Mark: Hi, it's Mark Bossert. I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC, Canada. We're talking cars. How are you doing Bernie?
Bernie: Doing very well.
Mark: So today we're talking about a 2014 Range Rover Evoque that had some sort of coolant issue. What was going on with this vehicle?
Bernie: So the vehicle was brought to our shop. The client's concern was that the coolant warning light on the dash had come on. So there's low coolant warning.
Mark: So you do a visual check, pressure test, is that the normal procedure?
Bernie: That is the normal procedure. Yeah, so our diagnostic procedure starts with a visual inspection. We verify that the coolant level in the coolant tank was definitely low. From there we put a pressure test on the system and then we look for leaks.
Mark: And what did you find, I guess?
Bernie: Yeah, we found that the heater hoses were leaking. This is a not an entirely uncommon problem on this vehicle. The heater hoses clip into the pipes at the firewall, buried very deep in the firewall. It's hard to see. I mean, everything under the hood is hard to see. Let's get into some pictures right now. You can just see what that actually looks like. You can keep talking to me as we go.
There's our Evoque. Fine looking compact SUV.
So there's the view of the engine compartment. If you pop the hood, this is what you're going to look at. Plastic cover here. This is an air intake duct. This is a turbocharged engine, so there's a lot of piping that runs all over the place. The coolant tank is over on this side here, where I'm moving my mouse pointer. This is the cowl covering. The heater hose is buried way down where I'm moving my mouse pointer.
So there's a lot of pieces that need to be removed to access it. And we'll just unpeel that onion skin while we look at some of these pictures.
So there's a view of the engine with the cover off, the cowl removed. This is the wiper linkage. This is the auxiliary battery for the start stop system. So there's two batteries in this vehicle. There's a main power battery, and then there's this battery, the start stop battery, and then there's the PCM, the powertrain control module is located here. The heater hoses we still can't even see them. They're way down here.
So, we're gonna remove a few other items. So, this is looking from the driver's side front corner of the vehicle. The main battery used to be here. We've removed that battery, the battery tray. We're now accessing areas where we can see the heater hoses. You can see the PCM has been removed, powertrain control module. This is where the heater hoses connect right here, where the mouse pointer is moving. So again, we're still not even looking at them. Let's have a look down here.
This is a view down through the cowl. This is the air conditioning pipes. That is the heater hose that's leaking right there. So there's two hoses clipped on with quick connect connectors to the heater pipes.
Another closer view we can look at. This is with the auxiliary battery removed. Again, you can see those AC pipes here. And then the heater hose is, again, is buried way underneath there.
Mark: With all this stuff in the way, how did you see where the leak was?
Bernie: Process of elimination. First of all, we hoist the vehicle and you could see a drip coming around the cowl area. That's a very good question. That's where the leak was coming from.
I'll just do a quick picture before we wrap up the picture show of the heater hose. So you can see that sort of little, I had the red arrow pointing at this in a earlier picture. This is the leak. You can see this sort of, this red festering is basically the antifreeze as it sort of mixes with the air and forms a sort of hard solid. And that's what was leaking. So these are the quick connects that go on the hose. You can see all these sharp bends. They're very customized hoses. Which is kind of the way they work on modern vehicles.
Mark: Customized equals expensive.
Bernie: Yeah. Customized equals expensive and hard to get at. And that's how, you know, everything's thrown into these tight engine compartments. They're molded with tight bends and then these quick connect fittings. And yeah, it's tough to get at some of them, especially this car.
Mark: So is this more of an English thing? They like to jam a lot of stuff into an engine compartment.
Bernie: No, this is an every car nowadays from a Hyundai to a Lamborghini, everything's just jammed tight. Anything and everything, just compact engine compartments, lots of accessories and styling.
Mark: Were there any other leaks or things that need to be replaced while you were doing this?
Bernie: No, this was it. That was basically it. Just remove everything, get at the hoses, unclip them, clip them back in and away you go.
Mark: And how did everything run after you replaced it all?
Bernie: Perfect. Yeah. Really well. No more leaks. We fill it up, warm it up, retest the system, make sure there's no further leaks. There wasn't. And it's good to go for another nine years, theoretically.
Mark: Given how much you had to remove in order to get to the hoses, this is not an inexpensive repair.
Bernie: No, not for some heater hoses. When I think about the early days of me working on cars or if you own a simpler car, like something from the seventies. I mean, we used to, we still have bulk heater hose, you know, five, eight, three quarters half inch bulk heater hose. You, you know, you would cut off you know, two or three feet or five feet, whatever you need to run the heater hose, put some new clamps on away you go.
And nowadays, you know, with the tight fitment of everything and the sophistication of, you know, trying to keep heat running. If you get an older car, it took a while for the car to warm up before you get heat, a lot of modern cars you get in and there's heat like very quickly because they plumb the cooling system a certain way to do these things, but it takes extra hoses and bits and pieces and you know, everything's custom fit.
And I think the other thing is it's a manufacturing thing too. It's a lot easier. To have a clip that just, you know, I don't have to use machines or other people, but they go snap, snap, and then the heater hoses are done and you move it down the assembly line. Whereas the olden days, you know, you'd have to run a hose and have someone clamp it, even if it's a machine tighten the clamp. So you can see a lot of cars, you know, the way they're made, it's for assembly purposes.
Mark: How are 2014 Range Rover Evoques for reliability? Do you see a lot of them in the shop?
Bernie: Yeah, we do. We work on quite a few. There's a number of issues with them. I mean, these heater hoses are one of them. It's a nice car, but you know, they probably have a few more issues than some other vehicles, competitive vehicles, but it's a decent car. You know, it's a Range Rover, you'll spend a little more money, cost more to buy, cost more to fix. And we can take care of it for you.
Mark: If you need some service for your Range Rover in Vancouver, the people to see are Pawlik Automotive. You can reach them online and book your appointment right there, pawlikautomotive.com. Or you can call them and book your appointment (604) 327-7112. You have to call and book ahead. They're always busy. Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Thanks for watching and listening. Thanks, Bernie.
Bernie: Thank you, Mark. Thanks for watching.
