When I had 67 miles on my 2013 Chrysler T&C Van it stalled and would not immediately restart. The Electronic Vehicle Information Center revealed both the
coolant and engine oil temp was in excess of 300 degrees. After 15 minutes the temps were between 280 and 285. The engine started and I drove slowly the
3 miles to my house and had it towed to the dealership the next day. Mechanic found the quick connect coolant line to 3rd seat heater was improperly installed at factory allowing 1 gallon plus of coolant to excaspe. A mechanical engineer and a Chrysler mech ( not one from the dealership) advises it is just
a matter of time until I have internal engine damage. Chrysler Owner Assistance Dept assigned a case mgr. She reported the van was repaired and operating
properly because the coolant line was repaired. Their first offer was 1 months loan payment, which I refused.Second offer a 6 yr 70,000 mile warranty on
the drive train starting when I purchase the van, which I refused since I already had a 5yr 100,000 mile warranty. Third and final offer was lifetime warranty
with a $100 ded. I refused this since I do not believe I should have to pay anything to repair engine damage caused by their manufacturing defect.
Am I being unreasonable to expect Chrysler to give me a$9 deductible on engine repairs? What engine damage should I expect?
Just my humble opinion, but none of the 3 options would be acceptable if I were in your shoes. The engine likely has a shortened lifespan and may be an oil consumer from here on out.
Overheating like that can lead to cylinder head warpage and premature head gasket failure, cooked valve seals, glazed cylinder walls, seized piston rings, or piston rings that have lost their temper, or springiness so to speak. All of those things can lead to oil consumption and the last thing you want is to be feeding the engine a quart of oil every other week while being told that is “normal”.
The “repaired and operating properly” doesn’t mean a thing. This is a brush-off statement.
What would I want if it were me? They can have that van back and I’d pay them 50 cents a mile for mileage accrued with them putting me behind the wheel of another van. Right now they’re looking at what’s best for them, not you, and if there’s going to be a push and shove it’s better to do it now rather than a year or two.
If I walked onto a lot and a dealer offered me a 2013 van with only 67 miles and stated that it had been overheated like that the only way I’d consider it would be if it were offered at a junk price.
In NASCAR, when a driver reports that the engine oil and coolant are at 300 degrees, the crew chief tells the driver to pull into the pits, or to get ready for the engine to let go. Depends on how many laps are left to go.
An engine is never designed to see 300 degrees. Did they also change the oil? Because at 300 degrees the oil breaks down quickly. Also, the transmission fluid ran at that temperature. So that probably got burnt.
If I were you I’d stand my ground on this issue. Who knows what got damaged?
Tester
A couple of years ago on the news they showed some Chrysler workers drinking and smoking pot while on break. I think a dozen or so UAW workers got fired over this but were eventually reinstated.
Maybe the worker whose responsibility it was to connect that hose properly had just gotten back from break or lunch… 
I would take the lifetime warranty on the engine for $100 with the stipulation that the warranty be transferable to any subsequent owners. That way when the engine suffers a major failure at 30,000 miles you’d have a 30,000 mile van with a new engine. But that’s never going to happen.
As for the engine, I think the damage is already done. It’s just a matter of time before it presents itself.
If you pursue further action with them, get ready to explain why you drove the car with the engine overheating until it quit. Surely a warning light or gauge alerted you to a problem. I think they’re going to try to blame part of this on you for not shutting the car down right away.
Take the lifetime power-train warranty and drive on… Transferable to the next owner? That’s not going to happen…
The lifetime warranty doesn’t sound like too bad a deal in this situation. Probably the best admission of guilt and restitution you will get from any manufacturer. If you need to keep getting it fixed due to problems incurred from this incident, then lemon laws should apply too. Make sure that they change all fluids as part of the deal too.
I did not have any advance warning of the overheating until it stalled. The temp gauge may have
gone off the scale but on this model it is very small. and who checks their temp gauge on a brand new vehicle the second time you drive it? I don’t.