Broke Down Again

from JoeUser Forums

I am really getting fed up with this truck. Yesterday the turn signals kept tripping the flasher breaker and I had to stop at the dealership in Salt Lake City to have that checked out. Turned out the wiring harness for the left front turn signal and headlights got pinched in the hood's hinge and was shorting to ground. Luckily the shop guy found it right away as he'd seen it before, and I was on my way again pretty quickly after he spliced and repaired the wiring.

I stopped in Western WY last night where I met a fellow driver who was born in Dublin, Ireland. We set off and celebrated St Patty's day together and had a pretty good time.

This morning I inspected my truck, checked all the fluid levels, and hit the road heading East. Just outside of Cheyenne the stupid truck went into shutdown mode and  I had to find a place to pull off quickly before the engine shut itself off.

I pulled off on an exit ramp and got stopped just the engine quit. I checked things out and discovered that once again I was losing coolant. Damn! I also noticed some oil dripping underneath the truck and sure enough I had also lost a gallon of oil over the last 300 miles. Now what?

I had to call the TA truckstop to send out road service to bring me enough oil and coolant to restart the truck so I could get it to the dealership which was only about 5 miles away. They robbed me of over $300 just to bring me two gallons of coolant and a gallon of oil. Literal highway robbery.

I made it to the dealership and did a bit of ranting and raving about the repeated problems with the truck and demanded that they contact the factory about replacing the engine as this one is a lemon. They said they'd try to find out what was going on with it and would call me when they know. Yeah. Right.

I am now checked into a very nice hotel in downtown Cheyenne. This place was built in 1911 and must have been the ritzy hotel in it's day. I like it although the rooms are somewhat small compared to more modern built hotels. The lobby is quite impressive and they have a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, and some other stuff I have yet to explore. Lots of marble and very expensive looking furnishings.

The room is nice and while the place was remodeled a few years ago they made a point of retaining most of the original doors, woodwork, and fixtures. It's like stepping back into the past and is very comfortable. If not for the modern things like electronic door lock, television, and touchtone telephone one could easily imagine staying here in the early 20th century.

Amazingly enough the place has quite reasonable rates. I don't know what their normal room rate is here but they have a deal worked out with the dealership to give those of us staying over for repaairs a pretty good deal on a room.

I am hoping this time will be a quick and easy repair instead of dragging on all week as the previous ones did, but I'm not holding my breath.

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1,495 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
I guess it is lucky you were near a dealer. Hopefully they can fix it properly this time.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
I guess it is lucky you were near a dealer. Hopefully they can fix it properly this time.
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I hope so. They called me earlier this evening and said they had found a couple of problems that sound to me like they were just shoddy work from the last ones to work on it. They are wanting to charge us about $1500 to fix it. As I feel it should be covered under warranty I told him he'd have to talk to my people at the office in the morning. No way I'm giving the ok on that bill when it should be warranty work.
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
No way I'm giving the ok on that bill when it should be warranty work.
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I dont blame you. How long have you had the truck? It seems like less than a year. And that should be warranty.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
No way I'm giving the ok on that bill when it should be warranty work.I dont blame you. How long have you had the truck? It seems like less than a year. And that should be warranty.
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Yeah the truck is an '06 model and as it has less than a quarter of a million miles on it is still under warranty. This morning they told me it would be ready to go "some time" tomorrow. My boss said he would just pay the bill and take up the warranty issue with the factory.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
I am now checked into a very nice hotel in downtown Cheyenne. This place was built in 1911 and must have been the ritzy hotel in it's day. I like it although the rooms are somewhat small compared to more modern built hotels. The lobby is quite impressive and they have a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, and some other stuff I have yet to explore. Lots of marble and very expensive looking furnishings.
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Kinda interesting how sometimes bad things have to happen to people to come across such nice places one would probably never noticed or go to. Do you normally stay at hotels or sleep in the truck? Sorry for the question I have not faithfully followed your blogs so there is a lot I don't know about you.

I hope so. They called me earlier this evening and said they had found a couple of problems that sound to me like they were just shoddy work from the last ones to work on it. They are wanting to charge us about $1500 to fix it. As I feel it should be covered under warranty I told him he'd have to talk to my people at the office in the morning. No way I'm giving the ok on that bill when it should be warranty work.
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I often wonder if mechanics lose money when it comes to warranties since you would think they would try to help people out so they didn't have to pay by simply pointing out this can be covered by the warranty. But, God forbid businesses actually thought about the customer and not the $ signs floating around them.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Do you normally stay at hotels or sleep in the truck?
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Most of the time I sleep in the truck. It has a very nice sleeper.

I often wonder if mechanics lose money when it comes to warranties since you would think they would try to help people out so they didn't have to pay by simply pointing out this can be covered by the warranty.
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They don't lose anything for doing warranty work. They get paid by the factory. Some shops simply don't like to wait for that check from the factory or want to over charge for the work which they know the factory won't stand for and won't pay.
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
And that should be warranty.
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They always find a way to get out of the warranty! Hope it's not too long a wait to get your truck repaired this time M!
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
And that should be warranty.They always find a way to get out of the warranty! Hope it's not too long a wait to get your truck repaired this time M!
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Yeah they do. Thanks, it's supposed to be ready tomorrow.