I tried to look into all the help on starting a new thread so if I am posting in error please help me know where to correctly post this issue...I acknowledge I'm a newbie but I really need help with this...

My mother is 73 and has had one Honda or another for 30 years now and I've learned a lot but never experienced this one before.

She took her 98 Accord LX in for a valve cover gasket and an A/C Condenser. When she picked it up she got about 2 blocks and noticed the temp gauge was all the way to HOT.


The garage says, "Yuuuuup...needs a radiator." but I'm looking for them to pay for it...She's never had any problems with the car overheating before the work and it seems like it was caused in some way by the repair. Does that seem possible?

All help is appreciated...

 

Welcome to the site. Seems like you may have been jacked,,make them replace it or fix it,,may have to get the BBB involved too,

 

It just too big of a coincidence. The A/C compressor is very close to the radiator. I once had the timing belt replaced on my old Neon. When I got it back, the cruise didn't work, power steering belt squealed, had a rattle and a ground strap form the engine to the body wasn't hooked up.

Mechanics to make mistakes. Own up to it and move on. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the confirmation of what I was thinking.
I've never done repairs myself but I can google the engine diagram! Lol I thought it was close enough to make it in the ballpark of things they had to work around. The owner says to me "we didn't touch the radiator, we only replaced the condenser" and all I saw were red flags!

Appreciate your time

 

I'm pretty sure you have to remove the radiator in order to remove the condenser.

But still, it's an 18-year-old component that has plastic tanks & nozzles and operates at a high-ish temperature. Easy to create a small crack if you leave the hoses connected & just try to push the radiator out of the way.

I can sorta sympathize with the mechanic about cracking the radiator. (But not denying it.)