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Woman's Dodge Gets Into A Fender Bender. Then She Gets Her Oil Changed And Learns Something Wild: 'That's Not From The Accident'

"Could be from the accident or..."

Woman gets into a fender bender. Then she gets her oil changed and learns something unusual

Photo by: kkailee.lynn & Richard Guillory

Mustafa Gatollari

By: Mustafa Gatollari

Mar 28, at 8:00am ET

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A Dodge Charger owner was in a rear-end collision. She later found out that there was something else wrong with her car. She’s convinced the accident is to blame, but has no way to prove it. What now?

Kailee Lynn (@kkailee.lynn) says she found out that her car was leaking coolant when she got her oil changed after the accident.

"I drive a Dodge Charger and I got backed up into. Beforehand, I had no leaks," she says in a TikTok. "No scratches, no nothing on my car. So, I went to get my oil changed and the people who did my oil change were kind enough to tell me, ‘hey, you have a coolant leak.’ This was after the accident. I was like okay I’m like, ‘it’s probably from the accident.’ And they’re like, ‘yeah, most likely.’"

Dodge Charger Coolant Leak

Lynn then contacted the auto body shop who fixed her Charger after the accident.

"Okay, cool. So, I call up the people who were … fixing my car. And it was covered by the other person’s insurance. Because I wasn’t at fault. And I call them and they’re like, ‘okay, we put it in your file. You know, it’ll be good, whatever.’ So I get my car back and, two days later, I park on cement and … I saw the leak underneath my car," she said.

Then she contacted the mechanics who were supposed to have fixed the leak. "I was like, ‘hey, there’s still a leak under my car. I need you guys to check this out,’" she says she told the service techs.

This time, she says they told her the accident didn’t actually cause the leak. She was skeptical because the Charger hadn’t had any leaks before the wreck.

According to her, the mechanics argued that the collision was too long ago to have caused the leak. However, additional photos supplied by the mechanic showed parts of her car that were "cracked and dented," Lynn says. She argued that none of those parts were damaged in such a way prior to her accident.

Were The Mechanics Taking Advantage Of Her Gender?

Lynn asks her viewers whether the auto techs were discriminating against her for being a woman, assuming she doesn’t understand how vehicles work, or whether she is mistaken in assuming the auto shop was trying to take advantage of her.

She says she asked her father about the damage to her Dodger, and he agreed that there didn’t seem to be any other reason for it to be leaking.

Lynn acknowledges that her car is a 2013 Charger and a former police sedan, so there is a chance its age is related to the leak. But she believes that if the car was leaking coolant when she purchased it last September, she "would’ve noticed" it sooner.

Commenters offered varying opinions on Lynn’s woes.

One person said that there’s no way the accident caused the leak. "No it’s not. A coolant leak doesn’t happen from a crash especially if you got hit in the rear end," they wrote.

Others recommended that she take her car to a different shop, tell them about the accident, and get their assessment in writing. This way, if they did find that the damage from the crash could have caused the coolant leak, then she could file an insurance claim.

Are Dodge Vehicles Known To Leak Coolant?

Multiple people blamed the car’s age, opining that Dodges aren’t known for being the most mechanically sound rides.

"It’s a Dodge, it’s gonna leak coolant at some point. Could be from the accident or could be a coincidence. Coolant leaks are very common on those, especially radiators," one wrote.

At least one person agreed that the shop didn’t handle her issue in the best possible way. But they also blasted Dodge’s coolant systems. "Lousy shop! May not have been from the accident but you’d think they’d try to get it covered! Dodge coolant parts are super brittle though," they said.

Dodge Charger owners have complained about coolant leaks. One user started a thread on Charger Forums stating that, like Lynn, they have a 2013 Charger. They love the car, but said its coolant system has had multiple problems. "I had to bring my car into the shop twice now for cooling issues alone … had to replace the water pump and now it’s leaking from this Y shaped plastic piece in the back of the engine bay," they wrote.

Another chimed in, "Is it the cooling system or the cheap [expletive] parts they might be using? 2012 SRT on all its original cooling system parts except the thermostat."

A third remarked that replacing water pumps is par for the course for long-term vehicle maintenance. "Water pump is a wear item. Some last, some don’t. The T Fitting is plastic and heat and time causes it to degrade no matter what," they said.

Can A Rear-End Collision Cause A Coolant Leak?

AutoZone writes that loose or damaged hoses and clamps are often to blame for coolant leaks. Crack or damaged radiators can also cause a leak.

Other drivers have said that their cars started leaking coolant after getting rear-ended. A Reddit user said their car started mysteriously leaking coolant after one such accident. They weren’t sure if the leak was caused by the collision, but suspected it could’ve been the cause.

What do you think?

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In a car accident, the force of the collision can damage parts of the vehicle that aren’t in the direct impact area. To be sure that all damage is accounted for after an accident, request a thorough inspection of your vehicle. This way, if anything that isn’t visibly damaged after a collision is found, you have a line of documentation to present to an insurance provider for your claim.

Motor1 has reached out to Lynn via TikTok direct message for further comment and to Dodge via email. We'll update this article if either replies.

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