tahoe, suburban, FJ cruiser, Jeep Wrangler, Land Rover?

[Chewbacca 7829]

57 minutes ago, Liquor and Poker said:

So FWIW, the wife's LX (LandCruiser with better carpet) had the 4WD actuator die and the radiator crack because of the cold.  $3000 all in to fix.  Not happy with the most expensive repair I have ever had being done on a 7-yo supposedly "bulletproof, built to last 25 years" car.  Especially after 10 years of owning a fucking Land Rover and never spending anywhere near that much on a repair.

Investigating suing the dealer because even though they charged me for antifreeze each time they flushed the radiator under maintenance, apparently the radiator was 100% water when it cracked.  So I'm inclined to believe that one's not the car's fault.  But the actuator is a fucking $1600 part.

Just saw that the radiator was full of water.  That'll do it.  I'd definitely go after the dealer for that if they're the ones that did the maintenance.  No need to sue, just go talk to the service manager.

[Liquor and Poker 3659]

41 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

1 hour ago, Liquor and Poker said:

So FWIW, the wife's LX (LandCruiser with better carpet) had the 4WD actuator die and the radiator crack because of the cold.  $3000 all in to fix.  Not happy with the most expensive repair I have ever had being done on a 7-yo supposedly "bulletproof, built to last 25 years" car.  Especially after 10 years of owning a fucking Land Rover and never spending anywhere near that much on a repair.
Investigating suing the dealer because even though they charged me for antifreeze each time they flushed the radiator under maintenance, apparently the radiator was 100% water when it cracked.  So I'm inclined to believe that one's not the car's fault.  But the actuator is a fucking $1600 part.

Radiator is a known flaw, unfortunately, but cold weather won't crack it, it just develops a crack. I've had mine in -20*. Haven't heard of issues with the actuator. What year is it?

2013.  I mean it's possible that it just cracked.  But the mechanic said cold cracks have a particular look to them, and we know he inspected the radiator 3 months ago and saw no cracks.  I trust him, but it didn't hurt that he felt bad enough that he waived the labor on the replacement.

Actuator he was 100% sure was due to cold weather exposure.  When we drove during the storm the car suddenly did the classic "4LO flashing/check engine light/TRAC OFF" that the 200s do.  So we all thought it was the O2 sensor, or the gas cap or, worst case, the evap.  But it was the actuator/transfer case motor.  He said that he'd seen a few of these already since the storm.  I had the same reaction you did - it was 15, not -115, degrees.  He just shrugged.

Edited February 25, 2021 by Liquor and Poker

[Chewbacca 7829]

1 minute ago, Liquor and Poker said:

2013.  I mean it's possible that it just cracked.  But the mechanic said cold cracks have a particular look to them, and we know he inspected the radiator 3 months ago and saw no cracks.  I trust him, but it didn't hurt that he felt bad enough that he waived the labor on the replacement.

Actuator he was 100% sure was due to cold weather exposure.  When we drove during the storm the car suddenly did the classic "4LO flashing/check engine light/TRAC OFF" that the 200s do.  So we all thought it was the O2 sensor, or the gas cap or, worst case, the evap.  But it was the actuator/transfer case motor.  He said that he'd seen a few of these already since the storm.  I had the same reaction you did - it was 15, not -115, degrees.  He just shrugged.

That sucks.  Did they already replace the radiator and actuator?  If not, make sure they use the upgraded radiator.  As I said, the radiators in 200s are known to go around 100k miles.  They upgraded the part in ~2018 so this won't happen every 100k.

 

Cold weather doesn't make sense to me as an explanation for any of it, though.  Lots of LCs live in much colder places.  Did you use 4LO for some reason during the storm or did it just start flashing? 

[Liquor and Poker 3659]

18 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

That sucks.  Did they already replace the radiator and actuator?  If not, make sure they use the upgraded radiator.  As I said, the radiators in 200s are known to go around 100k miles.  They upgraded the part in ~2018 so this won't happen every 100k.

 

Cold weather doesn't make sense to me as an explanation for any of it, though.  Lots of LCs live in much colder places.  Did you use 4LO for some reason during the storm or did it just start flashing? 

Just started flashing.  We were just driving down the cleared off road at about 25-30mph.  Sport mode but otherwise just standard setup.  Wife remarked that we shouldn't be driving so damn fast right when it happened.  Believe me, that's been brought up since.

Replaced the radiator with BNIB from Toyota, so I'm guessing the upgrade.  He just called and asked if I want to try a used (24k) actuator off a 2019 (not sure on the year) with a 6 mo warranty for a little less than half price.  Inclined to do that.

[elfenix 34746]

4 hours ago, blacklab said:

Any of you guys looking for a 4runner in houston may want to check this out

https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/d/houston-2001-toyota-4runner-sr5-4wd-3rd/7282606944.html

 

what 4runner?