Bought car used Jan 2020 with 72k miles. Bought the Endurance Vehicle Service Plan (VSP) the next month. In about a year, began noticing that the coolant would go into the overflow tank, but not go back to the engine when cool. Coolant system is still pressurized, even when cold. Manually transferred coolant back to the radiator for about a year. Engine never overheated. Took to dealer. They ran a pressure test on the system. It passed the pressure test. The tech said, "Yes, something is going on, not sure what." Sent me on my way.
Procured another vehicle for other reasons, so took this one to get fully diagnosed. Head gasket failure is the culprit. Same shop has records of several Hyundai / Kia models with same issue, some of which have occurred 3X on the same car. Endurance has made me jump through hoops to get them to pay for the repair. They got my records / notes confused with a different vehicle at the same shop which also has an Endurance VSP. The other car overheated and requires head replacement. Oh, and the Kia heads are cut to such close tolerances, there is no way to mill the head mating surface. Replacement is the only option if it has warped. If the head is warped, it suggests abuse / neglect as far as Endurance is concerned, thus letting them off the hook as far as paying for the repair.
They have the car owner direct the shop to do a teardown at the owner's expense in order to prove that neither the block nor head are warped. If neither are warped, the cost of teardown is included in the cost of the repair and paid for by Endurance. If either are warped, the car owner is stuck with the cost of the repair. In this case, it is around $4100, assuming the head does not have to be replaced. If the head does have to be replaced, then it adds another $2k, and who knows how much time.
At this writing, my car has been at the shop for a month. The first two weeks was due to the shop not adequately coordinating an inspection by the Endurance local inspector. After that, it was the inspector's report getting reviewed by an underwriter / adjuster (11 days). Now the ball is back to the shop to get my teardown done so the underwriter can be informed of the condition of the components.
Bought car used Jan 2020 with 72k miles. Bought the Endurance Vehicle Service Plan (VSP) the next month. In about a year, began noticing that the coolant would go into the overflow tank, but not go back to the engine when cool. Coolant system is still pressurized, even when cold. Manually transferred coolant back to the radiator for about a year. Engine never overheated. Took to dealer. They ran a pressure test on the system. It passed the pressure test. The tech said, "Yes, something is going on, not sure what." Sent me on my way.
Procured another vehicle for other reasons, so took this one to get fully diagnosed. Head gasket failure is the culprit. Same shop has records of several Hyundai / Kia models with same issue, some of which have occurred 3X on the same car. Endurance has made me jump through hoops to get them to pay for the repair. They got my records / notes confused with a different vehicle at the same shop which also has an Endurance VSP. The other car overheated and requires head replacement. Oh, and the Kia heads are cut to such close tolerances, there is no way to mill the head mating surface. Replacement is the only option if it has warped. If the head is warped, it suggests abuse / neglect as far as Endurance is concerned, thus letting them off the hook as far as paying for the repair.
They have the car owner direct the shop to do a teardown at the owner's expense in order to prove that neither the block nor head are warped. If neither are warped, the cost of teardown is included in the cost of the repair and paid for by Endurance. If either are warped, the car owner is stuck with the cost of the repair. In this case, it is around $4100, assuming the head does not have to be replaced. If the head does have to be replaced, then it adds another $2k, and who knows how much time.
At this writing, my car has been at the shop for a month. The first two weeks was due to the shop not adequately coordinating an inspection by the Endurance local inspector. After that, it was the inspector's report getting reviewed by an underwriter / adjuster (11 days). Now the ball is back to the shop to get my teardown done so the underwriter can be informed of the condition of the components.
- crockpot, Knoxville, US