Climate Control Valve, Milkshake, and Shady Dealer

[swanics]

I recently encountered the dreaded strawberry milkshake and had the deal replace my radiator and flush my trans and coolant system. After driving it for 30-40 miles after the repair I noticed steam coming from the hood. It was odd because my temp was normal, so I pulled over and popped the hood.

The return heater hose to the Climate Control Valve was off, so I plugged it back in and tried to make it home. I felt like all the coolant blew out the hose and so on the drive back the 4runner kept over heating. After getting it back to the dealer I get a call telling me my climate control valve is the problem and it will blow off the return hose under pressure. This explanation would work great for them because they'll try and stick me with a $70 tow and $260 in parts and labor (the part is like $25?)

This doesn't make sense to me because it worked fine before the strawberry milk shake and I've never had an issue with heat. It also seems unlikely that the issue would happen after only 30 miles on a new radiator.

For the certified mechanics out there, do you disconnect the heater return hose when flushing the coolant? I would think the likely explanation is they forgot to attach the hose because it was 5pm on Friday when it was finished. Anyways I'm fighting to avoid the $70 tow fee they initially volunteered to pay and $260 for a new $25.00 Climate Control Valve.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

I recently encountered the dreaded strawberry milkshake and had the deal replace my radiator and flush my trans and coolant system. After driving it for 30-40 miles after the repair I noticed steam coming from the hood. It was odd because my temp was normal, so I pulled over and popped the hood.

The return heater hose to the Climate Control Valve was off, so I plugged it back in and tried to make it home. I felt like all the coolant blew out the hose and so on the drive back the 4runner kept over heating. After getting it back to the dealer I get a call telling me my climate control valve is the problem and it will blow off the return hose under pressure. This explanation would work great for them because they'll try and stick me with a $70 tow and $260 in parts and labor (the part is like $25?)

This doesn't make sense to me because it worked fine before the strawberry milk shake and I've never had an issue with heat. It also seems unlikely that the issue would happen after only 30 miles on a new radiator.

For the certified mechanics out there, do you disconnect the heater return hose when flushing the coolant? I would think the likely explanation is they forgot to attach the hose because it was 5pm on Friday when it was finished. Anyways I'm fighting to avoid the $70 tow fee they initially volunteered to pay and $260 for a new $25.00 Climate Control Valve.

Your theory may be true but that would mean the valve is not failing, (unless they sabotaged it) and simply refilling the coolant properly would remedy the problem.

There are many different ways to flush the coolant system. If a shop has a coolant flush machine, they generally get connected in series between the radiator and motor (upper radiator hose ->flush machine-> engine) Depending on the flush machine it either senses coolant flow direction or mechanic has to know flow direction.
I will say that unless they used chemicals to clean the system, that tranny fluid has a tendency to reappear. Keep an eye on you reservoir bottle for tranny fluid residue sticking to the sides and floats on the top.
If it were me I would tell them to top off the coolant, take it home, and fix it yourself with an aftermarket part. It's a very easy repair.

 

[swanics]

Thanks for the quick response. That was going to be my approach. They are just trying to put a tow fee on me that was volunteered to be paid by the Toyota dealership.