AlaskaPaul

Hi Guys,

So after I shut off my 2015 C7 Z51 in my garage after a drive, the cooling fan stays on, which is unusual, but has happened on rare occasion before, so I don't think much about it.
The next morning I came out to find a large pool of antifreeze under and around the car. The car has 27,951 miles on it and I'm out of warranty (by time) by about 5 months, but obviously not by mileage.
Over the next few days my mechanic friends and I inspected the situation and figured it's the radiator. I took it to my local dealer, Winegardner Buick GMC in Prince Frederick Maryland, who confirm the diagnosis. They replace the radiator for $1,200 and my C7 is now back home and running like new.

I asked the dealership if there was any physical damage to the radiator and they said no. I also have the old radiator, and can see no exterior damaged on it.
I am 71 and have owned numerous new cars in my lifetime, none of which ever had any radiator problem at all, let alone a major leak.

My questions are:

1:Have any of you had similar problems with a premature radiator failure??
2:Is this unusual with so few miles?
3: Since there is no outside physical damage, I can only assume that the problem originated inside the radiator, implying that the part was defective in some manner.
4:What recourse do I have with GM and what course of action would you guys suggest I take to perhaps have them help me out with the cost of the replacement, or am I just SOL??

Any and all comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Alaskapaul

joemessman

That's a first on this forum. Just pretty much an anomaly. Very unusual. I don't think you have any recourse at this point in time. And it did become defective. I don't think it was defective from the start. I am actually amazed I haven't heard more about radiator issues.

Vegas1500

owc6

Oh, no, Paul!

That does sound strange. It just failed catastrophically? No prior leaks noted?

Foosh

It's the first I've heard of this too, meaning it's obviously not a systemic problem. Nothing is 100% reliable even with high-quality manufacturing techniques and QC, and everything has an occasional rare early failure.

DALE#3

What a Kick in the Crotch that was...Ouch,That Hurt!!
Well,Get out and make up for lost time and Enjoy
No Worries.As stated:Odd..Your New Car,like a new Dog.Peed where it wasn't suppose too.
On a positive note.It happened in your Garage not in the boonies with no cell phone signal

AORoads

A few things: I am just a bit surprised that the dealer didn't at least try to get it paid for as a good faith measure even tho it was five months over the warranty period. But, it's done now altho you still could ask them if there's any way to get it included as a warranty repair. Like others, I've not read of a rad failure on here which means at least one vendor is doing something right!

I'd also second the idea that it could be a little more digging as to where on the rad and how it failed might turn up some clues, but they'd only be as an interesting bit of info. I've had a radiator fail way back when---about the same time the rad industry started going to plastic sides on the metal bodies of rads. Matter of fact the indie rad shop owner I took it to said his mother's same car just did it and he replaced it on hers---both cars were out of warranty by about 2 years. So, it does happen, but I'd say very rarely that I know of.

But you said there was no physical damage that you could see---separation of the sides would be visible especially now with nothing in it.
Did it fail on the inside and how would that create a leak except by pressure forcing out fluid from somewhere?

I think if you really want to know the answer Vegas's suggestion is correct: take it to a rad shop and they'll either know right away, or have to cut it open. Either way, if you do, please come back on and tell us where it went bad. All in all, yes, it's very unusual and definitely not frequent or normal but everything can break. Yours must have been "timing the warranty"---j/k. Very expensive, too.

JALLEN4

It appears Winegardner owns a Chevrolet dealership as well. Did you take the car to the Chevrolet dealership or the Buick/ GMC? With an item like a radiator that shows no damage and being that close to warranty end, you would assume a well connected dealer could get a policy adjustment on the item giving the owner some assistance. The Chevrolet division is operated with different people than the Buick division would be. I would call customer assistance and open a case with Chevrolet. I would also contact the Service Manager or the General Manager at the repairing dealership and ask them to intercede with their Chevrolet store requesting assistance. The repair already being completed will complicate the process but it is not impossible. In my experience, you should be eligible for a policy adjustment.

Vetteman Jack

Avanti

You did your "recourse;" you bought and installed a new one. S**t happens, even to the best of things... at least once in a while. Now, go drive it! All the best from here on out.

Skid Row Joe

Did you and your mechanic friend, or, the GMC dealer ascertain where the leak was in the system? Had this car ever been front-end wrecked/ Perhaps something wasn't tightened properly in the repair. Could just be a fluke of bad luck, in that the factory may not have tightened something up before shipment.

probono

I think it is very common, at least in the NE, for the Buick-Chevy-GMC dealer to be one and the same, and often located in the same facility. Certainly is true at my dealership, but the Corvette Tech always and exclusively works on my car. While waiting for service, there can be a mix of Chevy-Buick-GMC customers rolling in...

Ken

JALLEN4

I understand. In this case, the dealer has a Chevrolet franchise in a different town.

owc6

This particular location is a GMC/Buick dealer ( not Chevy) that I have been taking my Corvettes (yes plural; three to date, but just bought a fourth one today and will be taking that one to them) to for over a decade for service.

I've never had anything other than meticulous service from them. There is no dedicated "Corvette Tech" (which is a BS concept, anyway, IMHO). I'd rather have a shop that takes the effort and care, than a guy that is "super-trained" and DGAS. Anyone can look up in the data base on a basic job on any particular car.

If they said Paul's radiator is toast, then I would believe this based on my history with them.

gmarcucio

I would bring the radiator to a radiator shop to diagnose where the failure was or pressure test it to see where the failure was if you or a friend have the equipment. After finding the fault I would pursue it with GM. Also get an estimate for repairing the radiator in case you do not get anywhere with GM. If it is not too much to repair the radiator perhaps you can have it repaired and then re-sell it for a profit to get some of your money back for the new radiator and install that you paid for.

NSC5

There were some reports early on of leaks as in this thread: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...lant-leak.html

I know that for years Ford (well actually the owners) had problems with leaking radiators on their diesel trucks where the composite tank joined to the tubes/fins. This is the way all modern OEM radiators are constructed but I don't think they are as robust as the older method using metal tanks.

cv67

5 mos youd think they may goodwill it guess not. Could be that 1 bad radiator of the batch..imo things in general are made so cheaply..planned obsolescence.
Had a GM heater core blow up in less than 6 mos of taking it off the lot, transmissions you name it. Used to be those items could practically last the life of the car.