2010 Camry, radiator let go and engine seized.
Asked by GuruM3575 May 31, 2020 at 09:01 AM about the 2010 Toyota Camry XLE V6
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
No indicator lights came on to tell me the car was overheating. Was at a red
light and when accelerating to go, the car started a chugging sound then the
battery and engine light came on. Pulled over immediately and called to have it
towed. Repair place said radiator let go causing the engine to seize and
battery die. Do I replace the engine and radiator or junk the car?
3 Answers
If you like the car maybe find a low mile engine at a salvage yard. It is going to be an expensive repair. When did you last check the oil level or look at the temperature gauge?
Thank you for the response. Would have been at the last oil change I’d imagine which was December. Due to the state shutdown, car was hardly driven from March 5th till it died last week. The repair place said the oil was ok when they told me about the engine. It’s the same place that services my car regularly. They told me 5100 for a refurb motor plus 2100 labor. They won’t do a salvage motor.
I am troubled by the history of this vehicle prior to the engine ....Seizing...? What makes an engine...seize? To me this means the engine locked up....pistons and crankshaft locked and fail to rotate. Engine ran out of oil? The oil was recently changed and the vehicle was used very little since. Did they fail to put the correct amount of oil in the engine when said oil was changed? If the radiator failed....there are usually signs and simptoms of this failure before an engine seizes. Perhaps a Head Gasket failure occurred and coolant leaked into a Cylinder or two and subsequently locked the engine.? Hmmm....Toyotas V6 engine are known to be near bullet proof. Hmmm....