99 Impreza RS - overheat recall nightmare

[MLJ]

Hi everyone,

 

My 99 RS started doing the overheat thing on the freeway this weekend.

 

It was the first time and there was no coolant on the outside of the engine so I decided to let it cool, add water, and get it home so I could make an appointment.

 

As I drove it to the dealership it overheated again, and this time there was more coolant on the outside of the engine than there was in the reservoir. I called the wrecker.

 

When we got to the shop, the service advisor explained to me that there were two active recalls on my vehicle, one for the coolant additive that I'm sure you all know about already, and one for the air flow regulator (which incidentally fixed an RPM loss between 3K and 4K that I've been trying to fix for years...).

 

They had my car for two days. It was a Saturday when I brought it in. On Monday it was ready. So I towed my RS into the dealership with coolant all over the engine block, and all they did was put the additive in the coolant and sent me on my way.

 

Obviously on the way home from the dealership the car overheated again.

 

The dealership paid for a tow back, and are not charging me for diagnostics. They are now saying that the water pump is the problem.

 

I don't think these guys are trying to rip me off. My problem is that I have a really hard time with the possibility that I'm paying for a repair that could've very well been caused by a problem documented in an active recall of my car. Sure, they didn't fix it the first time I brought it in, but there is no head gasket damage so I am not super stressed about that.

 

Any thoughts? Is there a way I can get this covered under the extended warranty via the recall?

[tunered]

neither one of the recalls has anything to do with a water pump,the additive is just a sealer [stop leak] my guess is it was time for a water pump.unless there is more to the story i cant understand why you think they are responsible for the water pump?

[Dr. RX]

but there is no head gasket damage so I am not super stressed about that.

So, what makes you think that there is no head gasket damage. These are aluminum engines, overheating is a bad thing for them and is the main cause for pre-mature head gasket failure. They may not appear damaged (and how they can tell that without looking at them is amazing), but I would venture to say that they are on their way out.