Number of Defects vs. Coach Build Date (April-June)

[vicsryd]

[No message]

 

[vicsryd]

Only take this poll if your Winnebago/Itasca MH has a BUILD date in the months of April, May or June.

How may defects did your coach have in the first year after delivery?

 

[GG1]

More than 20 and growing

 

[NHRAF145]

Jon,

For what it is worth to you, I have a 2005 Itasca Meridian 34H. Below are a list of the problems that I have had. There haven't been many but just thought you would be interested.

-Air Horn Solenoid
-Drivers Power Seat Motor
-True Air Thermostat, Heat would not come back on.
-Drain From Kitchen sink leaking, not enough PVC cement

Shawn

 

[bobpie]

My slide out ram was leaking hydrolic fluid, the window latches broke, bedroom clock-alarm stoped working, hand vacuum needed replacing, door lock needed replacing, all this under warrenty.

 

[Wolf S]

Don't take this the wrong way...

But, everyone on this board should know by now that you had some problems.

The resolution is usually found at your local dealer, and in extreme cases with factory involvement. Lamenting on this forum does really not solve anything. I have bought several new MH's, most recently a 05 Journey 36G. It came with some problems as expected. Nothing compared to my previous Airstream Land Yacht, It had more bugs than a dog can have flees... In the 70's I had a Champion on a Dodge chassis. Damm it, I was going to forget about this one.

Also, I had several VW campers that needed new engines often.

Bought a new home lately? How long was the punch list? Bought a new car lately? The supossed to be reliable, mass produced Saturns have 2.4 defects per vehicle (JD Power) So,if you allow twice the defects on a motorhome chassis that certainly is not assembled under ideal conditions and an average punch list on a new home of at least 20 items plus follow up warranty repairs by the builder...well, I guess If I have not made the point by now, I might be all wrong.

The moral? Understand your MH, that will keep you from chasing phantom problems. Expect certain imperfections, fix minor items yourself, and approach your dealer polite, firm, and proffessional.

I am not retired, I am the Service Director at one of the countries largest extrem high line car dealers...I can draw a lot of parralels from my work life to my passion, Motorhomes.

Well, I did not mean to upset anyone, just wanted to speak up along these lines for a long time.

Now lets find time to camping and look for great experiances. There are many out there that will by far outway the little anoyances with our Motor Homes.

Wolfgang

05 Journey 36G, 350 Cat, BMW K1200LT in tow

 

[GG1]

Who has time to go camping or just travel when we are chasing all the imperfections down. Tell your story to the buyers who try their best to deal with all the problems with no success or who have their coaches in the service dept for 6 months a year.

 

[MrTransistor]

In response,
Our list is way over 50. Our build date was March 04. I have taken care of 98% of these issues myself. The missing gasket and loose bolts on the power steering pump was an FCC issue fixed at CAT in Ca. and FCC paid us back. Seems like a lot of problems but after owning and 01 Adventurer 37G and an 03 Journey DL 36LD, I'm not complaining. Winnebago seems to do okay. Some dealers aren't what I'd call above board (RMRV in Albuquerque seemed to turn on us after we bought our Horizon from LaMesa). Since I can't compare Winne to other manufacturers other than through these boards, I'm not sure who has the least defects. I do know that I and the wife are happy with our choice and when retirement comes we expect to put even more miles on our house and see as much of America as we can fit in before the Old folks home swallows us up.

 

[vicsryd]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Originally posted by Wolf S:
Don't take this the wrong way...

But, everyone on this board should know by now that you had some problems.

The resolution is usually found at your local dealer, and in extreme cases with factory involvement. Lamenting on this forum does really not solve anything......

....Now lets find time to camping and look for great experiances. There are many out there that will by far outway the little anoyances with our Motor Homes.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

These polls are not about me. My intent with these polls is to cut through the individual stories and see what the global picture really is, both positive and negative. Many folks without problems don't post (i.e. the silence is golden syndrome). So far the polls are starting to flush some of those folks out.

I wish we didn't have to "lament" legitimate issues. But if don't take an active position and don't help each other in dealing with the manufacturers then we are putting ourselves in the same boat as those who have problems with government but do not participating in the democratic process (i.e. don't vote).. Also, in the RV world we are least a leg up from those purchasing new houses as they have no community support to turn to. By the way, my last house 5 years ago was no where near the PIA this motorhome has been.

I'm an engineer (associated to the automotive and truck industries for 27 years and lots of exposure to dealers). I can fix most anything if given the tools and parts. With Winnebago getting the parts has been a challenge. Even under their Trip Saver program it usually takes 5 business days for the parts to show up. Also, in my experience, though not required, it is best to have as much warranty work done by the dealer as possible in order to maintain records within the manufacturers systems.

The dealers end up being a wild card variable though. Winnebago doesn't have a CSI system like Ford, Chrysler and GM so there's no way to rate the dealers in advance or power (or desire?) on Winnebago's part to control them. It seems like vehicle allocation is solely based on sales, not service. In comparison, if a Chrysler 5 Star dealer (5 Star being the highest CSI ranking) started screwing up on service like some RV dealers there would be a feedback loop that could eventually take away the dealer's 5 Star rating and also reduce their vehicle allocations. Consequently, the Chrysler dealers I work with strive very hard to make good on the service side of their operations. I can name a couple that I think are better at it than most Mercedes dealers.

As far as looking getting past the issues and going out and having a good time..we'd love to do that and hopefully will.. In our case there have been enough major problems and dealer/Winnie screw ups trying to fix them that kept the coach "down" and out of our hands that we had to cancel several opportunities to attend local WIT and FMCA chapter rallies. So from my book it's been really difficult to go looking for that good time.

 

[Zimectrin]

May 02

Number of problems requiring attention first year.

2

Leaking Hydralic Hoses---Fixed by HWH on a service bullitin.

Recall of Propane tank mounts--Fixed by WI recall--

Punch list fixes--All fixed by ourselves. All were minor things like adjust door hang, tighten screws.

All in all a good experience.

 

[vicsryd]

Thanks Steve. We need to hear more about the good experiences as well as the problems so the forum becomes a more well rounded experience.