- :
- Virginia
- :
- 2018 Mazda CX-5
As the title says, the drive belt for the coolant pump on my 2018 CX-5 snapped, and my engine overheated. Now both belts and the auto tensioner are being replaced under warranty because I had them put on less than 8 months / 10k miles ago. That replacement was mostly preventative, there wasn't a catastrophic failure like this or anything, but the shop was telling me then that the factory original tensioner was leaking, as the TSBs say can happen.
This is a question about what to do next.
The shop showed me an image of coolant leaking from a small-ish hose clamp. When the engine overheated, there was a lot of coolant splattered all over the engine compartment, I suspect the pressure caused the reservoir to overflow and splatter. It seems reasonable to me that some hoses would leak a bit in that condition, but should be fine otherwise, I would think. The shop wants to replace the "coolant control valve" (if this could refer to multiple components, I don't know which one they mean by its full name, but it is pictured) and do a coolant flush.
Is there any reason to think that the control valve actually needs to be replaced? The engine was only overheating for a brief time, I pulled over immediately and got a tow truck.
If I do not get the control valve replaced, does the 2018 CX-5 have an indicator light that will reliably tell me if my coolant gets low? Or would I need to check the coolant level on a cold engine regularly? I am not sure how full or how low the coolant is in the reservoir. I am going to ensure that the shop tops it off before I pick up the car regardless.
Ninja update: As I was writing this post, the shop called to say that they are only replacing the belts under warranty, not the tensioner. Two hours after they sent me the estimate, suddenly it is no longer leaking. I guess when they thought I was going to pay for it out of pocket, it was leaking, but now that it's a potential warranty replacement it's actually working fine.
This is a question about what to do next.
The shop showed me an image of coolant leaking from a small-ish hose clamp. When the engine overheated, there was a lot of coolant splattered all over the engine compartment, I suspect the pressure caused the reservoir to overflow and splatter. It seems reasonable to me that some hoses would leak a bit in that condition, but should be fine otherwise, I would think. The shop wants to replace the "coolant control valve" (if this could refer to multiple components, I don't know which one they mean by its full name, but it is pictured) and do a coolant flush.
Is there any reason to think that the control valve actually needs to be replaced? The engine was only overheating for a brief time, I pulled over immediately and got a tow truck.
If I do not get the control valve replaced, does the 2018 CX-5 have an indicator light that will reliably tell me if my coolant gets low? Or would I need to check the coolant level on a cold engine regularly? I am not sure how full or how low the coolant is in the reservoir. I am going to ensure that the shop tops it off before I pick up the car regardless.
Ninja update: As I was writing this post, the shop called to say that they are only replacing the belts under warranty, not the tensioner. Two hours after they sent me the estimate, suddenly it is no longer leaking. I guess when they thought I was going to pay for it out of pocket, it was leaking, but now that it's a potential warranty replacement it's actually working fine.