cross-posting...car troubles (pictures)

18 years ago

So the good news is, I got a new(ish) car! It's a 2003 Saturn L200 with 54k miles on it. The old car had so many things wrong with it, and the last nail in the coffin was that the fuel solenoid(sp?) went bad (would have taken far more to fix than the car was worth). So we got it Wednesday, and I've been (tentatively) celebrating ever since. Until tonight. Here's the post I made over at the Cars forum, but since I know we here at the KT know *everything* and then some, maybe some of ya'll have some info and/or advice for me.

(post from over at the other forum):

Hi all! I have a mystery for anyone brave enough to try. I just purchased this car used from a Kia dealership 3 days ago. We test drove it, no problem. I drove it to work Thursday and Friday, no problem(5 miles each day). Drove 75 miles to a wedding today, and on the way back noticed that my front floorboards were wet (both sides). DH nosed around inside with a flashlight, popped off the panel to the center console, and found the below pics taken from the passenger side floorboard. There is a sponge wedged directly underneath whatever is leaking/sweating, and there was a (now sopping wet) towel shoved into the space as well.

My suspicious side is thinking that the dealership did this, as the towel is very white and clean and does not smell of mold or old water (as I would suspect it would if it had been there long term). I'm thinking they put it there to sop up the water for the test drive and for several days after, hoping we wouldn't notice until it was too late. Why *would* we think to check there on the test drive, if there was no reason to? LOL!

We just hung up with our salesman, who assured us that it would be fixed at THEIR expense (we did get a 60d/2k mile 50/50 warranty, but as far as I'm concerned this was gross negligence and/or purposefully misleading). So now that I *really* don't trust them, I'm hoping someone knows what this is, so that I can make sure they fix the correct thing and are telling me the truth about what they are fixing.

Any takers??

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Comments (11)

daveinla
18 years ago
probably heater core.....water from your engines passes through and air blows over it to heat the passenger compartment

found this:"Steering wheel locks and will not unlock. Should have been a recall - but wasn't because it was not moving when the wheel locked. I ended up having a high strength steel key made so I can use a wrench to turn the key to unlock the wheel. The front passenger carpet has always seemed damp. It is anti- freeze.The O-Rings between the heater core and the heater pipes were damaged at the factory and has leaked ever since. Guess what? You can not buy O- Rings, you have a choice between new pipes ($65) or new heater core ($150). The 180 deg F thermostat is too cold for a modern engine. A higher temperature would greatly increase gas mileage but would blow out more O- Rings. This car is junk."

Here is a link that might be useful: click here
aprilflower
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for the link, Dave :-)

I'm hoping that's not what the problem is. I did smell the water when I first noticed it, and just now went back out to see again, and it's odorless, doesn't smell like antifreeze. But who knows, that still could be the issue. Crossing my fingers...

Thanks again for your reply :-)

april
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sheilajoyce_gw
18 years ago
Is there any antifreeze in the system?????????
aprilflower
Original Author
18 years ago
Just had DH check, antifreeze level is fine. Thanks for the suggestion though!! :-)
stephanie_in_ga
18 years ago
I don't anything for sure. But I did have a heater core go out on a car I use to drive, and that is what happened- the floor of the passenger side was soaking wet. And the heat/air did not work, it just blew luke warm. Maybe if the heat/air works in your car, the heater core has been leaking but not gone completely bad, yet.
linda_in_iowa
18 years ago
JMHO, but I would get my money back and go elsewhere to buy a car. That is really negligent that the dealership didn't catch that when their mechanics fixed the car to put it up for sale.
aprilflower
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks, Steph, I will suggest that as one of the things to check.

Linda, I'm starting to think I agree with you. Kind of a bummer, because I really do like the car and I was so proud of myself for negotiating a great deal (I know, I can do the same thing somewhere else, but now some of my thunder's gone :-P) , and also, I'm wondering if I even *can* get my old car back, or if it's already sold at auction?

This answer was posted at another forum, I'm crossing my fingers that it's something as easily fixed as this, if I do decide to keep it:

"Ready?

Guessing from your descriptions of the white towel soaked with apparently clear water without any odor emanating from it, can we assume you're running the air conditioner? Unless you're driving in a part of the country that has the lowest humidity and the dealer decided supplementing the a/c with a home brew humidifier would make you feel comfortable, that soaked towel is condensation being pulled out of the air that's very humid. What hasn't been determined is the reason for stuffing the HVAC box when there should be an outlet drain expressly designed for this purpose. Perhaps the drain is plugged and finding it, near the bottom of the firewall, to stick a pencil or something small into the rubber valve may free it of debris build up preventing drainage of evaporator condensation."

I'll keep ya'll posted, the salesman's calling me tomorrow to ensure that there will be a loaner or rental car available to me for Monday morning so that I can drop it off to them.
daveinla
18 years ago
update??
aprilflower
Original Author
18 years ago
Hiyas! Just got home from the grocery store with the car - YAY!

According to the dealership, it was a clogged drain. They removed the a/c system, flushed the clogged drain, replaced the system, and gave the a/c system a "tune up". So far so good - no leaks while driving to the grocery store or home.

Thanks, all, for the advice and concern :-)

april
susanjf_gw
18 years ago
don't forget these sites (i'm posting a free one) it can find a car history....

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.carfax.com/used_car_classifieds/hotListingsSearch.cfx
kathi_mdgd
18 years ago
Aren't these boards great for getting advice?? These car dealers and such can't get away with as much as long as we have these places to come to to vent,ask questions etc.

Glad you got it all worked out!!!
Kathi

cross-posting...car troubles (pictures)

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