I noticed the check engine light seemed to stay on but thought that as the motorhome warmed up a bit it would go out. So I backed out of our site and attached our CRV to our roadmaster hitch. I fired up the motorhome once more and the check engine remained on as did the shut engine off light… SIGHHHHHH! Looks like we are in for a delay. A call to the Help Freightliner 1-800 line confirmed my worries… we were going to have to get Abbey towed into a dealer who could diagnose the failed engine code which only read “01”.
Well the two hour wait turned into a 4.5 hour wait as the tow truck driver became lost and couldn’t find the park. Can you believe that this day and age that a tow truck driver doesn’t have a GPS???? Well this one didn’t but he lifted our front wheels up and detached our drive shaft (required for towing a FRED) and we were off for a 50 mile jaunt to H&H Trucking in Hope Mills, NC just south of Fayetteville, NC.\
Following your motorhome down the road while it is being towed is a bit disconcerting especially when you are watching your driver get the tires over the white line into oncoming traffic or very, very close to the edge of the road and the grass along the side… Sigh… After what seemed to be an eternity we arrived at the freightliner shop around 6:30 some 7 hours after we first made our call to Good Sam’s. Probably longer than it should have taken but not Good Sam’s fault.
Anyway H&H said they needed more time to check it out. They pressurized the coolant system and found no leaks, they removed the EGR and verified that it functioned properly, check the oil and transmission for any unwanted water in the system. The conclusion after 4.5 hours of shop labor… they have no idea where the coolant went and they felt pretty sure there is no leak in our system. . So after the drive down to Hope Mills to pay the bill and take Abbey to Raleigh we are certainly hopeful the coolant doesn’t “disappear” again!
H&H did remove the mandatory $90 initial shop fee and took off 1.5 hours of labor since they were unable to solve this dilemma however they did warn us to be vigilant and watch our coolant levels closely. The big lesson learned from this experience for us was, when getting our annual maintenance, even at a highly respected facility, we will ALWAYS check all our fluid levels before leaving. We still don’t know what really happened and can only hope it doesn’t happen again…
So for now we are settled into our site at the Raleigh Fairgrounds and at least we didn’t lose any coolant on the trip up here…
What a mess! At least it turned out well. Very upsetting that a mistake by a service technician caused all this expense, time and trouble.
ReplyDeleteAww heck! Reminds me of our similar delimma a few weeks back -- also in North Carolina when our "stop engine" light was the result of a crankcase filter gone bad.
ReplyDeleteAm sure you are glad your couple of very stressful days are over. On a brighter note, are those red roses blooming along the entry drive to the State Fair Campgrounds? Pick a few for Sharon; they won't miss them.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I do everything possible to do my own mechanical work. Glad your "check engine light" actually meant something was wrong though. Usually with a gas engine it's not something that's an emergency.
ReplyDeleteKevin
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com
I actually sucked in my breath and said "OH NO" out loud when I read your title. What a real bummer of a day for you. SO glad you were close to your daughter and had extra roadside insurance. I think we'd better do that too. We are just relying on our Geico RV coverage roadside assistance. Too bad you had a directionally challenged tow truck driver. Really hoping this was a fluke. Never trust anybody is a sad truth these days. I will surely always check the fluids before driving off after service from now on.
ReplyDeleteGlad things finally worked out and hopefully will not happen again.
ReplyDeleteI always check all our own fluid levels when service is done, and before moving the coach as well a tire pressures too.
Oh dear. We had to have our MH towed once also. What an awful feeling of putting your home in the hands of someone else. So glad they at least found what may be causing the problem.
ReplyDeleteWish our problem was as easy to solve as yours. It has been in the shop for 9 days now with a ghost electrical problem which shut us down entirely on the freeway. We decided to take our HHR back to Florida leaving our "home" in Little Rock because we did have some business in Florida which needed some attention if we had time...and it looks like it was the best use of our time even though it was 900 miles away! Anyway, hope to pick up our "home" on Tuesday if it test out today and on Monday.
ReplyDeleteDave (Marcia and Bubba and Skruffy)
GoingRvWay.com
Wow. You gotta wonder if someone forgot to put that coolant in. You are right about checking things. I know we often trust what they say has been done, now you've made me want to check after service.
ReplyDeleteI know that sinking feeling in your stomach while you watch your rig being towed. It's not fun.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Judy. Our tow was also in N.C. mountains.
ReplyDeleteWhat a day! I'm glad it's over and hope it won't happen again. Good advice about checking for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who always lets mechanics do their thing, Then when they are done she goes over her list with them on each and every thing they did. She had a similar issue of something that wasn't done, so she doesn't trust anyone anymore. She said frequently there is something that was forgotten and they had to go back and take care of it.
YOu said it! Just can't trust service as we travel. Had oil changed at a Walmart. Told them DO NOT do the other checks like tires. They did. Got few miles from them and all four tires rapidly lost pressure as they messed with the valve stems that of our tire monitoring system.
ReplyDeleteTook 2011 F350 to Camping World for oil change. They put WRONG oil in. Luckily hubby saw it on the receipt. The 2011 Diesels take a different oil from previous models. They got rude and thought they were doing us a favor by telling us they would not charge us for the oil they had to remove.
So betca somebody goofed in your case too.
Oh my. Just following the Phaeton in the toad is stressful; I can't imagine what it would feel like if it were being towed.
ReplyDeleteWe had our check engine light come on once in the Keys due to low coolant levels. The engine shut down too. We learned that going over a bridge triggered the sensor. We let the engine rest, the light went out, and we limped to our destination where we added more coolant. That towing experience must have frazzled your nerves. Are you staying at Falls Park in Durham? We enjoyed our stay there.
ReplyDeleteWe learned when we had our DEF sensor issue that the check engine light is most likely -low coolant. However that was not the case for us. You have to think they did not fill the coolant properly.
ReplyDeleteWhew...We had the dreaded "alternator fail" light. Ron had to replace it with a rebuilt one along with the battery isolator. We thought we were going to have to be towed. We're just glad for you that no major problem was found. At least you're in Raleigh now where you can visit one of the new breweries!
ReplyDeleteWow. Not fun! Hopefully it was a one time thing.
ReplyDeleteThat is probably one of my worst nightmares, but at least the coach didn't stop on the side of the interstate, or worse yet, going up a mountain!
ReplyDeleteWe learned long ago about checking up after any mechanic does anything to our vehicles, tires, oil, coolant. I hope things will be okay now, but I bet you'll be nervous for a while.
Hope things are going better for you today!!!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry, but you handled it like a champ. Blessings for a safe and uneventful rest of year.
ReplyDeletegood grief. . .glad all is well, and you are back on the road!
ReplyDelete