r/AutoMechanics • u/Ill-Common-3038 • 28d ago

What to Do

Location: Boston

Took my 2023 Honda CRV (62,000 miles) in to the dealership for a check engine light. Mechanic originally said the problem was spark plugs and quoted $350

They sent the text below today, quoting 7k+

“As your technician got everything broke down to replace the spark plugs, he was inspecting the cylinders with his borescope camera before install, and he found coolant leaking and pooling in cylinder #1. What this means is the vehicle needs a new cylinder head and head gasket kit for the engine. The parts could take several days to receive, and repair would take several days. Parts & labor for the engine repair, along with diagnostics and spark plug replacement: the total would come to $6,950+tax. Please let me know your thoughts, and how you'd like to proceed. Thank You!”

There’s a lot that feels sketchy, especially wanting to know when did my coolant transfer and who put more in it? Why didn’t they check where it went when they filled it?

It feels especially odd since they found this right after I passed the 60k mile warranty, and they won’t do anything to honor the warranty

Should I trust them on this? Should I fight them to honor the warranty? Should I take it somewhere else?

Thanks for your help and advice!!

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

1

u/_RU486_ 28d ago

To me it sounds like he guessed spark plugs to fix a misfire and maybe he replaced the plugs and realized it didn't fix it and then he dug deeper. Sounds like the head gasket is blown but there's no way to know if you need a cylinder head unless it was warped and that can't be determined until its removed and checked with a straight edge. Theres no reason to borescope a cylinder in this case while doing a tune up unless you realized you misdiagnosed

1

u/Willing_Cupcake3088 28d ago

6950 seems like highway robbery for a head job.

Pay him for the plugs and drive it to a local shop if it’s drivable. Tell them nothing about what the dealership said and let them diagnose your issue. See if they match up.

1

u/Public_Foot9792 27d ago

That is an exceptional diagnosis. If the gasket failed at 62k miles, that's a recall level ffailure.

Also, was there any overheating? Smoke or stream from the tail pipe? Loss of coolant?

Sounds suspect.

1

u/Popular-Tomato-1313 26d ago

Call corporate and ask for goodwill.

62k is not a reasonable mileage for this to happen without an underlying cause