I drive a 2000 Saturn SL2. I took it to get a routine oil change, tire rotation, etc. over a month ago. The guys told me that it was in severe condition and that there was coolant coming out the back of the motor and there was a severe leak in my radiator and that my car wouldn't last a month. They told me to get it to someone asap to get it looked at and fixed.
I took it to a shop over 2 weeks ago to have it check out. They ran a diagnostic and concluded that I needed a new water pump. After the guys at the other shop had pitched a fit about it being super severe...it was a water pump? I couldn't take my car back to get it done because I'm financially unstable at the moment, but am hoping to get it fixed soon...now just today, i was sitting at a red light in 80 degree weather [which isn't good on my car, i know], and my radio flipped off...then came back on, then i noticed my internal lights were dimming and flashing, then as soon as i started to accelerate, it wouldn't do it. then it did. it's a continuous on and off type scenario with this car. It overheats one minute, works the next. I assume the lights dimming and this and that happening is the battery?
Also, yesterday, my heater quit working...I had been blowing the heater on full blast with the weather being so gnarly and my car leaking coolant to try and keep it stable...because I was told to do this.
I swear I'm not ok with driving my car around and the more I drive it the worse it's getting. I can't keep doing this. What could be going on with my car? And how much would it cost?
Should I just junk it and buy a scooter? ://What could be wrong with my car?Things to consider:
The guys doing the oil change didn't take a serious look at what is going on, so it may have looked much worse than it was just glancing things over. Anytime there is a leak, it can %26quot;spread out%26quot; until you actually start to wipe things down and try to track down the source. Don't hold it against them that they thought it was severe...you should be glad they pointed it out at all since that's not what they were doing in the first place. They had your best interest in mind...think about it...they had nothing to gain from telling you because they weren't going to do the repairs, right?
The water pump could be leaking, which can cause the coolant to get all over the place like I mentioned above...so, yes, it could just be a water pump problem. As far as the electrical issues, I don't know if this is what is happening, but spraying water/coolant and electrical components (alternators, etc.) don't really get along. If you keep driving around with coolant leaking that most likely is getting thrown around by the belt(s), you're probably going to have some problems in that area.
As far as overheating sometimes and not during others, when you're sitting at a light, the car is going to get hotter because no air is being forced through, but when you are driving, you are forcing air through. This could also indicate that there is something wrong with the cooling fans...guessing this car has electric fans, which could be malfunctioning. If they are, sitting still will be much worse than driving because the fans aren't keeping things cool in the radiator like the moving air is while driving.
You didn't say exactly how the heater quit working, but if the %26quot;heat%26quot; part of the heater quit working...meaning it's not blowing hot air anymore, but still blows air...then the coolant is not flowing through the heater core anymore, which probably means there is no more coolant or not enough anyway. If the fan motor quit, that is completely unrelated to this except it may have just been worn out because you've been blowing it on high speed during hot weather and it's not that new. The reason you were told to run the heater is to keep things cool, but that doesn't make sense in this scenario. That would help remove some of the heat from the coolant if your fans weren't working or something like that, but for a leak, it just doesn't make sense.
It's not a surprise that it's getting worse. If you haven't already done so, you WILL be doing serious damage. Consider running a marathon and not being able to sweat to keep your body cool...you would literally die...so will your car.
How much will it cost???...if you keep going, more than the car is worth, but if you quit driving it and get it fixed, it may not be outrageously expensive. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
