quality concerns 2023 Minnie Winnie

[sharrisbhs]

We are new owners. Grew-up in Davenport Iowa and always dreamed of owning a Winnebago. Purchased a new (first owners) 2023 Minnie Winnie in August 2024. 4 mos. ago. And we have had multiple problems! The problems seem fixable but the Arizona authorized dealers are weeks behind.

On our first "away trip" the rear bedroom slider would not retract. Called roadside. The got it closed within 12 inches. Limped home. Waiting 4 weeks for the dealer to fix it.

The refrig door swung open while driving and broke off! Thin plastic hinges. Now I strap it down before driving.

The "auto jack" cylinders have external springs to retract the jacks. They fall off. Come of easily but impossible to put back on!! Without the springs the jacks will not totally retract.

The status board has gone dark twice.

The refrigerator won't work on LP. Fixed 3 times. (its on the front slider a bad design)

Multiple roof leaks. We camped in the rain last week. Now concerned about BLACK MOLD developing.

Everything is covered by the Winnebago warranty which does no good if you can get into a dealer.


MY QUESTION: I have been advised to take it back to the factory in Forest City Iowa. Multiple of complaints about the RV authorized service centers in Arizona.
This is a 1,500 drive each way and it's Winter! Has anyone had experience with the factory services? Is it worth the effort?

I really appreciate your advice.

 

[creativepart]

Welcome to WinnieOwners forum.

First, I’m sure all of us are sorry for the problems you are experiencing. Unfortunately, your experience is not unusual in the entire RV industry. It’s certainly not just Winnebago or the Minnie Winnie that has this problem. But I realize that doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

Besides the actual issues you’re having, it’s the dealer service issues that make things so much worse.

Most RV dealers are over scheduled, understaffed and definitely lousy at warranty repairs. The end result is that your warranty is almost worthless. This is common in the RV world and dealers generally don’t care. They make more money with less hassle doing non-warranty work so the make it so painful to bring your RV in for warranty repairs that you either go elsewhere or you stop trying. And their contract with the manufacturer has very little power to force the dealer to take better care of the customer.

Not all dealers are like this but finding one that is any good is very difficult. Usually the warranty runs out before you figure out what’s going on.

Many of us give up on dealers. We either figure out a way to fix things ourselves or we find good non-dealer repair shops or independent techs to handle problems. Luckily, once initial problems are tackled things generally slow down and repairs are less frequent… but it seems there are always repairs needed.

That’s why a trip to the factory can be beneficial in getting everything corrected under warranty.

I’ve owned 5 RVs and have had similar problems with each one and founds RV dealers impossible to work with. When I bought my motorhome new I immediately made an appointment with the factory service department for 6-months in the future. It required a trip from South Texas to Northern Iowa but it certainly was a help getting all the little and big issues fixed completely.

In Arizona, I know of one Winnebago dealer I’d expect to do as good a job fixing things as the factory and that’s NIRVC in Phoenix. Trouble is they are hard to get in to for service because they are super busy because they sell many different brands and everyone knows they are the best so everyone goes there.

Your fridge issue can be handled directly with the fridge manufacturer. It has its own warranty so call their customer support and get the fridge fixed or replaced. The leaks are a Winnebago problem and you need to work on finding the cause and getting that corrected. An independent shop or tech willing to work with Winnebago warranty claims can be a good solution.

Slides are a common problem across the entire industry and can be something many independent techs are good at fixing.

Don’t give up. Call Winnebago Customer Care and be the squeaky wheel. Be persistent and demand satisfaction. It’s a hassle but you can get passed this hard first year.

 

[sharrisbhs]

Thank you! Is it worth the effort to take it back to thr factory? I am retired so we have the time.
Thanks again.
Steve Harris

 

[creativepart]

Thank you! Is it worth the effort to take it back to thr factory? I am retired so we have the time.
Thanks again.
Steve Harris

We found it worth the effort. But because of winter weather we made our appointment months in advance for mid-May. We also made a larger trip out of the event and explored multiple other states as part of the service call.

I’d call NIRVC in Phoenix first, just to see if you can get in. They have locations in a number of other states as well.

 

[creativepart]

I see you’re in Green Valley, there are plenty of great independent service techs in Tucson, especially in the Winter months. Many techs from northern climates spend the winter in southern Arizona.

We spend much of Jan and Feb in Tucson and get a few projects completed while there. I can’t recommend any one person, we usually get recommendations from the campground. But I wouldn’t go to any of the big dealers in Tucson. Maybe Cassones in Mesa. https://cassonesrv.com/repair/ but I’ve not been there, just heard they are good.

 

[Pointyears]

The leaks are a Winnebago problem and you need to work on finding the cause and getting that corrected. An independent shop or tech willing to work with Winnebago warranty claims can be a good solution.

This should be far and away OP's highest priority.

 

[sharrisbhs]

we found it worth the effort. But because of winter weather we made our appointment months in advance for mid-may. We also made a larger trip out of the event and explored multiple other states as part of the service call.

I’d call nirvc in phoenix first, just to see if you can get in. They have locations in a number of other states as well.

thank you very much. I will call nirvc tomorrow.

 

[sharrisbhs]

Thank you. I will make some calls.

 

[Atlsoapguy]

Quality Concerns 2023 Minnie Winnie

We are new owners. Grew-up in Davenport Iowa and always dreamed of owning a Winnebago. Purchased a new (first owners) 2023 Minnie Winnie in August 2024. 4 mos. ago. And we have had multiple problems! The problems seem fixable but the Arizona authorized dealers are weeks behind.

On our first "away trip" the rear bedroom slider would not retract. Called roadside. The got it closed within 12 inches. Limped home. Waiting 4 weeks for the dealer to fix it.

The refrig door swung open while driving and broke off! Thin plastic hinges. Now I strap it down before driving.

The "auto jack" cylinders have external springs to retract the jacks. They fall off. Come of easily but impossible to put back on!! Without the springs the jacks will not totally retract.

The status board has gone dark twice.

The refrigerator won't work on LP. Fixed 3 times. (its on the front slider a bad design)

Multiple roof leaks. We camped in the rain last week. Now concerned about BLACK MOLD developing.

Everything is covered by the Winnebago warranty which does no good if you can get into a dealer.


MY QUESTION: I have been advised to take it back to the factory in Forest City Iowa. Multiple of complaints about the RV authorized service centers in Arizona.
This is a 1,500

drive each way and it's Winter! Has anyone had experience with the factory services? Is it worth the effort?

I really appreciate your advice.

• Leak behind shower walll resulted in damage trim.
• Both pass through doors leaked.
• Slide out controller went out.
• Multiple short stopvreakers have gone base from water damage.
• Freezer door latch broke.
• Counter extension wasn’t installed when we purchased.

The service center all seem to be very busy. We were down for a slide out problem and it took 4 months to get it back from our distributor in Florida.
It’s a love hate relationship for us. We love our 2021 2108 FBS, but we hate it for the quality issues we have had. We have spent 135 nights in it since we bought it.

 

[TJFogelberg]

Go to Forest City. You are under factory warranty and they can address your issues. (We bought a new 2017 Minnie Winnie in Oct 2016 and had a litany of issues from day one. Numerous trips to Forest City eventually got everything resolved. Some of it occurred after the 12 months elapsed and they still covered the bad transfer switch 100%. A few things happened after 12 months and we ended up paying full price for). Our contact person was Al Steen [email protected] 641-585-6276. For jack issues, HWH in Moscow Iowa is fantastic. They fixed our jacks under warranty, no charge, free ON parking.). Stay on site and they'll let you sleep in your rig. Or if you come now (winter), get a motel room. It will be worth the hassle and expense in the end. Fast forward to now, we are trouble free for the most part. Our dealer (Bullyan in Duluth) fixed a kinked gas line during the first 12 months...no charge, they ran it through Winnebago. But they refused to come to our campsite (90 minutes away) and help us when the jacks wouldn't retract. HWH eventually walked us through how to manually retract them and then we took it to Moscow Iowa for service. It's hard to believe all this crap still goes on with a company that has been in business for 60 years.

 

[bcoldpro]

We are new owners. Grew-up in Davenport Iowa and always dreamed of owning a Winnebago. Purchased a new (first owners) 2023 Minnie Winnie in August 2024. 4 mos. ago. And we have had multiple problems! The problems seem fixable but the Arizona authorized dealers are weeks behind.

On our first "away trip" the rear bedroom slider would not retract. Called roadside. The got it closed within 12 inches. Limped home. Waiting 4 weeks for the dealer to fix it.

The refrig door swung open while driving and broke off! Thin plastic hinges. Now I strap it down before driving.

The "auto jack" cylinders have external springs to retract the jacks. They fall off. Come of easily but impossible to put back on!! Without the springs the jacks will not totally retract.

The status board has gone dark twice.

The refrigerator won't work on LP. Fixed 3 times. (its on the front slider a bad design)

Multiple roof leaks. We camped in the rain last week. Now concerned about BLACK MOLD developing.

Everything is covered by the Winnebago warranty which does no good if you can get into a dealer.


MY QUESTION: I have been advised to take it back to the factory in Forest City Iowa. Multiple of complaints about the RV authorized service centers in Arizona.
This is a 1,500 drive each way and it's Winter! Has anyone had experience with the factory services? Is it worth the effort?

I really appreciate your advice.

Where is the water leaking in from? From the area at the upper front bunk? I have some insight if that is your issue.

 

[bcoldpro]

We are new owners. Grew-up in Davenport Iowa and always dreamed of owning a Winnebago. Purchased a new (first owners) 2023 Minnie Winnie in August 2024. 4 mos. ago. And we have had multiple problems! The problems seem fixable but the Arizona authorized dealers are weeks behind.

On our first "away trip" the rear bedroom slider would not retract. Called roadside. The got it closed within 12 inches. Limped home. Waiting 4 weeks for the dealer to fix it.

The refrig door swung open while driving and broke off! Thin plastic hinges. Now I strap it down before driving.

The "auto jack" cylinders have external springs to retract the jacks. They fall off. Come of easily but impossible to put back on!! Without the springs the jacks will not totally retract.

The status board has gone dark twice.

The refrigerator won't work on LP. Fixed 3 times. (its on the front slider a bad design)

Multiple roof leaks. We camped in the rain last week. Now concerned about BLACK MOLD developing.

Everything is covered by the Winnebago warranty which does no good if you can get into a dealer.


MY QUESTION: I have been advised to take it back to the factory in Forest City Iowa. Multiple of complaints about the RV authorized service centers in Arizona.
This is a 1,500 drive each way and it's Winter! Has anyone had experience with the factory services? Is it worth the effort?

I really appreciate your advice.

Where is your roof leak? Upper front bunk area?

 

[Wmlunt-WO]

Vroom replacement slides will fix all slide issues, once and for all