Just had a service and MOT...now engine seized!

Mutton_Geoff

Was the cambelt done on schedule (time or mileage)? Problem is they are like light bulbs, you never know when they are going to go pop. Even on the way home from the garage wouldn't point to any neglect on the part of the mechanic unless they had told you there was no need to change it even if it out of time/date.

cymruchris

Mutton_Geoff said:

Was the cambelt done on schedule (time or mileage)? Problem is they are like light bulbs, you never know when they are going to go pop. Even on the way home from the garage wouldn't point to any neglect on the part of the mechanic unless they had told you there was no need to change it even if it out of time/date.

The OP mentions that the car has 96k miles and is a 2016 - schedule seems to indicate 108k miles and 10 years - so although getting close - it could be argued that  the change would have been scheduled at the next service. So if it was a timing belt failure - there might be some comeback from Peugeot to get a contribution to repair costs if the servicing has been completed to schedule (and the Op says it has been - with proof).

Mutton_Geoff

Looking at the MOT history, it's apparent the owners are running it on a "just in time" basis and it's chomping through tyres (c 14k miles a set). I wonder if these are budget tyres?

If it's got a full documented service history, I would be curious what caused the catastrophic engine failure. A third party engineers report might be a good investment but in any case, it sounds like dropping in a replacement might be needed. If the bodywork etc is up to scratch, it's too young to scrap.

Oh, and back to the original issue. If you were driving at normal motorway speeds on the M1, then the engine would have been doing perhaps 2,500 to 3,000 rpm. The crankshaft is rotating once every 50th of a second, you would not get much of a warning for many kinds of failure and the engine would not last long without coolant at those revs.

Krakkkers

So its nothing to do with the coolant system, its a timing belt issue and a collision between valves and pistons, very messy.

Mutton_Geoff

Krakkkers said:

So its nothing to do with the coolant system, its a timing belt issue and a collision between valves and pistons, very messy.

I don't think anyone has said that, we're just bouncing ideas around until the OP gets a more detailed report. In the meantime, if any readers with the same car don't know how to check their fluid levels, this video is handy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4JhkruvzE0

MX5huggy

rachellelouise said:

cymruchris said:

rachellelouise said:

cymruchris said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

cymruchris said:

Ok - so the timing belt has 'moved' rather than 'failed' - you mentioned that there was no coolant - I do wonder if the water pump failed, and on doing so leaked water onto the timing belt causing it to slip/move - that would result in the problem you're seeing. 

This is extremely unlikely. Timing belts are critical to the timing of the engine which is why they are toothed. There is no way it can slip or move unless it jumped a cog if the engine seized. It could not have been fitted wrongly either else the car would not have started or run properly if the belt was even one cog out of sync.

It does happen:

https://www.peugeotforums.com/threads/timing-belt-snapped-on-308-1-6-hdi.348777/

Interestingly there was also a recall in relation to the timing belt of the 308, but not for the UK market:

https://car-recalls.eu/recall/peugeot-308-2014-timing-belt/

The OP hasn't confirmed the engine yet - but if it's the 1.6 diesel the service schedule for the timing belt appears to be 175k kms/10 years - which equates to 108k miles/10 years. If the mileage is below that, and the car has been serviced religiously, there may be some comeback on the dealer network. (I'm not saying they'd pay for the repair - but there might be an argument for a contribution to costs)

This is interesting!

Yes it is the 1.6L diesel 208, the milage in October was 96K on the MOT, no more than 500 miles have been done since then.

So it's not reached 108k miles or 10 years and you've gotten a failure. (But as I mentioned - there can be more than one cause of failure - such as the water pump going)

What's the car's service history like? Have you got a stamp at every scheduled service date? Even for the previous owners?

It has a service every year with the MOT and yes it gets a stamp and we have the receipts. 
The MOT this time was 1 month late. Prior to us buying it it was an ex-motability car so well maintained, and we purchased it from the pergeot dealership and are the second owners.

A previous poster said we missed 3 months another year but thats not true I dont know where they got that from!

It had an MOT June 2019 then the next was September 2020, 3 months late but at that time there was a 6 month extension on MOT’s due to COVID, so you were never without and MOT. The expiry date on the record shows it was continuously MOT’ed ( except the day between the fail and pass). 

force_ten1

Krakkkers said:

So its nothing to do with the coolant system, its a timing belt issue and a collision between valves and pistons, very messy.

could be a seized water pump and that has stripped the teeth off the belt and possibly damaged the crankshaft and the the valves at the top of the engine 

Peugeot 1.6 diesel cars are known to have water pump problems  

force_ten1

could be a seized water pump and that has stripped the teeth off the timing belt and possibly caused damage to the the crankshaft and the the valves at the top of the engine 

Peugeot 1.6 diesel cars are known to have water pump problems  

rachellelouise

Hi,

Attached is a photo of the receipt for the work we had done. I note there is an advisory to check the timing belt ay 112000 or 10years.

Double checked all our paperwork, we are outside of our extended warrantee period with Peugeot.

So i suppose we have a few potential options -
1 - Cut our losses or price up getting a second hand engine put in

Or…again, I dont know if any of this is viable or not.
2 - Should the garage be checking a timing belt when they do an MOT & Service? I dont know, and i imagine this could not have been foreseen?
3 - Explore the option that the manufacturer recommends 10 years or 112K miles for this models timing belt, and its gone sooner, could Peugeot be expected to pick up the tab considering its gone early?

Thankyou to all who have contributed with advice

I put our VIN number into the Peugeot recall website, and this car isn’t subject to a recall but thankyou to the person who suggested that.

cymruchris

Quite a comprehensive service - nothing done anywhere near the coolant system other than a fluids check and top-up - so the likelihood of anything they've done causing your issue is very, very low. 

You can't tell the condition of a timing belt from just looking at it - so they wouldn't have done that. Timing belts are usually changed to a schedule rather than when they look worn out. I can see they list the schedule as 10 years/112k miles - slightly in front of my conversion - but that's not a bad thing, as it makes you further away from it in terms of your mileage.

Whether your extended warranty is expired or not - I would certainly consider getting in touch with Peugeot central customer services to explain that your car has been serviced regularly, using quality parts, at a good quality workshop, and wasn't due to have it's belt changed until at least the next service, and has snapped causing major damage to the engine. I'd be letting them know that it's currently in a workshop, and that initial reports are indicating that the belt has failed prematurely, and that although the car is outside of it's purchased warranty, you're incredibly disappointed that an item as important as a timing belt has snapped well short of its service schedule mileage and age, and what do they propose to do in terms of putting it right. You could also mention that you've since found out that the vehicle type/engine type is subject to recall in some countries for this particular issue, and wonder why the recall hasn't taken place in the UK.

(I'm sure others will also have suggestions)

You may or may not get anywhere - but you might have to push hard - and you could get a contribution to a repair at worst. (At best - they might (I doubt it) say we'll get it transferred to our workshop and get it put right (that would be incredible if they did).

What does your garage friend say in relation to the current mileage/timing belt replacement schedule/mileage/time difference?