2015 etrek house battery explode , Mercedes battery smoked

[Cryptofit]

Hello this is extremely long story and I want to keep this short to ask my question.

Basically I became aware of fumes in the RV and drove to a mechanic and realize the battery was smoking. Mercedes batteries. I had to park next-door at a gas station because no room to work on it at the mechanic. He opened it up and saw that the house battery in the engine was bulging and cracked .
.
I called Roadtrek when I saw that because I knew it was a Roadtrek issue

Eventually (3 days later). I had to have it towed to garage that could handle size.

After a week of dealing with a mechanic/owner who did not take the time to call Road trek to figure out what to do. She finally to call last night after hours and they told her what to look for. Basically She has done nothing but lie to me and saying she’s going to get going on it. So frustrating. Spending $100 a night for a hotel room and no car and nobody cares to help.

Again she has waited till after hours to call them but she did talk to the guy and he is saying it’s a Mercedes problem because the power splitter that separates the battery charge (24-12v) was broken and so it blew up both the batteries. So I think they’re going to make me go to Mercedes to get it fixed or have her call Mercedes. This does not seem right.

This electrical system has never worked right I’ve always had to turn the engine on just use the microwave air conditioner or stove. It takes forever to charge and when it does charge it doesn’t last for very long before I have to idle the engine again.

The Roadtrek guy also told her I do not need the equalizer because there is already a power splitter in the Mercedes engine for 12-24v


I feel like road trek is sweeping me under the rug and not even going to deal with it till next week and I’m stuck in a hotel with no car for over a week now. Any suggestions? I feel like they’re going to push Off Mercedes and I have a feeling Mercedes is not going to cover it. I am 100% certain Mercedes not gonna let a local mechanic work on it

Also I thought all 2015 and before Etreks are suppose to have equalizer installed. Mine does not and Roadtrek said I don’t need it.

BTW. I bought this used in January and since then, it already had both alternator belts replaced after they both fell off and were shredded.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by Cryptofit

Hello this is extremely long story and I want to keep this short to ask my question.

Basically I became aware of fumes in the RV and drove to a mechanic and realize the battery was smoking. Mercedes batteries. I had to park next-door at a gas station because no room to work on it at the mechanic. He opened it up and saw that the house battery in the engine was bulging and cracked .
.
I called Roadtrek when I saw that because I knew it was a Roadtrek issue

After a week of dealing with a mechanic who did not take the time to call Road trekto figure out what to do for entire week. She finally to call last night after hours and they told her what to look for. Basically She has done nothing but lie to me and saying she’s going to get going on it. So frustrating. Spending $100 a night for a hotel room and no car and nobody cares to help.

Again she has waited till after hours to call them but she did talk to the guy and he is saying it’s a Mercedes problem because the power splitter that separates the battery charge (24-12v) was broken and so it blew up both the batteries. So I think they’re going to make me go to Mercedes to get it fixed or have her call Mercedes. This does not seem right.

This electrical system has never worked right I’ve always had to turn the engine on just use the microwave air conditioner or stove. It takes forever to charge and when it does charge it does last for very long before I have to idle the engine again.

The Roadtrek guy also told her I do not need the equalizer because there is already a power splitter in the Mercedes engine for 12-24v


I feel like road trek is sweeping me under the rug and not even going to deal with it till next week and I’m stuck in a hotel with no car for over a week now. Any suggestions? I feel like they’re going to push Off Mercedes and I have a feeling Mercedes is not going to cover it. I am 100% certain Mercedes not gonna let a local mechanic work on it

Also I thought all 2015 and before Etreks are suppose to have equalizer installed. Mine does not and Roadtrek said I don’t need it.

BTW. I bought this used in January and since then, it already had both alternator belts replaced after they both fell off and were shredded.

Are you experiencing failures of both the coach and the engine starting battery or just the coach batteries. Did both alternator belts fail simultaneously? Do you have a voltmeter on your panel?

[markopolo]

The week long delay must be very upsetting. I don't know if Roadtrek will be open on the weekend or not. I think that you need to contact them yourself and find out where they want the vehicle to be taken to.

Make sure that the local mechanic is aware that the coach has eight 6volt batteries on the house side and probably one 12volt battery for the engine.

A bulging house battery points to a Roadtrek issue.

If Roadtrek is unavailable over the weekend I suggest using their service center locator page to find the ones nearest to you - https://www.roadtrek.com/locators/ - then call them until you find one that is able and interested in helping sort this out. Make sure the Roadtrek service center knows that the local mechanic had initiated a call to Roadtrek.

[markopolo]

There might be some useful info in this topic: http://www.classbforum.com/forums/f2...ment-6802.html

According to the posts, Aug 1 2015 is when Roadtrek slashed the battery warranty from 5 years down to only the 1 year provided by the battery manufacturer. You'd have to assume the battery claims were getting to be or forecast to be too expensive for Roadtrek.

An Etrek with an in service date prior to Aug 1 2015 should have a 5 year warranty on the batteries.

If the in service date of the RV is after Aug 1 2015 then check to see when the battery was installed. It's possible that it is a replacement battery that has a warranty from the battery manufacturer.

Get a printed report of the diagnosis now. It is something you will need to prove whether the failure is the fault of a Roadtrek supplied part or Roadtrek workmanship or a Mercedes part.

I see that you made some clarifications/additions to your original post:

Originally Posted by Cryptofit

I called Roadtrek when I saw that because I knew it was a Roadtrek issue

Eventually (3 days later). I had to have it towed to garage that could handle size.

I assuming that it is now at a service facility authorized by Roadtrek.

Originally Posted by Cryptofit

....... but she did talk to the guy and he is saying it’s a Mercedes problem because the power splitter that separates the battery charge (24-12v) was broken and so it blew up both the batteries.

Get a photo of that part now. Along with the printed report of the diagnosis it will prove to be very valuable later as a dispute resolution aid. My assumption is the 24v to 12v splitter is a Roadtrek installed part. I can't think of why it would be a Mercedes installed part as the original van would have been 12v. The E-trek part of the conversion would be the 24v system.

Originally Posted by Cryptofit

The Roadtrek guy also told her I do not need the equalizer because there is already a power splitter in the Mercedes engine for 12-24v

That sounds unlikely to me as I would think that is a Roadtrek installed part. Phone Mercedes help with the power splitter part number to find out if it is indeed theirs. Get the answer in an email as written proof as one more dispute resolution aid.

[booster]

Roadtrek seems to be distancing themselves from anything to do with etrek AGM batteries and their associated issues, especially the ones that have the long warranty still in place. It as if they don't want to honor any claims on them, as we have heard of quite a few denials of warranty, especially for second owners. As was mentioned, the warranty costs on them has to be very high.


To me, it is rather astounding that they continue to say the units don't have problems, and won't put balancers in them for customers that have issues. Of course if they did admit that they needed balancers, then they would be more likely to get stuck with the battery costs that were caused by not have balancers.


There have been quite a few discussions lately about Roadtrek and their warranty, so I think things like this would indicate that those who would buy based on warranty alone might be disappointed over time. This applies to all RVs, not just Roadtrek, of course.


High tech, integrated, systems are very practical and can do a lot of things, but if they become "orphans" either because the company goes out of business, the parts are discontinued, or the warranty not honored, you can be in for a very major expense to replace them.

[Cryptofit]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

Are you experiencing failures of both the coach and the engine starting battery or just the coach batteries. Did both alternator belts fail simultaneously? Do you have a voltmeter on your panel?

Originally Posted by markopolo

The week long delay must be very upsetting. I don't know if Roadtrek will be open on the weekend or not. I think that you need to contact them yourself and find out where they want the vehicle to be taken to.

Make sure that the local mechanic is aware that the coach has eight 6volt batteries on the house side and probably one 12volt battery for the engine.

A bulging house battery points to a Roadtrek issue.

If Roadtrek is unavailable over the weekend I suggest using their service center locator page to find the ones nearest to you - https://www.roadtrek.com/locators/ - then call them until you find one that is able and interested in helping sort this out. Make sure the Roadtrek service center knows that the local mechanic had initiated a call to Roadtrek.

Originally Posted by markopolo

There might be some useful info in this topic: http://www.classbforum.com/forums/f2...ment-6802.html

According to the posts, Aug 1 2015 is when Roadtrek slashed the battery warranty from 5 years down to only the 1 year provided by the battery manufacturer. You'd have to assume the battery claims were getting to be or forecast to be too expensive for Roadtrek.

An Etrek with an in service date prior to Aug 1 2015 should have a 5 year warranty on the batteries.

If the in service date of the RV is after Aug 1 2015 then check to see when the battery was installed. It's possible that it is a replacement battery that has a warranty from the battery manufacturer.

Get a printed report of the diagnosis now. It is something you will need to prove whether the failure is the fault of a Roadtrek supplied part or Roadtrek workmanship or a Mercedes part.

I see that you made some clarifications/additions to your original post:



I assuming that it is now at a service facility authorized by Roadtrek.



Get a photo of that part now. Along with the printed report of the diagnosis it will prove to be very valuable later as a dispute resolution aid. My assumption is the 24v to 12v splitter is a Roadtrek installed part. I can't think of why it would be a Mercedes installed part as the original van would have been 12v. The E-trek part of the conversion would be the 24v system.



That sounds unlikely to me as I would think that is a Roadtrek installed part. Phone Mercedes help with the power splitter part number to find out if it is indeed theirs. Get the answer in an email as written proof as one more dispute resolution aid.

Originally Posted by booster

Roadtrek seems to be distancing themselves from anything to do with etrek AGM batteries and their associated issues, especially the ones that have the long warranty still in place. It as if they don't want to honor any claims on them, as we have heard of quite a few denials of warranty, especially for second owners. As was mentioned, the warranty costs on them has to be very high.


To me, it is rather astounding that they continue to say the units don't have problems, and won't put balancers in them for customers that have issues. Of course if they did admit that they needed balancers, then they would be more likely to get stuck with the battery costs that were caused by not have balancers.


There have been quite a few discussions lately about Roadtrek and their warranty, so I think things like this would indicate that those who would buy based on warranty alone might be disappointed over time. This applies to all RVs, not just Roadtrek, of course.


High tech, integrated, systems are very practical and can do a lot of things, but if they become "orphans" either because the company goes out of business, the parts are discontinued, or the warranty not honored, you can be in for a very major expense to replace them.

Thank you to all you guys that have replied.

It is gotten so much worse. The lady mechanic/owner had some other lady call and scream and yell at me to either bring batteries over to replace or they were going to have my RV towed. She said she was owner.

Now the other lady won’t return my calls or text messages

I am in the Denver area in the RV is sitting there exposed it is 27° outside. They haven’t even lock the doors. I am going to post the website and the phone number and if anybody can help please help.

I am solo female van dweller. With zero support network .

My Rv is being destroyed as we speak.

[Cryptofit]

The lady finally replied and will not give me an estimate just to get that Rv off her lot. At this point all I want her to do is replace the two batteries that we know were destroyed and the splitter thing that she said was the cause. I have been begging her for three hours via text to please give me a estimate of the cost for these items and labor and to please go plug in my RV before the pipes and tanks burst.

She just keeps saying “do I have your permission to work on your RV”. She won’t tell me anything or give me written estimate.

She said she give me an invoice when she is done. I know better. If anyone can help please PM me.

This lady is extremely dangerous and her pit bull friend is so much worse. They are doing everything they can to drag this out as long as They can. They know I have to be somewhere in the next few days. They knew it from day one.

I have done nothing but listen to their lies all week long.

She won’t go and plug in the RV even though her hours says she’s open on Sunday and I called her on a Sunday last week when I had it towed to her place because she has had a garage and it was open on Sunday. It is only getting colder my road trek is being destroyed

She is totally take advantage and abusing me.

[markopolo]

There's really nothing anyone here can do to help other than empathize. RV's have failures often and on the road repairs are common.

I think that you really do need to get it to an authorized Roadtrek service center.

It's quite possible that you have a 6 year warranty on the coach:

https://web.archive.org/web/20150319...-warranty-info

E-Trek Extended Warranty

6 year unlimited mileage/km limited warranty is offered by Roadtrek covering the manufacture of the motorhome, appliances, electronics, plumbing and batteries (does not include the chassis)

[booster]

If it were me, I would just concentrate on getting it of their lot and not worry about anything to do with the coach power at all.


Have them disconnect the coach batteries and disconnect all the engine connections to the coach. This would mean disconnect, maybe remove, the two batteries under the hood, as they are for the coach, as well as the 6 batteries under the floor. Disconnect the van engine wiring to the separator (splitter) and tape up every connection removed. Disconnect all the wires at the second alternator the isn't the factory one.



At this point, the van should be like any other van with the starting battery (under the front seat?) and alternator only concerned about running the van, not the coach. Charge the starting battery and see if it starts and if the voltages at the starting battery look OK.



If that doesn't work, you are going to need to tow it to Roadtrek dealer, I think. I would not let the lady you are at work on it, and Mercedes wouldn't know where to start.

[Mfturner]

I sympathize, but don't have much to add except that hopefully you had the plumbing winterized. It is supposed to get down to about ten degrees tonight in the Denver area, so if it isn't winterized, once it thaws out in a day or two I would drain the tanks then proceed carefully with trying out sections of the plumbing to see what works and what leaks.

[tomato coupe]

We take our 2014 E-trek to Transwest Truck Trailer RV, which is about 23 miles due north of the Denver I-25/I-70 interchange. They have replaced coach batteries for us more than once, the most recent being one month ago. All have been covered by warranty. For the most part, we have been happy with their service, BUT they are not the fastest. They have a truck service facility across the street from the RV service facility, however, I don't know if they can do Mercedes warranty work. It might be worth looking into.

[Cryptofit]

Originally Posted by booster

If it were me, I would just concentrate on getting it of their lot and not worry about anything to do with the coach power at all.


Have them disconnect the coach batteries and disconnect all the engine connections to the coach. This would mean disconnect, maybe remove, the two batteries under the hood, as they are for the coach, as well as the 6 batteries under the floor. Disconnect the van engine wiring to the separator (splitter) and tape up every connection removed. Disconnect all the wires at the second alternator the isn't the factory one.



At this point, the van should be like any other van with the starting battery (under the front seat?) and alternator only concerned about running the van, not the coach. Charge the starting battery and see if it starts and if the voltages at the starting battery look OK.



If that doesn't work, you are going to need to tow it to Roadtrek dealer, I think. I would not let the lady you are at work on it, and Mercedes wouldn't know where to start.

Thanks for the valuable information. I have a heart warning story about how two employees that are mechanic have stepped up and are helping me deal with the situation. I will explain more in separate post because they are themselves in a bad situation and gave up there there flight to Vegas to get married and have been living out of car because the owner has not been able to pay them. I am going to set up a go fund me for them. More details to come.

As far is the information you gave me I will forward it to mechanic is aware of what to look for. He thinks it is the alternator of the house battery that is bad and caused house battery under hood to explode (bulge and crack) which consequently cause Mercedes battery to nearly catch on fire.

The first thing I did when my car broke down 12:days ago was call all the dealerships in town including Trenswest Which is supposedly a road trek dealer. They kept telling me they would not work on diesel Roadtrek. I tried to convince them that they do then they told me they won’t work on it untill December . I told this to the Roadtrek mechanic support headquarters and they made note. They approved me towing it to nearest mechanic that had Garage and used to working around Diesel engine. I got the mechanic/owner from hell.

Come to find out she had done this similar thing day before To a couple living is RV who brought their row car in to have a hose replaced. Apparently the lady/owner was going to charge 800$.. the good guy mechanic fixed it and collected a fraction. Apparently they had been waiting for over a week for their car to get fixed.

The owner went ballistic and screamed and yelled at employee and costumer. They were stuck at RV Park near by and trying to get out of there before big freeze last night. I am hoping they find my post and we can get the word out that this owner is pure evil for what she does to her customers and employees.

The two employees who gave up their flight and wedding to help me, plan to replace the batteries and alternator early in morning before the owner shows up mid afternoon. According to them she Doesn’t show up to even start working until mid to late afternoon. Now I know why she has waited to call Roadtrek every day after hours. If she showing up at 3:00 PM of course she’s not going to get a hold of Roadtrek during business hours. The Roadtrek after hours staff guy told me he was the only person that talk to her and he was not in position to sign off working on my van.

Please be on look out for GOFUNDME page FOR These young mechanics WHO are living out of cars because she is not paying them. They will probably get fired because they are trying to help me get out of here and tried to help me get the heat on in coach so pipes do not freeze. We could not get the 12 volt electric to turn on when trying to plug it in to shore power..

By the way, When we got over there, the door to my: $90k. Roadtrek was unlocked w/ Key in It and she had taken apart some cosmetic body work needed to be done when I only asked for estimate. She was going on to use that to hold my car hostage and charge me a couple thousand more to get it put back on.

Wow what a scammer.

Thanks everybody for their help today. Please pray that we can get out of this w/OUT too much abuse from this owner.

I will probably call the Consumer advocacy department at local TV station to make them aware of what is going on at this shop.

[Cryptofit]

Originally Posted by Mfturner

I sympathize, but don't have much to add except that hopefully you had the plumbing winterized. It is supposed to get down to about ten degrees tonight in the Denver area, so if it isn't winterized, once it thaws out in a day or two I would drain the tanks then proceed carefully with trying out sections of the plumbing to see what works and what leaks.

No I did not have plumbing winterize. A week ago was in 60s and plans were to be well south by now. Also promise me before I had it towed there she would work on in the garage. it Has been sitting out side because she has yet to put the batteries in so she can start and move van to the garage ten feet away. Every day I have been asking if she has the batteries in yet. Her answer is she hasn’t heard from Roadtrek yet. I keep telling her that she cannot diagnose it until the batteries are in and she promised day one to put batteries in to move into garage.. She is playing games. I just want to get my van off her lot.

[Cryptofit]

Originally Posted by tomato coupe

We take our 2014 E-trek to Transwest Truck Trailer RV, which is about 23 miles due north of the Denver I-25/I-70 interchange. They have replaced coach batteries for us more than once, the most recent being one month ago. All have been covered by warranty. For the most part, we have been happy with their service, BUT they are not the fastest. They have a truck service facility across the street from the RV service facility, however, I don't know if they can do Mercedes warranty work. It might be worth looking into.

Really? I called them over a week ago and they would not take it because it was a Mercedes even though house batteries are involved. They said they were backed up till December anyway.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by tomato coupe

We take our 2014 E-trek to Transwest Truck Trailer RV, which is about 23 miles due north of the Denver I-25/I-70 interchange. They have replaced coach batteries for us more than once, the most recent being one month ago. All have been covered by warranty. For the most part, we have been happy with their service, BUT they are not the fastest. They have a truck service facility across the street from the RV service facility, however, I don't know if they can do Mercedes warranty work. It might be worth looking into.

It's good to know that Roadtrek is paying for new batteries on the pre Aug 2015 coaches. It's probably $2500 or so plus labor for a new set so that explains why the battery warranty was slashed to only the one year provided by the battery manufacturer. If a coach went unsold for a year after that battery was installed by Roadtrek then some Etreks would likely effectively have no battery warranty left.

Do you know if your 2014 E-trek had the $3,900 6 year warranty "Bumper to Bumper" warranty? http://www.classbforum.com/forums/f5...html#post12774

I think it became free later. I wonder if there's a difference on how battery claims are handled between the free and paid for warranties?

Cryptofit previously mentioned very poor performance.

Originally Posted by Cryptofit

............This electrical system has never worked right I’ve always had to turn the engine on just use the microwave air conditioner or stove. It takes forever to charge and when it does charge it doesn’t last for very long before I have to idle the engine again...............

Maybe all of the batteries need to be replaced.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by Cryptofit

Really? I called them over a week ago and they would not take it because it was a Mercedes even though house batteries are involved. They said they were backed up till December anyway.

I don't know why they told you that. I made an appointment last Monday and I dropped our E-trek off on Thursday. It was done on Friday, but I picked it up earlier today. There were several other Sprinters in the service bays when I pulled in, and there are dozens of new Sprinters sitting on their lot. They are most definitely a Roadtrek dealer.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Do you know if your 2014 E-trek had the $3,900 6 year warranty "Bumper to Bumper" warranty?

I don't think so, but I can't say with 100% certainty.

Cryptofit previously mentioned very poor performance.

Ours has only worked well when all the batteries were in good condition. Re-configuring it and installing a new inverter and a battery balancer has helped to keep the batteries in good condition.

Maybe all of the batteries need to be replaced.

Maybe. Our batteries are wired as 4 (paralleled) pairs in series. I added a voltage monitor that tracks the voltages of all the battery-pairs. It made it clear that one bad pair can make the inverter unhappy and really degrade the performance of the system.

[SiennaGuy]

Originally Posted by Cryptofit

I will probably call the Consumer advocacy department at local TV station to make them aware of what is going on at this shop.

I did a quick search and found the "Contact7" page for the local ABC affiliate. It's worth a try.
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/investigations

Write out the sequence of events in a SHORT timeline document, including names, dates, phone numbers, etc. I assume that you're using a mobile phone, so it will have phone numbers, call lengths and dates in the call history. If not, call your carrier. IMHO, the more info that you can provide the TV station, the less work they'll have to do and the more likely they'll run the story. In the often crass world of TV, the fact that you're a female on the road living out your dream probably makes the story more interesting to them.

The stuff about employees going out of their way and risking their jobs to help you also probably makes your story more interesting to the TV station. If she retaliates against them, she might end up looking really, really bad.

[Bruceper]

Originally Posted by Cryptofit

The lady finally replied and will not give me an estimate just to get that Rv off her lot. At this point all I want her to do is replace the two batteries that we know were destroyed and the splitter thing that she said was the cause. I have been begging her for three hours via text to please give me a estimate of the cost for these items and labor and to please go plug in my RV before the pipes and tanks burst.

She just keeps saying “do I have your permission to work on your RV”. She won’t tell me anything or give me written estimate.

She said she give me an invoice when she is done. I know better. If anyone can help please PM me.

This lady is extremely dangerous and her pit bull friend is so much worse. They are doing everything they can to drag this out as long as They can. They know I have to be somewhere in the next few days. They knew it from day one.

I have done nothing but listen to their lies all week long.

She won’t go and plug in the RV even though her hours says she’s open on Sunday and I called her on a Sunday last week when I had it towed to her place because she has had a garage and it was open on Sunday. It is only getting colder my road trek is being destroyed

She is totally take advantage and abusing me.

I assume this is your property and you own the title. if so just call a tow truck and have it taken away. You haven't agreed to a price or estimate and the worst that can happen is they put a lien on it and you sue the crap out of her.

[RG Maier]

Your nightmare reminds me of my Roadtrek experience. It was always one problem after another. These are overly complex machines that are poorly designed for easy access to serviceable components. I decided to simplify by buying a Sienna, removing the seats, creating storage space and a double bed, and adding window screens for less than $100.00. We cook on the picnic table.I shower at campgrounds or truck stops, same with lav. If weather is rainy, we stay at a cheap or nice inn/hotel. The $50,000+ we saved will buy us many hotel rooms, the lack of stress in the beautifully working Sienna is priceless!