Car broke down three days after repairing and passed MOT

ivephar

I have a 10 years old Ford Focus, which failed MOT test a few weeks ago. The reasons for the failure are leaking power steering pipe, poor tyre condition and minor things like side indicator light off colour. The garage which did the test quoted me £400 to get every things fixed, including a new power steering pipe, a pair of new tyres, and changing of the indicator lights. I also asked them to change the engine oil and filter. After they fixed all these faults, the car passed MOT without any advisory. I tried the car locally for a few miles without any problem. However the next Monday when I was driving on M4, the car suddenly had the warning light for battery turned on, then temperature reached maximum, and eventually broke down. I called RAC recovery, on the scene the RAC engineer pulled a shredded drive belt (also called serpentine belt) from under the engine. He says this is the reason to caused the break down. He says there might be problem with the belt as soaked with oil. The RAC towed my car back to the garage which did the MOT and repairing. I am now waiting for their estimate of repairing cost. I just feel something not right here. The garage did the repairing for the power steering system, which I understand used the same drive belt. The MOT test showed nothing wrong with the belt. How come it suddenly shredded two days later? Have they done the previous job properly? Did they accidentally damage the belt when they fit the power steering pipe? Should they take fully or partially responsibility with the new repairing cost? or refund my previous fixing cost if I scrap the car. Where can I make complaint if I feel treated unfairly? Any suggestions? Thanks

davidwood123

In my opinion it's just one of those things. Yes, they may be at fault but you have no proof. Equally it could be your fault.

RE the belt, someone might be able to confirm but I don't think they would need to check it to pass an MOT.

onomatopoeia99

As far as I'm aware, the condition of the serpentine belt is not an MOT item - no reason why it should be that I can think of. It's impossible for anyone here to say if power steering fluid has leaked onto the belt, either during the replacement of the hose or before or after, or if it's some other fluid. If the garage has not installed the new pipe correctly and caused the fault they should make good the damage (but good luck with getting them to do that).

As a general point, if the temperature goes up that far, never, ever carry on driving. There's a reason why you have a temperature gauge on a car. If it goes in the red, bad things will happen, and one possibility is you have warped the cylinder head and / or blown the head gasket. Either is a few hours labour to repair, and a warped head will need machining.

ivephar

Thanks for all the reply. Honestly I know little about car mechanics. I am wondering if the process of replace the power steering pipe will involve moving/changing/refitting the drive belt, therefore possibly caused any damage? or if the fault of belt should be noticeable when changing the power steering pipe?

rich13348

ivephar wrote: »

Thanks for all the reply. Honestly I know little about car mechanics. I am wondering if the process of replace the power steering pipe will involve moving/changing/refitting the drive belt, therefore possibly caused any damage? or if the fault of belt should be noticeable when changing the power steering pipe?

All those this could be possible depending on where the pipe is located. Not sure on a focus. It could be power steering fluid, which is red, from the damaged hose or the repair. Or it could be engine oil, which is brownish, from the oil and filter change.

As onomatopoeia says warning lights and temperature gauges are there for a reason to warn you of impending doom and stop driving. Not merrily keep going until it stops working.

wgl2014

In any case replacing the belt is a quick job. You may find the garage will cover the cost or at least contribute, if not I would consider finding a different garage in the future!

Jackmydad

As already said. "One of those things"
If you've really overheated the engine there'll be more problems than the belt. As already said the warning lights are there for a reason.

Too late now I know, but you really need to make regular checks of the car to see that all the fluids are at the correct level, there are no leaks under the bonnet, and that tyres are in good condition and the right pressure. It's part of driving, and could save you money in either fines for bad tyres or breakdowns.

angrycrow

If I remember correctly the focus petrol engines drive the water pump from the auxiliary (serpentine) belt which also drives the power steering, alternator and air con compressor.

When the belt broke the car immediately alerted you by displaying the battery light to indicate the alternator had failed. At this point you continued driving.

The temp gauge then started to rise because the water pump was not turning. At this point you kept driving until the engine cut out.

The engine most likely cut out due to seizing from overheating. It is likely you cooked your engine by keeping on driving. How is this the fault of the garage. The broken belt would have been about £15 plus labour if you pulled over at the first sign of trouble and the garage may even have fitted on good will terms to keep a customer.

It is unlikely they touched the belt whilst replacing the power steering pipe as it can be done with the pump in place.

AdrianC

ivephar wrote: »

I have a 10 years old Ford Focus, which failed MOT test a few weeks ago. The reasons for the failure are leaking power steering pipe...

the car suddenly had the warning light for battery turned on

Which alerted you to a problem, right, so you planned to stop to investigate as soon as possible?

then temperature reached maximum...

At which point, you realised you had a serious problem, and pulled straight over to the hard shoulder, right?

and eventually broke down.

Ah...

I called RAC recovery, on the scene the RAC engineer pulled a shredded drive belt (also called serpentine belt) from under the engine. He says this is the reason to caused the break down. He says there might be problem with the belt as soaked with oil.

Possibly from the leaking PS pipe. Does the car have any other oil leaks?

The garage did the repairing for the power steering system, which I understand used the same drive belt.

Repairing the pipe may well not have included the belt being touched, depending on the location of the leak.

The MOT test showed nothing wrong with the belt.

The MOT doesn't look at the belt at all.

How come it suddenly shredded two days later?

Pure coincidence, almost certainly. You'd definitely have a problem in proving anything else.

While you might have a point that the belt should have been checked, and probably replaced, when the leak was sorted, any engine damage arising from continuing to drive until the car could proceed no further is not their problem. That one's entirely down to you ignoring the dashboard's warnings...

When was the last time the car was properly serviced? I don't mean an MOT and an oil change, I mean a proper full service? Belt condition should be checked as part of that, if not just replaced as a precaution. Given that it took an MOT to alert you to the fact that your tyre was illegal, I'm guessing that routine maintenance is not a high priority for you, right...?

forgotmyname

Belts are not included in the MOT test.

Oil been leaking in the belt for some time from your old leaky pipe? They only changed the pipe not the pump or the belt.

How much will it cost? £10 or so for a new belt?

Do you mean serpentine belt or cambelt?

Iceweasel

angrycrow wrote: »

When the belt broke the car immediately alerted you by displaying the battery light to indicate the alternator had failed. At this point you continued driving.

The temp gauge then started to rise because the water pump was not turning. At this point you kept driving until the engine cut out.

The engine most likely cut out due to seizing from overheating. It is likely you cooked your engine by keeping on driving.

The above post explains exactly who is responsible for your car now needing extensive expensive repairs - as opposed to replacing a simple belt.

Next time a warning light comes on or a gauge shows an unusual reading you should stop asap and investigate.

Even if you know zilch about cars you could phone for advice.

What one does NOT do is keep on going until the thing stops because it's bust.

Good luck with blaming someone else.