Truck Repair in Beaverton, Oregon

If you do much traveling with a truck and camper you are going to have mechanical problems. There are just too many moving parts. Last year we were smoking down the road when three cylinders of the mighty Cummins diesel shut down in what Chrysler calls "limp home" mode. We were in Clarksville, Arkansas and everything worked out ok.

Two fuel injectors have gone bad and been replaced under warranty. I watched the mechanic replace the fuel injector in Clarksville last year and knew I could replace one. I almost purchased a fuel injector before we left on this trip so I would have a spare. I knew my 100,000 mile engine warranty would expire early in the trip and I figured I could replace an injector myself. But an injector is an expensive piece of gear to throw behind the seat not knowing when or if I would ever need it. I was more worried about the transmission. About a third of the miles on this truck are towing miles. It has been across country to California three times, once to Maine and once to Long Island, New York. Plus all the trips in NC.

Anyway, a day or so after the warranty expired in St Louis, the truck idled very rough when we fired her up in the morning. Something was obviously wrong and there was a strong unburned diesel smell in the exhaust. Definitely a fuel injector but this time it was a mechanical problem, not an electrical problem. I plugged in my code reader but the computer was not giving any hints as to which injector was bad.

My first thought was to wait until we got home to fix the problem. I did not think the injector would completely stop working and the truck still ran ok, especially after it warmed up towing. But I was concerned.

So I called Chrysler and spoke with Bernie. I knew that sometimes Chrysler will help customers out if a part fails close to the warranty expiration. He could not promise anything until a dealer did some diagnostics. We discussed my travel plans and decided that Northwest Jeep Chrysler Dodge in Beaverton, Oregon would be a good place to visit in a couple of days. I called and spoke with Ron who scheduled an appointment for 7:00 AM in a couple of days.

We were there bright and early at 6:30 AM on Thursday morning. We dropped the camper in the lot and they looked at the truck right away. The number 5 injector had completely failed and a couple of other injectors were marginal. They recommended replacing them all. Bernie asked the dealership to perform a number of tests and then offered to cover 50% of the cost of 6 injectors and installation. The dealership had 3 injectors and 3 more were in Portland but those would not be available until the next day unless I paid a 15% special handling fee to get them there around 2:00 PM. That was going to be more than $300. Dennis, the Service Director, overheard that conversation and said to get the injectors there today. The dealership would cover that charge.

To wrap this story up, Ben the mechanic got me going around 5:00 PM and I saw him using a torque wrench which makes me very happy as there are several parts that must be torqued to spec, not just to what "feels right." I had planned to replace four injectors myself (two had already been replaced under warranty) as they went bad. This day I got all six injectors replaced for just a little more than I had planned to spend on four.

I never thought large corporations cared about customer loyalty. But I was wrong. It was noted that this was my fourth Dodge truck and the third diesel. Had that not been the case I would have been told to hit the road. I was almost 3,000 miles out of warranty.

Chrysler treated me well and Northwest Jeep Chrysler Dodge was very helpful. Dennis stated that he could easily find himself in the same situation as me. They recommended a good place for breakfast, let us unhook the camper in their lot, had great Wi-Fi and got us on the road again the same day.

Thank you Dennis, Ron and Ben. My truck is purring again.

But wait, there is more. One of the mechanics lived in Wake County, NC three years ago and still owns a house there. The house is on Old Stage Road on Ten-Ten, just a few miles from our house. He also worked at the dealership in North Raleigh where I bought this truck. What are the odds???