Cylinder head issue- HELP/OPINIONs- dodge caravan

EDITED to add: The van has no visible coolant or water leaks. Ive been monitoring the levels daily. Even put a blanket under the car just in case. theres is nothing leaking out onto the ground even though the coolant level appears to be lowering rapidly.

i have a 2017 grand dodge caravan

I am so stressed out - bear with me please and read the story

my van has regular maint and oil changes.

about a month ago the check engine light came on
took it to my mechanic, throwing a cylinder 2 misfire
my mechanic replaced alll the spark plugs and coil packs.
van ran totally fine. a few days later i was idling in traffic, it was raining. light came on again
got where i was going, parked. when i got in my car later when it was dry light was off.
same thing happened a week later, light came on idling in the rain. took it mechanic. it threw same cylinder 2 misfire code with the same date as the original one. which was weird. hard cleared the computer.
everything was fine for about 2 weeks
was driving the other day, idling waiting to turn. Car started to buck violently like it was shutting down and light came on- NO SMOKE, NO HIGH TEMP.
got the car home. let it sit for the weekend. took it to mechanic on monday. it was idling a little rough, was able to drive to shop, light was on no wild bucking, the temp didnt get high while driving it to the mechanic either.

My mechanic called me and told me that when he took it to go test drive, the temp gauge redlined, and car was bucking like crazy, and that it blew the radiator cap. said there was no coolant in the car and no water in the reserve.
but i just had the oil change and fluids topped off when he did the oil change at the same time as the plugs. put coolant in it, let it sit over night. the next morning light was gone, car was running PERFECT.
took it over to the dealer where i bought it. they checked the computer no codes, ran perfect. ive been checking coolant level every day
a bout a week after that light came on again. got it home. checked the coolant.it was substantially lower than it was the day before.
took the van back to dealer. Dealer is saying code is cylinder 2 misfire. 120 PSI and 75% exhaust leak on valve. Dealer is saying the issue is the left cylinder head.
Called Zurich who has my powertrain warranty, they said if the head is cracked or warped its not covered.
If the head was cracked or warped would i be able to have been driving it all this time? I have been so diligent on my maint, and taking care of this van how could i have cracked/warped the head?
What other things could have happened to damage the head? at this point i wont have any answers until tomorrow but i am so stressed out because it is such an expensive repair!!!

severe overheating.

https://leftlanenews.com/2014/06/16/chrysler-extends-pentastar-v6-warranty-over-cylinder-head-failure/

Tester

Pretty much worthless, isn’t it? If it doesn’t cover a cracked head, just WHAT does it cover? I’d argue that with Zurich.

1 Like

What should have been done by your mechanic at the beginning is to run a compression check while the old spark plugs were out. Low compression could well have been the reason for the CEL illuminating during the rain.
A 120 PSI is not good and 75% leakage is horrible.

I fault your mechanic here for test driving the car and allowing it to red line the temp gauge. Also for continuing to drive it while it was bucking and then blowing the radiator cap off. Unless the cap or radiator neck is broken from “blowing off” then the only reason it should come off is if someone left the cap loose to begin with.

My gut feeling only but I tend to think any damage may be related to that specific valve and may not involve a warped or cracked head although severe overheating can certainly cause this kind of problem along with poor oil consumption afterwards.
As for Zurich, keep in mind that 3rd party warranty companies are notorious for denying or stonewalling claims. Factory backed policies are much better and I’m assuming Zurich has no affiliation with Dodge.

One question and this involves the incident before taking it to the mechanic on Monday. Did you remove the radiator cap at any time just before or during that weekend? Just trying to figure out who may have been responsible for a loose cap.

1 Like