Dealer damaged radiator - whose fault?

[mander2129]

Took the Taycan into the dealership for the brake line recall and SW. It’s now over 3 weeks later since the SW wasn’t loading as planned and they found that the front wheel bearings needed to be replaced. Today, they go on a drive and get a warning for the radiator fan. On the rack, they override the fan safety or actuated vent fins which throws a rock into the radiator and now causes a leak.

One more week in the shop, but they are claiming it’s not a warranty issue and that I’m on the hook for the repair (~$3500). Shouldn’t this be their responsibility?

Hoping someone with a bit more mechanical knowledge of the radiator system could offer some opinions. Thanks!

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[JackSparrow]

Sold?
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/why-i-sold-my-taycan-ts.27882/

 

[mander2129]

Sold?
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/why-i-sold-my-taycan-ts.27882/

Yup.

 

[whitex]

@mander2129, so you join the forum on 5/31/2025, 3 weeks later you post that you sold the Taycan, then a month later you're having issues with the dealer damaging your Taycan (and confirm that you sold the car back in June). Something is missing from this picture, no?

 

[mander2129]

Are you writing a book? If you carried out your detective work a bit further, you would find the sold Taycan was black. This one is red. Does that help you out Gadget?

 

[PSUEric]

Took the Taycan into the dealership for the brake line recall and SW. It’s now over 3 weeks later since the SW wasn’t loading as planned and they found that the front wheel bearings needed to be replaced. Today, they go on a drive and get a warning for the radiator fan. On the rack, they override the fan safety or actuated vent fins which throws a rock into the radiator and now causes a leak.

One more week in the shop, but they are claiming it’s not a warranty issue and that I’m on the hook for the repair (~$3500). Shouldn’t this be their responsibility?

Hoping someone with a bit more mechanical knowledge of the radiator system could offer some opinions. Thanks!

It occurred while the vehicle was in their possession while they were troubleshooting, hard to believe the dealer is trying to hold you responsible.

 

[figure1a]

It occurred while the vehicle was in their possession while they were troubleshooting, hard to believe the dealer is trying to hold you responsible.

Especially, since they fessed up to some rather detailed details. I would think that if they gave that much detail, they would be on the hook to fix it as it clearly shows why the car was damaged. I had a dealer bump my steering rack on my Cayenne while replacing the front differential and they fessed up right away and put in a new steering rack n/c.

 

[mander2129]

It occurred while the vehicle was in their possession while they were troubleshooting, hard to believe the dealer is trying to hold you responsible.

That’s what I was thinking. They say the rock was lodged in the fan and when they loosened it, the fan turned on and threw the rock into the radiator. I asked, for $500/hour, don’t you try to look for something like that?

 

[Vercingetorix]

I just can’t see the fan throwing a rock and puncturing a radiator.

 

[whitex]

Are you writing a book? If you carried out your detective work a bit further, you would find the sold Taycan was black. This one is red. Does that help you out Gadget?

Neh, not writing a book, just reading the forum with some understanding (trying to keep the order of things straight - details are important if I want to offer any advice). While your "I'm selling my car" post did mention it was black, nothing in this post said the car was red, hence the disconnect. The post about the black one being sold was barely a month old and this new one says that it's been 3 weeks since you took it to the dealer, so that leaves about a week between when you sold the black one and got the red one - not something you'd expect after reading your goodbye post, but I'm glad to hear you didn't hold a grudge against a Taycan after writing " Sad day, goodbye for now, maybe not forever.", and it only took a week before you were in a your next Taycan. They are amazing cars!

As for the dealer damaging your car, if it was in their possession, it's on them (or their insurance). Perhaps call your insurance and explain, they may be in a better position to negotiate with (or go after) the dealer and/or their insurance. If they disabled some safety features, it would be on them even if the car was back with you. I once had a dealer disable the hood latch, and forget to re-enable it before giving it back to me. This resulted in the hood lifting once I got on the highway, taking out my front windshield and the sunroof, while simultaneously blocking 100% of my forward view. After an emergency pull-over, and slow drive back to the dealer, they had a fancy/sporty loaner waiting for me, then made a deal with me where I upgraded my 2 year old car to a brand new one (same model/trim) for about 10% of MSRP of the new one, as long as I let them handle the incident (i.e. I just walk away with a new car and don't get anyone else involved). I took the deal, changed colors of the cars while upgrading too.

 

[mander2129]

Neh, not writing a book, just reading the forum with some understanding (trying to keep the order of things straight - details are important if I want to offer any advice). While your "I'm selling my car" post did mention it was black, nothing in this post said the car was red, hence the disconnect. The post about the black one being sold was barely a month old and this new one says that it's been 3 weeks since you took it to the dealer, so that leaves about a week between when you sold the black one and got the red one - not something you'd expect after reading your goodbye post, but I'm glad to hear you didn't hold a grudge against a Taycan after writing " Sad day, goodbye for now, maybe not forever.", and it only took a week before you were in a your next Taycan. They are amazing cars!

As for the dealer damaging your car, if it was in their possession, it's on them (or their insurance). Perhaps call your insurance and explain, they may be in a better position to negotiate with (or go after) the dealer and/or their insurance. If they disabled some safety features, it would be on them even if the car was back with you. I once had a dealer disable the hood latch, and forget to re-enable it before giving it back to me. This resulted in the hood lifting once I got on the highway, taking out my front windshield and the sunroof, while simultaneously blocking 100% of my forward view. After an emergency pull-over, and slow drive back to the dealer, they had a fancy/sporty loaner waiting for me, then made a deal with me where I upgraded my 2 year old car to a brand new one (same model/trim) for about 10% of MSRP of the new one, as long as I let them handle the incident (i.e. I just walk away with a new car and don't get anyone else involved). I took the deal, changed colors of the cars while upgrading too.

The service advisor is holding firm, but his boss was gone today. Can’t imagine they persist once he reviews. They sure as heck would hold me responsible for the loaner Macan if I did something to crack the radiator.

 

[mander2129]

Car returned today. Service manager changed his mind on the charge.

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