What are the odds the TDI warranty will cover this??

[benjiv]

Hello all! New here! Have a 2011 Jetta SW TDI, her name is Kiki and i love her to death. 114K miles, already had full turbo rebuild under warranty

I came out of work yesterday and saw a pool of coolant under poor kiki. I knew i had enough coolant to drive 2 minutes across the street to Firestone, and just had them take a look at it.

They said that the fan was loose/had movement, and when driving it had hit and damaged the radiator. I am NOT a mechanic, and they didn't do a terrific job of explaining the cause, so go easy on me. I was given a $2500 quote by them to replace both fan and radiator.

What are the odds I could get this covered under the TDI warranty? The fan works absolutely in congruence with the emission systems and engine. My car didn't throw a check engine light though. I called my VW service department, and they were unclear, but basically said because there was no check engine it probably wouldn't be under warranty.

Just trying to figure out if its work bringing it to my VW dealer and paying the $150 diagnostic fee. I negotiate for a living, so if theres a chance I can get it covered ill give them hell : )

 

[AverageAndy]

1,000,000:1

"So you're telling me there's a chance?"

That being said, radiator is like $200, not sure how much the fan is, plus coolant -should be a LOT less that $2500.

 

[benjiv]

1,000,000:1

"So you're telling me there's a chance?"

That being said, radiator is like $200, not sure how much the fan is, plus coolant -should be a LOT less that $2500.

Thanks for your honesty, lol. I did think it was quite a large quote. I am handy enough to follow an instructional, just really would prefer not to do it myself. Still asking around and debating taking it over

 

[braddies]

take some pics with the hood up, we want to see!

 

[benjiv]

take some pics with the hood up, we want to see!

currently at the shop, ill try and grab some pics this afternoon. what are your thoughts? everyone ive talked to said no way, but I read one or two things online that make me have hope!

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

You can buy a good quality aftermarket cooling fan assembly and radiator for less than $500. Coolant may cost another $35 or so. I doubt it would take a shop more than $500 in labor to swap those out. The quote you got is probably for genuine items, which, while nice, are very expensive.

I doubt VW would see this as covered by the emissions warranty.

 

[Lightflyer1]

No chance it's going to be covered under warranty. They don't even like covering things that are supposed to be covered by the warranty. Much less the situation you're in. And get away from that mechanic who gave you that quote. That's just ridiculous.

 

[oilhammer]

4.9hr labor to R&R the radiator.

The OEM radiator lists at $245, but the cooling fans have gotten pretty expensive as of late. The little one lists at $281, the big one (with the module) is $430.

So here, using all OEM parts, it'd be about $1900 out the door. That's BOTH fans, I assume the shroud is OK. That's another $175 if it isn't.

Not a fan of most of the aftermarket cooling fans, as I've not yet seen any hold up. Be thankful you just have a Jetta. I ordered one (of two) cooling fans for an Audi A7 yesterday. They list at over $2k EACH.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I've had good luck with aftermarket cooling fans on the older cars, but that's not a surprise. They hardly ever run.

 

[pkhoury]

4.9hr labor to R&R the radiator.

The OEM radiator lists at $245, but the cooling fans have gotten pretty expensive as of late. The little one lists at $281, the big one (with the module) is $430.

So here, using all OEM parts, it'd be about $1900 out the door. That's BOTH fans, I assume the shroud is OK. That's another $175 if it isn't.

Not a fan of most of the aftermarket cooling fans, as I've not yet seen any hold up. Be thankful you just have a Jetta. I ordered one (of two) cooling fans for an Audi A7 yesterday. They list at over $2k EACH.

Nor was @alphaseinor. Cheap @ss Geico covered a replacement radiator when I hit a deer in the JSW in the past; the fan was damaged, so they covered some crappy aftermarket fan that stopped working. I laughed at the irony - the aftermarket fan was from Taiwan (which should be better), but it stopped working. Brian replaced it with a genuine VW fan (that Geico amazingly covered under a supplement) that was made in China.
That said, I would NOT use an aftermarket fan on a mk6 either.

I'm also a big fan of junkyard parts, but I've also seen my fair share of crap, or crap that fails not long after you R+R, so I'd say to get it done right the first time.... and maybe choose another shop. Even if you get the estimate down to $1900-ish, that's still saving $500-600.

 

[pkhoury]

I've had good luck with aftermarket cooling fans on the older cars, but that's not a surprise. They hardly ever run.

Mk4 aftermarket fans don't seem to be an issue, from what I've noticed, but they do seem to be a problem on mk5/6.