2008 M35 Radiator

[jarcyp]

I recently had my 2008 Infiniti M35S serviced for the 45,000 mile service and to check the A/C. The A/C would not always blow cold. The dealer came back and said it was the radiator fan which was replaced for +/- $700. A week later the battery on the car died with 2.5 years of life remaining. Additionally, the car was running hot again. The dealer is now saying that the radiator is cracked. If it is cracked, should they have not caught that the first time? Should a radiator last more than 48,000 miles? I have always had my car serviced at the same dealer but now I have lost trust in them. Am I wrong, or does something not add up?

[Larz]

No knowing where you live and the tempertures you drive under, it may be possible that with the fan not working, it compromised the radiator by not blowing air across the surface? Perhaps it had not cracked that first time you went in, or they didn't see it at that time. I agree that a radiator should last past 48k miles, but not sure how long it should last without proper cooling from the fan (and I assume we don't know exactly how long that fan has been off). If you know and trust the dealership, you must agree that anyone, no matter how diligent, can miss something like this from time to time.

[jarcyp]

I live in Houston and is hot but has been pleasant recently. Thank you, that is a good point.

[thm8d]

I recently changed mine. Had a small crack on the top left corner behind the return hose. It was slowly leaking and you couldn't see it. I pressure tested it and it never revealed the leak. Only way i found it was by removing the fan and noticing stains. Once removed I was able to see where it was leaking and dried up. Your fan failure could've lead to a bad radiator. They probably went through the same procedures as I did. Once they tested the fan, they thought that it was the only problem. I forgot to mention, my car only had 62k miles on it too. I live in California

[jarcyp]

Thanks that makes me feel better. SW Infiniti in Houston has handled the situation well and is only charging me for the labor and not the radiator.