NHTSA Complaint #10781191 — 2010 CHEVROLET CAMARO

ONE EVENING I GOT IN MY CAR AND TURNED THE HEATER ON. IMMEDIATELY, MY WINDSHIELD FOGGED UP AND THE AIR COMING OUT OF THE VENTS HAD A VERY STRONG ODOR, WHICH SMELT LIKE COOLANT. FOR THE ENTIRE DRIVE (20 MIN) I COULD NOT GET THE WINDSHIELD TO DEFOG. THE NEXT DAY, I DROVE MY CAR AND IT WAS RUNNING EXTREMELY HOT (ABOUT 220-250F). WHEN I PARKED, I NOTICED THAT MY CAR WAS LEAKING COOLANT. I TRIED TO LOCATE THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK, BUT IT WAS LEAKING FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE CAR- ABOUT WHERE THE RADIO IS. NOT BEING ABLE TO LOCATE THE LEAK, I FILLED UP THE RADIATOR WITH WATER TO GET ME HOME WITHOUT OVER HEATING. WHEN I GOT HOME I FOUND A LARGE PUDDLE OF COOLANT WHERE MY CAR WAS PARKED OVERNIGHT. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH, I FOUND MANY OTHER CAMARO OWNERS WHO HAD FOGGY WINDSHIELDS, COOLANT SMELL IN HVAC SYSTEM, AND LEAKING COOLANT. THEY SAID THESE WERE THE SIGNS THAT THE HEATER CORE "WENT OUT." I THEN WENT TO LOOK NEAR MY HEATER CORE, AND SURE ENOUGH, I HAD COOLANT ON MY PASSENGERS FLOOR BOARD AND FOUND DRIPS OF COOLANT BELOW THE HEATER CORE. MANY OF THE CAMARO OWNERS HAVE SHARED THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH HAVING THIS PROBLEM REPAIRED AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THE FRONT SEATS, WINDSHIELD, AND DASH HAVE TO BE REMOVED TO REPLACE THE HEATER CORE. THIS IS ON AVERAGE ABOUT A $2000 REPAIR AT A DEALERSHIP. WITH HOW MANY CASES THERE SEEMS TO BE JUST FROM A QUICK SEARCH ONLINE, THIS SHOULD BE ISSUED A RECALL! THIS IS ALSO A SAFETY CONCERN- HOT COOLANT COULD HAVE DRIPPED ON MY PASSENGER'S FEET AND BURNT THEM.