. If they did, the car wouldn't be doing the same thing after a new engine is installed. The problem should have been fixed, if they were right, about the radiator hose clamp.

 

you have sucessfully determined that the hose clamp you put on was NOT the factor that caused the engine to misfire in Cyl #2. their original reason for denying your claim. they should have to warrenty the problem now, or compensate you for the engine you bought. there is an issue with your box, call scion 800 # see what they can tell you. Other dealers have replaced engines for people, i dont see why your dealer didn't do a proper investigation. after that notify consumer affairs and call your local news station and newspaper. see if they can do an investigative report on the dealer. they may fix the issue to keep their name out of the media. worth a shot anyway...

 

So why exactly was an aftermarket clamp with an aftermarket hose installed if you only have 17,000 miles?

How soon did the new engine develop this problem? And is it misfiring on the same cylinder?

 

learn your magnussion moss act, they have to prove that that hose clamp was the problem, if they can't, they have to cover it under warranty.

 

Well, the catch is, it can cause it to overheat and destroy the engine. But in my case, it should have shown first that the coolant was getting low and then that the engine was getting hotter. Both signs never showed. After swapping the engine and making sure nothing was leaking, the problem came back. That's how I know, it wasn't the hose clamp. Also, the question was why now. I bought that radiator hose kit last year in October and haven't touched it since then (after I installed it). And the problem started in August this year.

What I did now was contacting scion directly and explained them what happened. They started a file to discuss with the dealership what happened and to figure out now what is wrong with the car.

We will see.