Fifth Visit for Same Issue – Coolant Bottle Now Cracked After Dealership Investigation

I am writing a concern regarding my ongoing experience with my vehicle at North Cliff Renault dealership, which has now required multiple visits for the same coolant-related issue.

The problem initially started with coolant leaks and overheating concerns. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where investigations were carried out and components such as the thermostat were replaced. Despite these interventions, the issue continued to recur.

Because the problem persisted, I escalated the matter to Renault Head Office seeking assistance and a proper root-cause diagnosis. Following this escalation, I was asked to bring the vehicle in again for a full inspection.

When I dropped the vehicle today, the issue was a coolant leak. Importantly, there was no visible crack on the coolant bottle and the vehicle was not spraying coolant. The car had been parked in my garage overnight and there were no coolant marks on the floor, and the parking spot at the dealership where I left the vehicle was also dry.

However, after the dealership conducted their inspection, I was sent a video showing that the coolant bottle now has a visible crack and coolant is spraying out of it. This is different from the condition in which the vehicle was brought in.

If the coolant had been spraying in this way prior to the inspection, there would clearly have been coolant visible on the garage floor or where the vehicle was parked earlier that morning.

Following this, I received a quotation of approximately R4,000 to replace the coolant bottle, which I found difficult to accept given the history of the vehicle and the repeated cooling system issues that had previously been investigated by the dealership.

When I raised these concerns with Renault Head Office, I was advised that the coolant bottle had previously been replaced privately and therefore the component failure would be my responsibility.

While I acknowledge that the bottle was replaced privately, I find it difficult to accept that this alone is being concluded as the cause of the failure without addressing the broader history of overheating and cooling system issues that the dealership has previously investigated.

The vehicle has been brought in multiple times for the same concerns, and the root cause of the cooling system problem still appears not to have been clearly identified.

My concern is that I am now being expected to pay for a 3rd coolant bottle in a space of 3 years without a clear technical explanation confirming that the bottle itself is the root cause of the failure.

All I was seeking is transparency, a proper root-cause diagnosis, and a fair resolution to a problem that has required several visits to the dealership without being fully resolved.