Hi Scotty. I am a follower all the way from South Africa and love the channel. I recently had my 2011 Nissan Juke 1.6 DIG-T (1.6L Turbo) serviced at the dealership (110 000KM service). I suggested a coolant flush as it has not been done in years. 1 week after the service I noticed my car leaking some sort of fluid. I thought it might just be the aircon but noticed that spot dries and becomes white. I then inspected the bumper and found Green fluid dripping from it, which tells me its coolant. I took it back today and the dealership did a pressure test on the system and showed me the leak (the radiator is cracked at the bottom). So now I need to replace the radiator. What I am wondering is if the flush could have caused the crack or is it just coincidence that 1 week after a major service the radiator is leaking. I don't want to blame the dealership for poor work as it might just be wear and tear. Any thoughts?
If the dealership used too much pressure while flushing, the answer is yes. Your radiator cap usually has the maximum psi stamped on it. If they exceeded that, they probably cracked it. Or, if they did a cold water flush on a hot radiator, the thermal shock could do the same thing. You also want to check your heater core for leaks too.
Thanks. I will give them a call in the morning and ask. If its negligence they will need pay for it.
If they cracked it, you should have seen the leak right away not a week later. When did you see the leak for the first time?
Its started leaking about a week after the service. Which might point to wear and tear or a pre-existing condition as pointed out by Chuck.
Is it the original 10-year-old radiator? Had the coolant ever been changed before, assuming it did not have 10-year coolant from the factory? Although it could have been negligence on the part of the dealer if the radiator was corroding internally or the plastic end tanks were starting to break down it would have leaked on its own in short order.
Do check with them but bear in mind that dealer service departments are notorious for not admitting fault. In that kind of situation it's very likely they will point to the old radiator and claim it was going to leak anyway whether there is any merit to that claim or not. Let us know how you make out.
I am the second owner of the vehicle (bought it 3 years ago) but from what I can tell everything looks like the original parts. I will check with the dealership as well as it has a full service history with Nissan so they might be able to tell me what was previously replaced.
The other problem you have is that it will be almost impossible for you to prove that they maybe put 50 psi (typical garden hose water pressure) through your 16 psi cooling system.