Boy what an absolutely frustrating day. In an earlier thread, I posted how my check engine light came on on my '05 1500 Hemi last Saturday. The dealer I took it to (not the one I bought it from, I was out of town when the light came on) fit me in and told me that code P0420 came up and that my catalytic converter needed to be replaced. I was surprised since I only had 5100 miles on my truck but it did lose some acceleration and the exhaust smelled a little sulphuric. I went to my dealer this past Monday to show them the printout I got from the other dealer and they proceeded to order me a new cat with an install date of today. I show up today to have the cat replaced, my oil changed, e-brake checked and to also have the Borla exhaust installed since my stock exhaust had to be removed to get at the cat. Well, I get checked in, give them my keys, head to the lobby and about 20 minutes later, my service rep comes out to tell me there was a communication error on their end, my cat hadn't come in. The parts department received three cats but they were all for cars, mine was on back order. Needless to say I was little miffed, the service guy told me that they are looking for one and as soon as it comes in, they'll call me. He was thinking sometime later today, at worse next week. What do I find out this afternoon, they are being told 1/4/06!!!! Now I'm pissed, I have to wait another 2-3 weeks before a new cat comes in? What I'm told, and I can see their point, this is not an item that Dodge would recognize as a problem area this early and there is no demand for them so they just don't have them available in a warehouse. Of course, how does this help me??

So, I'm stewing all day about this and I headed back over to the dealer before they closed as I had a brain fart of an idea. What if the other dealer misdiagnosed the problem? What harm would it be to look into it again in case something else was the problem? I had nothing to lose, my new cat wouldn't be coming in for 2-3 weeks and I couldn't install my Borla until that was fixed. What bothered me a little since Saturday is the service dept. said the check engine light would stay on until the problem was fixed. Well, it never came back but the sluggishness was still there so I knew there was definetely some sort of a problem. I relayed to my dealer's service guy and he scratches his head a bit and says well it's worth looking into.

Well, another service guy, could be the manager as he was dressed a little nicer, overheard the conversation, what the symptoms were, what the code was and said, this is a computer problem/O2 sensor problem, not a bad cat. He printed a TSB for the '05 1500 Hemi that talks exactly about the problem I had, the P0420 code and what the fix was. I need an updated O2 sensor (my truck's build date is 11/04) and to have the computer flashed to clear computer and get my systme running right again i.e. fixing the sluggishness, not a new cat! Had they replaced my cat, the problem still would've been there.

Unbelievable you know?! I don't know who I'm more irritated with, the dealer that I thought was being helpful by fitting me in and then giving me the wrong diagnosis or my dealer for not knowing/pointing out this TSB until I was relentless with my phone calls today. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! I guess I should be happy, it's an easier fix, the O2 sensor is supposed to be easier to get and I can get my Borla put on tomorrow.

 

Wow, that is quite an experience. You'd figure that if both places hooked up a scanner and got the same code, they come up with the same answer.

Good luck getting all this sorted out and let us know how it goes.

 

My own dealer didn't hook up the scanner, they took the other dealers paperwork at face value. Can't say at the time that I don't blame them but knowing what I know now, it concerns me why this TSB didn't even come up on their radar screen. Now I await my new O2 sensor so they can install it and reflash my computer so my truck stops running a little sluggish and eating more gas.

On a brighter note, they installed my Borla cat back for free so that's cool and boy does it sound great.

 

Wow, I just had this code come up this morning on my way into work. I just took in to the shop last week to have them fix my last code which I think was a P0406 EGR Valve replaced. The factory warranty expires on the 23rd of this month and today is the 19th of Feb 08. The dealership is going tot try to squeeze me in today to have a look at it. And just think I just had them go over this thing last week to find anything else that could repaired while it was still covered. I had it in the shop twice last week. No worries though because they are still going to fix it under the warranty.

What the heck is this code? Is it a O2 code?

Shawn

 

It's supposed to be a catalyst inefficiency code. However, a bad 02 sensor would give the wrong readings, which could pop this code. I'm sure the dealer will check the cheaper fix of the 02 sensor before replacing an expensive cat.

 

Well, another one! I would asume its been fixed a long time ago since the thread is 2 years old!

 

They have to replace my CAT