Y2K5SRT
Enthusiast
Recalls, TSB\'s, Cam Bolts, & my new car...
I rarely get to pay a visit to my local Dodge dealer, which is a good thing (means the car is pretty reliable). And let me say that Phil Brown and the folks at Bud Brown Dodge are EXCELLENT people to work with - especially Mike the Viper tech. Now despite never having had a flickering light problem myself, I went ahead and took it in for that recall to get the body control module reflashed. Also wanted the "bog" reflash done on the car - but more on that in a minute. Figured I would also give them a "heads up" on the fan module recall so they could order the replacement part. They have done two of those recalls (affected only some 2003's) with no troubles found.
While I was in there, a tech walked over to my car while it was at the service writer's desk. He said, "Yep, this will be one I have to work on." Knowing he was not the Viper tech (but apparently is the "engine guy"), I told him I didn't think he would be getting it. He said, oh yeah - this is one of those 2004's with the cam bolt issue. I explained that it was, in fact, not a 2004 and didn't have the issue. I then found out that the car on their showroom floor does have the issue and they are waiting to do the work based on "a backorder of parts". Now I don't know what parts are required, but this gentleman said that there were roughly 400 backordered and he wasn't going to bother pulling that SRT off the showroom floor just to have it sit in the shop for a month. I thought that was interesting, as I had never heard of such an issue. I think he was mistaken but would be interested in what other folks are finding.
I got the Viper back after getting to test drive a new Crossfire for a couple hours. (Side note: I really enjoyed that Crossfire a LOT, even though one 2-seater is enough for our 4-person family) Well, the people on this forum were right: That TSB for the "bog" REALLY made a difference! Still a little chilly for WOT around here, but just the basic drivability of the car provided a VERY noticeable difference: Gone was the slight hesitation when I hit the gas and even my downshifts seemed to be a lot smoother as the engine didn't seem to have that momentary hesitation. Now I know that the bog supposedly only happened during certain WOT events when it was warmed up, but I have to tell you that I think I was getting a "reduced version" almost 100% of the time. You know how you can occasionally get that herky-jerky throttle action going at low RPM's? The car really smoothed that out and seemed 100% more responsive. Don't know if it made any difference in power, but it definitely feels a LOT better. It's like a new car to me!
I rarely get to pay a visit to my local Dodge dealer, which is a good thing (means the car is pretty reliable). And let me say that Phil Brown and the folks at Bud Brown Dodge are EXCELLENT people to work with - especially Mike the Viper tech. Now despite never having had a flickering light problem myself, I went ahead and took it in for that recall to get the body control module reflashed. Also wanted the "bog" reflash done on the car - but more on that in a minute. Figured I would also give them a "heads up" on the fan module recall so they could order the replacement part. They have done two of those recalls (affected only some 2003's) with no troubles found.
While I was in there, a tech walked over to my car while it was at the service writer's desk. He said, "Yep, this will be one I have to work on." Knowing he was not the Viper tech (but apparently is the "engine guy"), I told him I didn't think he would be getting it. He said, oh yeah - this is one of those 2004's with the cam bolt issue. I explained that it was, in fact, not a 2004 and didn't have the issue. I then found out that the car on their showroom floor does have the issue and they are waiting to do the work based on "a backorder of parts". Now I don't know what parts are required, but this gentleman said that there were roughly 400 backordered and he wasn't going to bother pulling that SRT off the showroom floor just to have it sit in the shop for a month. I thought that was interesting, as I had never heard of such an issue. I think he was mistaken but would be interested in what other folks are finding.
I got the Viper back after getting to test drive a new Crossfire for a couple hours. (Side note: I really enjoyed that Crossfire a LOT, even though one 2-seater is enough for our 4-person family) Well, the people on this forum were right: That TSB for the "bog" REALLY made a difference! Still a little chilly for WOT around here, but just the basic drivability of the car provided a VERY noticeable difference: Gone was the slight hesitation when I hit the gas and even my downshifts seemed to be a lot smoother as the engine didn't seem to have that momentary hesitation. Now I know that the bog supposedly only happened during certain WOT events when it was warmed up, but I have to tell you that I think I was getting a "reduced version" almost 100% of the time. You know how you can occasionally get that herky-jerky throttle action going at low RPM's? The car really smoothed that out and seemed 100% more responsive. Don't know if it made any difference in power, but it definitely feels a LOT better. It's like a new car to me!
