PT OVERHEATING!!!PLEASE HELP

[mtlhead79]

I have a 07 PT which has only 52,000 miles. LAst week, it overheated on me and I took it strait to the Chrysler Dealership as it is still under warrany. They could not get it to overheat for a few days till I told them to take it over a steep grade with the A/C on. It overheated and they said it was the thermostat, which they replaced. Two days after I got it back it started overheating again in stop and go traffic. I took it back in, they ran diagnostic again and they said there was an air pocket in the line, so the flushed it out and said it was fine. I got it on Friday. On Saturday, was driving great with the A/C on but every time we turned it off we heard the bubbling under the hood. Today, it overheated on us in 85 degree weather with no A/C on. Let it cool down for 4 hours, took it out and ran fine. Bringing it back to the dealership in the morning. Any ideas what this could be?? Computer sensor? Fans?? They said everything checked out fine including the heads. Why can't this dealership figure this out?? Please Help

[Jdubz13]

Hey I kid you not the same exact thing happened today everything you described changed the thermastat cap flushed it let me know what you find out.

[mtlhead79]

I will let you know as soon as I hear something

[mtlhead79]

So, the dealership called and told me that it is most likely a hairline fracture in a head gasket!! This is a $1800 job....which we do not have. They are saying it is a covered part but they will have to send out an inspector once they tear down the engine to make sure it is not from neglect. They better not try to screw me on this cause I will have to get a lawyer and fight it. We have taken great care of this car. I only wish I would have known all the problems with the PT before I bought one

[Jdubz13]

damn, well I am going into my mechanic tomorow to see what he thinks it is, the funny thing is I was telling my friends who has a pt and he was like oh yeah didn't you know in the summer you have to run with the heater on to help it cool down in the engine "hint we live in arizona" and told him what a joke the car should be able to cool itself but anyways I deffinatley don't have anywhere close to 1800 to fix, so Ill let you know what a basic mechanic says tomrrow.

[RNCRUZR]

Hi, a noob here, just signed up today.

Well, you had better get it fixed somehow because my 01 overheated and turned out to be a nightmare. This is in the Chicago area in November and the temp was just about freezing level, and it still overheated. Thought it was a bad thermostat so took it to the local mechanic and had it replaced, to the tune of a few hundred $$$. Great, no more overheating. A few days later, we start hearing knocking noises and can hear the engine missing. Hmmm, maybe the spark plug wires had gone bad, as it sounded just like what my Miata was doing when its wires went bad. Took it in to the dealer for a look-see. Got a call from them later "Did your car happen to overheat recently?" "Why, yes," I said, "why do you ask?" Because one of the cylinders was MELTED, they said. To make a long story short, we had to get a new (rebuilt) engine to the tune of $7000!

Very interesting to find out that there is a known overheating problem and the dealer made it sound like it was surprising.

So the sequel to this story is, this "new" engine sounded awful from day one, and I finally took it back in last week, saying, a 6-month old engine with only 3000 miles on it should not sound this bad (clattering and rough). They took a listen and decided to rebuild the engine. At least this time it was under warranty!

Many more things I have to say, but rather than hijack this thread, I will start another.

Anyway, good luck getting the overheating fixed.

[Jdubz13]

yeah its just crazy that they have this problem, I mean I love my car but this was a real bummer, after mine overheated we took to a friend and it was the whole fan that went bad, still cost like 500 though. The funny thing is at that shop that day there was another pt getting there whole fan replaced for the same exact thing. CRAZY

[CREWZIN]

Chrysler's known about the cheap fan motor for a long time (mine burnt out about 4 years ago and there was a national back-order for them back then) but it's not a life threatening problem so they weren't about to make it a recall.

They can be bought new for around $100 and put in, in about an hour or two unless you just let the dealer sell it to you and give them the go-ahead to replace it. Then you'll run into the $500 category. Members on this forum have also said you can now buy just the fan motor aftermarket rather than the whole fan housing plus motor that we used to have to buy.

Mtlhead79, if you heard bubbling, it's a sure bet they didn't get all the air out, or you lost some fluid somewhere and more air got into the system after they bled it.

Why can't the dealership figure it out? Probably because they don't want to spend the time to properly diagnose it. Cheaper to throw parts and a little labor towards it (that they get paid back for) then spend the correct amount of time to get it right.

[Travis2k7]

Originally Posted by Jdubz13

damn, well I am going into my mechanic tomorow to see what he thinks it is, so Ill let you know what a basic mechanic says tomrrow.

Getting a 2nd opinion is always good.

A few years back on my '94 Camaro I started to have an overheating problem. The reputable dealer down the road told me it was a blown head gasket and gave me a huge quote.

A friend of mine then suggested a guy to take it to and he looked at it and said it wasn't the head gasket at all... it was a mixture of vacuum leaks and other minor problems... (can't recall exactly)

It was a $300 fix vs a $2000+ fix.

[Jdubz13]

Originally Posted by Travis2k7

Getting a 2nd opinion is always good.

A few years back on my '94 Camaro I started to have an overheating problem. The reputable dealer down the road told me it was a blown head gasket and gave me a huge quote.

A friend of mine then suggested a guy to take it to and he looked at it and said it wasn't the head gasket at all... it was a mixture of vacuum leaks and other minor problems... (can't recall exactly)

It was a $300 fix vs a $2000+ fix.

Yeah the dealership charges you a ton before even popping the hood.