Recall catch-22

arrveedogz · 05-25-2010, 08:26 PM

Back in November, I received a recall notice directly from RoadTrek on my Adventurous. Seems that when they installed the coach batteries, they rerouted a brake line so that it might rub against the battery tray, eventually developing a case of leaking brakes. In addition, acid spillage from the battery could also get at the brake line. The recall notice went on to say "to obtain this free service contact your Dodge/Freightliner dealer and have them contact RT. Even provided a form to assure prompt payment to the dealer.

I wasn't going anywhere over the winter, so I put this off until yesterday. Off to my Dodge dealer (not a RT dealer), who looks over this letter before disappearing into the "service manager's office." He returns with a printout entitled 'VIP Summary Report,' which shows no such recall information. If it didn't come through Chrysler, they don't know nuthin'. So they won't do the work.

I called Doug Porter at RT yesterday (office closed because of Victoria Day!) and have yet to hear back from him or anyone else up there. Good thing I'm not in a hurry to get out of town.

Dan F.
Houston, TX

Mike · 05-25-2010, 10:31 PM

Hey Dan,
Maybe you picked a bad day (our Victoria Day stat holiday, most businesses closed) to
get Chrysler involved. Do you know if they even tried to contact RT like your recall suggested?
Maybe, if they aren't the only Sprinter dealer in town, you could try another dealership, if they
refuse to do the recall work.
If Roadtrek has issued a payment/compensation form, it would seem kind of silly for a dealership to
turn down commerce, because someone didn't bother to call RT and ask about it.

Just my 2 cents.

arrveedogz · 05-26-2010, 02:38 AM

Hey, Mike. How's it going?

Quote:

Maybe, if they aren't the only Sprinter dealer in town, you could try another dealership, if they
refuse to do the recall work.

Houston is a big town, but Chrysler has never been big in Texas; Ford and Chevy country mostly. The next closest Dodge dealer is on the other side of town and has a lousy rep for service. There's a Mercedes dealer who might service a Sprinter, but I'd have to put on clean clothes to go there. Odd that the recall has a NHTSA number, but isn't in the NHTSA database.

This is the second RV service issue I've had where I've gotten a runaround. Seems like "its not our problem" is more widespread than it used to be. I'm used to hearing that from IT guys (hardware blames software, software blames OS compatibility, OS vendor blames network, network blames hardware conflict and around we go again).

Hopefully this holiday isn't a big drinking occasion? Maybe I'll get an answer tomorrow.

Dan

markopolo · 05-26-2010, 11:13 AM

Will they not do the work period or not do it without immediate payment?

Potential Number of Units Affected: 520 So, you are not alone. It's good that you posted here so that other owners can be prepared, call ahead, etc.

At worst, Roadtrek will reimburse you after you've paid (assuming you can get the work done).

Mike · 05-26-2010, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arrveedogz

Hey, Mike. How's it going?

Quote:

Maybe, if they aren't the only Sprinter dealer in town, you could try another dealership, if they
refuse to do the recall work.

Houston is a big town, but Chrysler has never been big in Texas; Ford and Chevy country mostly. The next closest Dodge dealer is on the other side of town and has a lousy rep for service. There's a Mercedes dealer who might service a Sprinter, but I'd have to put on clean clothes to go there. Odd that the recall has a NHTSA number, but isn't in the NHTSA database.

This is the second RV service issue I've had where I've gotten a runaround. Seems like "its not our problem" is more widespread than it used to be. I'm used to hearing that from IT guys (hardware blames software, software blames OS compatibility, OS vendor blames network, network blames hardware conflict and around we go again).

Hopefully this holiday isn't a big drinking occasion? Maybe I'll get an answer tomorrow.

Dan

Hi Dan,
Just fine. Had a small sewer drain problem a week ago, but it's fixed now and I'm
trying "to grow grass on asphalt" as it were.

It does seem odd that Chrysler says they haven't heard anything about it.
It's been a while since it was announced, but maybe you're the first/only owner in
the area with an affected vehicle? (Potential Number of Units Affected: 520)
"Houston is a big town, but Chrysler has never been big in Texas; Ford and Chevy country mostly."
Wonder why?

I found another Roadtrek quality assurance related thread on another forum
with some email addresses buried in it. I believe there's one for Doug Porter
in it. If all else fails, you might try a direct email, if the address is still valid.
http://www.rvtravel.com/rvforum/viewtop ... d4017168f0
Or service@roadtrek.com might also get some response, again if all else fails.

I was an IT Operations guy, so I can understand the frustration when you
get the "not our problem" pointed finger fix.

Victoria Day is the first long weekend of the summer season up here, and, it has
been reported that alcoholic beverages have been consumed on occasion.
Of course, always in moderation.

Got some excellent assistance from a Discount Tire shop just off the I-10 in Houston
this March past.
They were busy as heck, but took the time and gave me some other locations and
addresses in the area to see if I could get a new set of Michelins.
We were on our way to Roswell, NM for a look around, and wound up stopping for the
tires in San Angelo, TX. Great guys, great tires, we always enjoy our time in Texas.

Good luck with this little annoyance.
Mike

arrveedogz · 05-27-2010, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Just fine. Had a small sewer drain problem a week ago, but it's fixed now and I'm
trying "to grow grass on asphalt" as it were.

A pain in the asphalt, no doubt. Or worse, a pain in the grass.

Quote:

It does seem odd that Chrysler says they haven't heard anything about it.
It's been a while since it was announced, but maybe you're the first/only owner in
the area with an affected vehicle? (Potential Number of Units Affected: 520)

Its one of the few Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealers in town that survived the meltdown and a big one at that. I was told that they've only ever seen one Adventurous before this -- come to think of it, that might have been me the other time I was there.

But there's no joy in Mudville: RT actually called the dealership and their service manager flatly refused to have anything to do with it. Since its not a Chrysler recall, they don't want the liability if something goes wrong after they fix it. That filled me with confidence; I'm thinking 'you've got worries about something going wrong after you fix my rig?'

So I'm not planning on darkening their doors again.

Of course, they had to show me corrosion starting on the house battery tray, suggesting that battery leakage is very real. And yes, there's a brake line right under the battery tray. Drip, drip, drip.

So I've got another call into RT, looking for their advice. In the mean time, I'm going to fabricate a temporary flex PVC jacket for the brakeline and spray some rust preventative on the exposed metal of the tray. Maybe that'll satisfy the recall.

Quote:

Victoria Day is the first long weekend of the summer season up here, and, it has
been reported that alcoholic beverages have been consumed on occasion.
Of course, always in moderation.

Moderation. Riiiight. Can I get a case of that?

Dan

Mike · 05-27-2010, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arrveedogz

Of course, they had to show me corrosion starting on the house battery tray, suggesting that battery leakage is very real. And yes, there's a brake line right under the battery tray. Drip, drip, drip.

So I've got another call into RT, looking for their advice. In the mean time, I'm going to fabricate a temporary flex PVC jacket for the brakeline and spray some rust preventative on the exposed metal of the tray. Maybe that'll satisfy the recall.

Quote:

Victoria Day is the first long weekend of the summer season up here, and, it has
been reported that alcoholic beverages have been consumed on occasion.
Of course, always in moderation.

Moderation. Riiiight. Can I get a case of that?

Dan

Hey Dan, that's too bad about Chrysler playing hands off on the fix.
Your idea about trying to protect the brake line with a sleeve of PVC sounds brilliant to me.

I'll assume you've got a lead acid wet cell deep cycle house battery. Maybe Roadtrek would consider
covering the cost of replacing it with an AGM deep cycle battery as a work around to not being
able to get a Chrysler dealer to perform the recommended fix. The AGMs aren't supposed to ever
leak acid, based on their plate/electrolyte storage design technology. And, they're maintenance free.

You could ask/suggest it to Roadtrek, as a satisfactory recall solution, if it would work for you.
At worst, you might have to sign off on the work around as acceptable with RT.
Just a thought.

arrveedogz · 05-28-2010, 03:17 AM

Signs of light at the end of this tunnel: Dawn at RT spoke to svc at a Dodge dealer 30 miles from Htown who said they'd do the job. If this works, I'm a happy camper. Second time's the charm?

Dan F.

Mike · 05-28-2010, 01:57 PM

Nice.
Wonder what method of arm twist she used?

Probably cash $$$.

arrveedogz · 06-05-2010, 01:51 PM

Success! Recall done by the friendly MB/Sprinter dealer 35 miles from home. Took 'em all day and into next morning, so I got to drive a snappy little C350 loaner for a day. Woo-hoo!

And when I went to pick the RT up, there was another (an Agile) in the service drive. Too bad there weren't three of us there at the same time: it'd be an organization (anyone name that tune?)

I also saw an Airstream Interstate on the way down. Thought it was an RT at first glance.

I still need to check under the hood for corrosion on the house battery tray. Be nice to find a rubber or plastic liner that would fit.

Dan F.

Mike · 06-05-2010, 05:51 PM

Every problem I've ever had with my RT, has taught me some sort of a lesson about RVing,
no matter how small or simple. Or, solved another potential issue.
You've found a RT friendly dealer to work on your chassis if you ever need one again.
My genset problems back in March found me a general RT/RV related service facility
I feel I can trust, which is worth a lot to me. Dark cloud, silver lining, I guess.

Speaking of false RT sightings, we ran into a Kentucky couple who had just bought an older 210P RT
(I think?) in New York, back in March in the Kentucky welcome center on I-75. They approached us in ours,
and we chatted for a few minutes, mostly about features and functions of the RT. They also mentioned
we were the first RT they'd seen since starting out on their maiden voyage in theirs earlier that day.
After we parted company, and continued our trip south, it seemed like we saw at least one RT every
50 or so miles until we hit the FL border.

arrveedogz · 06-05-2010, 08:02 PM

Looking under the hood, there is already visible corrosion on the battery tray, with little or no room to maneuver those big-a$$ batteries (these being the house battery set I had to have warranty-replaced on the road last summer, for another service headache). I think DIY is starting to sound better and better. Has anyone used anti-rust products like POR15 or RustBullet? Will they work in the presence of battery juice?

Mike · 06-06-2010, 12:53 AM

Maybe you could ask an automotive battery retailer/installer what they'd suggest? They've probably seen
this sort of problem before.
Or, maybe a body/rust-proofing shop? Show them what you've got, and see if they have any ideas.
Failing that, maybe NAPA or Carquest might have something that would inhibit further damage,
or possibly an acid-proof tray liner?
I'd probably try some sort of rustoleum-type paint, if I wasn't worried about voiding any possible
future warranty claims.
Does Roadtrek have a fix or recommendation?
email to service@roadtrek.com. send them your pic too.

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