Two years with our 2021 View 24D

[WillowRider]

[QUOTE I did ask the service tech how common this was and he said he’d never seen this issue on a new rig before.[/QUOTE]


Susan -- Sorry to say I've heard the same thing before only to find reports on club websites and from fellow visitors at RV parks of the same problem. Dealer techs told us they had never seen the major drive train problem we had with our half-year old View only to then have a M-B tech show up with a previously released 4-page technical bulletin describing how to diagnose and fix the problem.
Glad to see, though, that a fix is on the way for yours.

[DrMack]

2017 View 24J
I almost hesitate to post this because I fear an overwhelming demand surge for our favorite RV service business but my ethics training must be respected so here goes:
Outback of Texas RV in Denton, TX. When you find a group of technicians so well trained and dedicated to their craft it is a happy day indeed. We have had all manner of major and minor issues addressed by them with not a single revisit for any problem that they have solved for us over the years.

Another shoutout is deserved by the Mercedes Sprinter experts at Park Cities MB in Arlington, TX. Again, never had to return for the same problems with our chassis that they have addressed for us.

As for parts, Lichtsinn has been amazing for us. I'm not sure if anyone at Winnebago knows more about our coach than the folks at Lichtsinn. Every order has been filled expertly and promptly received. We have never had to return a part.

So that's our winning team and we happily jaunt about the country with peace of mind knowing that when things do go sideways we don't panic or fret about where to go for competent remediation.

Live hard and be sure to pack the frozen margarita machine!

[Bill Potter]

I've bought two brand new Winnabago's but I will never ever buy another. They are a company that has lost their way.

[WillowRider]

DrMack -- Appreciate the recommendations-and sincerely hope never to have to use them. But duly noted. Thanks.



I've read so much about Lightsinn that I feel I need to make a pilgrimage to the pinnacle. Maybe next year's GNR in July? Hmmm.

[DrMack]

Originally Posted by Bill Potter

I've bought two brand new Winnebago's but I will never ever buy another. They are a company that has lost their way.

I will never buy a new RV, period. My brother bought a brand new top of the line Airstream and he had a nightmare of a first year. It has settled down now and our rig hasn't had any major issues in two years. Once it does settle down and all the major bugs are out it is imperative to keep the maintenance up continuously. Don't let the minor issues accumulate. We owned an airplane for many years and we followed the same philosophy with great success.

I must say that our worst experiences have been with dealers, even those who claim to be Winnebago specialists. We've had two experiences with National Indoor and they were pretty good but very expensive.

[rprochnow]

The quality of the dealership could have a huge impact on ownership experience.

When we purchased our first RV, that was one of the reasons we decided to drive 1000 miles to pick up the RV from Lichtsinn, and avoided the local dealers who weren't getting very good reviews on their service.

And that will also be a factor in where we purchase our next RV.

Winnebago identifies their best service dealerships with a Flying W Service Excellence award. If we purchase a Winnebago RV, we'll probably select a Flying W dealership.

For our 2021 View, we've done our annual maintenance at Lichtsinn, and if we have smaller issues that need service, we've gone to Kerrville RV. Both are Flying W.

[WillowRider]

rprochnow – Good to know about the Flying W, with one reservation: All four La Mesa RV dealers are on the Flying W list, including the one in Tucson. If LMRV Tucson is indicative of Flying W dealership quality, Winnebago needs to revamp its qualification criteria! Forty BBB complaints in the last 12 months?


I will keep it in mind, though, just in case. Thanks.

[rprochnow]

Since the Flying W is based on customer satisfaction, if you do have problems with any Winnebago dealer's service, you should contact Winnebago Customer Care to report the issues and see if they can help.

We had a local Winnebago dealer (non Flying W) refuse to even schedule a recall on the coach door strut (that was originally anchored only in plastic on our 2021 View). I contacted Winnebago Customer Care, and they were able to get the dealership to schedule an appointment for us (a month out) - for a repair that took only about an hour.

So if you do have problems - at least contact Winnebago to report the issues, so they're aware of the situation - and they may be able to help to get a better resolution.

[WillowRider]

rprochnow – Point taken. I do have a couple lengthy letters I have sent to LMRV Tucson and to LMRV Corporate. And of course, the above Update. Might be a calming exercise to repackage and contribute to the Flying W database.


Thanks.

[rprochnow]

Unless the dealer resolves the matter, you should report it back to Winnebago.

If they don't hear from customers that are having problems - then they can't address those with the dealer.

Hopefully your case is unusual - and that most of their customers are satisfied, justifying the Flying W award.

[creativepart]

I’ve said this before… but I suspect that Winnebago favors it’s biggest selling dealers to award the Flying W designation. Actually, from Winnebago’s point of view their number one favorites are the dealerships or dealership groups that order the most products. Winnebago doesn’t sell to us individuals. They sell to dealers.

[rprochnow]

We've had Kerrville RV do some of the service on our 2021 View.

They're a small dealership west of San Antonio.

They've provided us excellent service - and are a Flying W dealership.

We have our annual maintenance done by Lichtsinn, and while they claim to be the highest volume Winnebago motorhome dealership, they have also provided us excellent service - and should deserve Flying W recognition.

If customers have major issues with any of the Flying W dealerships, unless they report those back to Winnebago - there's no way for Winnebago to be aware those issues exist.

And, customers with bad experiences should post reviews for their dealer's service - to warn others about potential issues they could encounter with that dealer. Usually online reviews tend to be overly negative, with the customers with serious problems more likely to post - and those with good experiences less likely.