2009 C30 - Replace Engine?
 

Hey guys,
first time poster, 4.5 year owner of a beautiful 2009 C30 (believe it or not, I only have about 30k miles on it). I really love this car, and it has served me very well over the last few years. I haven't had a single issue until just this last thanksgiving. My car is still under warranty, so when I heard an odd metal on metal sound I brought it to the dealer. They basically told me that they needed to change the entire engine out. After 2 weeks, I got my car back, good as new. Or so I think. I really hope so, and I really hope this issue doesn't come up again. I will quote the words from my dealer slip: "confirmed noise from engine. Noise is coming from the damper pulley rubbing on the timing belt. The thrust bearing in the engine is worn and the crank is moving in and out. Spec is .08-0.19MM. Actual measurement is 0.22MM. Contacted hotline and spoke with XYZ code XYZ and was instructed to replace engine."
Is this is a common concern? They mechanic told me that this was really rare, and that I shouldn't worry about it in the future. They also did not extend the warranty on this new engine. While it was VERY generous of them to drop the 10k to fix the engine (I didn't pay a dime), I just hope this wont happen down the line. Any thoughts? I do not want to sell this car and pick up a different car, but would it be a wise decision to avoid problems in the future?
I know very little about cars, and this episode got me into reading about engines and how they work and now I'm starving for information. I've been reading stuff on the internet and checking out ericthecarguy on youtube, very cool stuff. I can't believe the tolerances considered in these machines. I'm still trying to learn more about this stuff and correct me if I'm interpreting this issue incorrectly. My interpretation of this problem is that the damper pulley, which is responsible for reducing vibration to the crankshaft. Because the damper pulley wore out, the crank movements wore out the thrust bearings. Does this sound right? So if my damper pulley wears out again, I'll have to pay to replace the engine again?

Thanks for your time and have a happy new years!

Wow I've never heard of this problem before and I too work at the dealer so I can assure you it doesn't happen all of the time. Although the factoyy warranty doesn't extend if something related to previous problem happens within the next couple of years they should goodwill it.