Technical Coolant tank empty...AGAIN

[super_b]

Suffered a breakdown myself the other week...engine temp shot up on motorway so pulled over immediately.

RAC came out, it was a bleed valve on one of the hoses that had failed (plastic) and leaked all the coolant out.

Recovered car to dealer, who said the whole hose needed replacing as the valve itself is an integral part of the hose.

Car is pre-reg and in 3rd year, so only an AA-supplied dealer warranty in effect, and of course hoses are not covered under the warranty (why would they be, I mean there's no point in having a useful warranty now is there?!).

Total cost to fix was a not-too-unreasonable £108 and luckily no head gasket damage.

 

[T14086]

why was the bleed valve broken/loose?

 

[super_b]

why was the bleed valve broken/loose?

It was broken (as opposed to loose) - the valve head had snapped away pretty cleanly from the valve body, despite it all being formed from one piece of plastic.

RAC guy suspected it might have taken a small knock during the recent service, but who knows, might have been a hairline crack from manufacturing process that eventually gave way...?

 

[T14086]

it was broken you mean? sounds as if it was broken when loosened/tightened...logically this is all that can happen to it.

 

[super_b]

Yeah, most probably you're right, but the garage said they had no reason to be in that area during the service, so there wasn't much else I could say.

They did me a favour and didn't charge me for the hose (about £30 - the technician had one 'lying around' apparently), so you can make up your own mind as to what that says about liability (if anything).

 

[kawren22]

Hi - stumbled across this while looking for help on the same thing..this is now the 3rd time in 10 months my Bravo T-Jet 150 has been into the garage. I thought it was just the garage mis-diagnosing the fault until i came accross this......

Can anyone help me on what i should do?! Its out of its 2 year warranty but im in argument with the dealer just now that i shouldnt have to pay for this..its getting looked at again tomorrow as they cant find the leak (again) its had a clasp replaced once and i think either the water pump or the hose im not sure what one. Should i phone Fiat as getting nowhere with the dealer!!

Dont want stuck with a dud car :-(

 

[RobW]

Hi - stumbled across this while looking for help on the same thing..this is now the 3rd time in 10 months my Bravo T-Jet 150 has been into the garage. I thought it was just the garage mis-diagnosing the fault until i came accross this......

Can anyone help me on what i should do?! Its out of its 2 year warranty but im in argument with the dealer just now that i shouldnt have to pay for this..its getting looked at again tomorrow as they cant find the leak (again) its had a clasp replaced once and i think either the water pump or the hose im not sure what one. Should i phone Fiat as getting nowhere with the dealer!!

Dont want stuck with a dud car :-(

demand a pressure test be done on the car

 

[jonnyk]

Haven't been on here in a while so sorry to resurrect this thread again but might be helpful for anyone else suffering similar issues.

The dealer finally diagnosed the problem to a leaking banjo bolt. I'd already forked out for quite a bit of work trying to solve this issue but fair play to the dealer, they did finally sort it and didn't charge any additional time or materials.

Coolant level has been fine ever since.

 

[cainy1989]

done 8000k in my standard 1.4 with 0 coolant issues, and I have to rev it to get anywhere, can only assume the issue is related to the sport button :devil:

 

[BC777]

Bravo with coolant leak

Hi, I don't know if I have a similar problem to all points listed above, I recently bought a 57 plate bravo 1.4 and noticed after a few days a small puddle of water under engine, opened the bonnet to find a small very slow trickle of what seemed to be water leaking out of a plug/bolt hole at the bottom left hand side (facing engine) of engine block, this hole sits directly above the oil filter on the 1.4 engine . Have checked all surrounding pipes and clips and no obvious sign of a leaks coming from any of these?

Any suggestions?

Btw I have noticed that the coolant level does seem to gradually go down over a few days, but noticed leak again from same hole this morning but coolant level seems the same?!