My new Redhawk is down for at least a month...

CapeCodFlyer · 10-15-2016, 08:24 PM

1300 miles from home! My 2016 Redhawk 26X1 (Chevy chassis) is in the shop far from home. We were driving back from a summer on Cape Cod to home in Fort Lauderdale. In eastern Pennsylvania, the engine check light came on and the engine started making awful noises as the coach lost power. I was able to coast down the exit ramp into the lot of the Chevy 21 dealer in Bethlehem. The service department ran the engine codes which indicated a problem with the MAP sensor. When the code remained after replacing the sensor, the mechanic pulled the valve cover to discover that the valve stem broke and dropped into the #5 cylinder. This coach had 4,000 miles! This particular dealer lacked the facilities to drop the engine, so the search began to find a Chevy dealer which could handle mid to large Chevy trucks. After a day and night of searching, the Redhawk was towed to Brown Daub Chevrolet in Nazareth, PA. This dealer advised that there were three major jobs scheduled ahead of mine and it would be a month before they could look at my Redhawk. We had to rent a car and drive home.

Lessons learned thus far:
1. Do NOT call the Coach Net number posted on the interior of your Jayco. I did and they kept asking for my platinum membership number. As I tried to explain that this was a 5 month old Jayco under warranty, they kept asking for the platinum number.
2. I had to call my dealer in Florida to obtain the number for Jayco. They had to call me back as they had no idea what to do but at least called back within a few minutes as promised.
3..No matter which prompt I pushed for Jayco customer service, i kept getting the towables division and they wanted me to leave a message. I finally got around this by punching 0 and speaking to a live person. Once I explained my plight, they advised me to call Chevrolet Roadside Assistance and provided the number.
4. Chevy Roadside Assistance has absolutely no idea what to do with anything other than a passenger car. They even told me that it was MY responsibility to find a warranty dealer who could perform the repairs. All they would do is arrange towing to whomever I told them to tow the coach to.
5. You cannot take your Chevy coach to a GMC shop, even if they are both GM divisions. Chevrolet will not honor warranty work performed at a GMC repair facility. A GMC was available to work on the Redhawk in 5 days but they would not be able to perform work under warranty.

So, at this point, it's a waiting game until the Chevy dealer can work my coach into the repair calendar. It's my position that Chevrolet should be replacing the engine since the cylinder and piston likely suffered major damage when the valve dropped. A piston replacement will require a reboring of the cylinder wall and a slightly oversized piston which could result in an imbalance of the engine. That would place stress on the crankshaft and set me up for potential failure in the future when the engine is out of warranty.

We'll have to fly up to Pennsylvania to bring the coach home next month. I'm hoping they can get this completed before cold weather sets in since we've not winterized the unit.

I can't say enough nice things about the Chevy 21 dealer in Bethlehem, PA. They did everything they could to help, and even had the owner, Jerry Horst, involved. He was in the garage after hours measuring doors and lifts to determine whether the service department could handle my rig. (unfortunately, they couldn't) Jerry's wife even gave me a desk to make phone calls and arranged a rental at no cost through their dealership. Outstanding folks!

What a hassle and a major headache. Oh, and did I mention, this is a 5 month old Jayco with 4,000 miles?

abarkl · 10-16-2016, 12:34 AM

"What a hassle and a major headache. Oh, and did I mention, this is a 5 month old Jayco with 4,000 miles?"

We have a 2008 Chevrolet medium duty chassis with a Chevrolet Duramax diesel engine. It carries a Jayco motorhome down the road in style.

Good luck and hang in there.

The Logans · 10-16-2016, 12:16 PM

I think that this is one of the reasons that less than 5% of class C's are on Chevy chassis. Chevy dealers can work on the chassis and drive train under warranty, but very few are equipped to do so, and there is no special number to call for Chevy motorhome service.

GMC dealers ARE equipped to deal with the heavy chassis, but decline to do so under warranty.

The number for Jayco that your dealership gave you was not the correct one for Jayco Motorized Division Customer Service.

Are you anywhere near these folks?

Accessories for Chevrolet cars in Brooksville, FL - Register Chevrolet & RV Center

They are an authorized Chevy service center, and work on Motor-homes?

CapeCodFlyer · 10-16-2016, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Logans

Are you anywhere near these folks?

Accessories for Chevrolet cars in Brooksville, FL - Register Chevrolet & RV Center

They are an authorized Chevy service center, and work on Motor-homes?

Unfortunately, I'm not even remotely near Brooksville, FL, nor is my Redhawk. This kinda takes the fun out of RV'ing.

che57vy · 10-17-2016, 05:22 AM

Sure unusual for that engine to drop a valve usually a tough engine, I guess only bright side is it is in warranty that sure would hurt the wallet. Now the fight for a new engine they will want to repair the old one.The engines I have rebuilt in the past never seem to last as long as factory I think quality of re manufacture parts no as good as originals just my two cents. Wish you best of luck

CapeCodFlyer · 10-17-2016, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by che57vy

Sure unusual for that engine to drop a valve usually a tough engine, I guess only bright side is it is in warranty that sure would hurt the wallet. Now the fight for a new engine they will want to repair the old one.The engines I have rebuilt in the past never seem to last as long as factory I think quality of re manufacture parts no as good as originals just my two cents. Wish you best of luck

Thanks for the good wishes. I decided to call Jayco today to see if I could get some advice on how to best proceed. They were quite nice, sympathetic, and suggested I call Chevrolet mid-size truck division and speak with them. I shared that I had incurred additional expenses for a rental car, hotels, gas and will incur additional expenses when I have to travel back to PA to retrieve my coach. Jayco suggested that Chevy should be willing to cover those expenses. I also shared my Coach-net experience which left him baffled. He said he would follow up with Coach-net to reinforce that they should have been ready to assist with my breakdown. I also shared that the coach has not been winterized and if these repairs extend into mid-November, I could have additional damage. He suggested that I take that up with Chevy.

I'll give Chevy a call in the next day or two and see where it goes.

CapeCodFlyer · 10-17-2016, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by che57vy

Sure unusual for that engine to drop a valve usually a tough engine, I guess only bright side is it is in warranty that sure would hurt the wallet. Now the fight for a new engine they will want to repair the old one.The engines I have rebuilt in the past never seem to last as long as factory I think quality of re manufacture parts no as good as originals just my two cents. Wish you best of luck

Thanks for the good wishes. I decided to call Jayco today to see if I could get some advice on how to best proceed. They were quite nice, sympathetic, and suggested I call Chevrolet mid-size truck division and speak with them. I shared that I had incurred additional expenses for a rental car, hotels, gas and will incur additional expenses when I have to travel back to PA to retrieve my coach. Jayco suggested that Chevy should be willing to cover those expenses. I also shared my Coach-net experience which left him baffled. He said he would follow up with Coach-net to reinforce that they should have been ready to assist with my breakdown. I also shared that the coach has not been winterized and if these repairs extend into mid-November, I could have additional damage. He suggested that I take that up with Chevy.

I'll give Chevy a call in the next day or two and see where it goes.

Grumpy · 10-17-2016, 06:51 PM

Flyer I fully sympathize with your dilemma, but with that said it is fully a CHEVY issue. JAYCO doesn't have any control over GM, FORD, or FREIGHTLINER when it comes to chassis work.

When we had our SENECA on a KODIAK chassis it was the same situation when it came to warranty, only CHEVY medium duty truck dealers could or would work on the chassis. Couldn't use a GM truck dealer other than for oil changes etc. And when it came to the trany only ALLISON could do the work the CHEVY dealer wasn't allowed to touch it.

CapeCodFlyer · 10-17-2016, 07:14 PM

Grumpy, did Chevy step up to the plate on your Kodiak warranty issues? Were you satisfied or was it a battle? Just wondering if you also had any incidental out-of-pocket expenses that Chevy reimbursed?

Grumpy · 10-18-2016, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CapeCodFlyer

Grumpy, did Chevy step up to the plate on your Kodiak warranty issues? Were you satisfied or was it a battle? Just wondering if you also had any incidental out-of-pocket expenses that Chevy reimbursed?

Chev dealer was very responsive. No out of pocket to be concerned with for me.

CapeCodFlyer · 11-02-2016, 01:47 PM

Update on my Redhawk - Visited the Manager at my dealer where I purchased the Redhawk. He was very pleasant and helpful; he placed a call to Jayco and asked that they get in touch with me. Jayco called me two days later and told me they were sending a mobile crew to winterize my unit. The Jayco rep also provided me with numbers to Chevrolet mid-size truck division.

I called Chevy and was able to log an issue and got my case assigned to a "senior customer care advisor" who supposedly got in touch with the dealer and the District Manager. They provided me with a name and number of the "Customer Experience Manager" at the dealer, Brown Daub Chevrolet, and advised that they were in communication with her. Chevy (not the dealer) called me back a couple of times to ask if the dealer had been in touch with me. Finally, after a week, I decided to personally call the Customer Experience Manager and guess what? Yup, she doesn't work there anymore! Well, so much for the daily communications between the dealer and Chevy! I did get to speak with my Service Advisor at the dealer who said that nothing had been done to my unit yet. They haven't even diagnosed the problem or determined the solution. On a more hopeful note, he did say I was the next job scheduled to come into the shop although he couldn't give a date as to when that would happen.

So, I still wait for my Redhawk (24 days and counting) and the only action thus far is from my selling dealer here in Florida and from Jayco for winterizing the unit. Thanks Jayco and North Trail RV! Chevy, you need to get on the stick and not only build a better quality power plant but expedite your warranty repairs.

That is all for now.

The Logans · 11-02-2016, 02:09 PM

If the engine truly did eat a valve (or suffer some other serious internal failure), don't settle for less than a factory crate motor, or at least a new (not rebuilt) short block. Rebuilt, and refurbished engines are just not the same for a heavy duty application, like a MH. Fine in a car or light duty pick-up, but not a MH.

JMO

CapeCodFlyer · 11-02-2016, 02:55 PM

Thanks! That's what I'm pressing them for but they haven't even officially diagnosed the problem yet. I just don't want them starting into repairs without consulting me first.

che57vy · 11-02-2016, 08:10 PM

I would ask for pictures of damage and keep a file of conversations with names

CapeCodFlyer · 11-09-2016, 09:20 PM

I spoke with the dealer today and got some good news and some bad, well okay news. Chevy is shipping a factory crate motor so I'm going to get a brand new engine in my Redhawk. The Assistant Service Manager said the cylinder had been scored and couldn't be easily bored out. That's the good news. The downside is that I won't be able to get it back until December 1st, though not entirely the dealer's fault.

So Chevy is doing the right thing by replacing the engine. Jayco was great in stepping and having a mobile unit winterize the coach. My local dealer, North Trail RV, helped by getting Jayco involved even though the coach was disabled 1,300 miles away. The only bummer was the unit being down from October 12th to December 1st.

All in all, I'm a pretty happy camper.

The Logans · 11-09-2016, 09:40 PM

Great news... I'm very happy for you!

Jagiven · 11-10-2016, 07:25 AM

I would say its good new over all. At least it is being fixed correctly. Glad this did not happen at the beginning of the camping season.

che57vy · 11-10-2016, 07:59 AM

Good news wish your RV a speedy recovery

Cycledoc675 · 11-16-2016, 09:07 PM

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, although is looks like it will end well. I have to put in a plug for Good Sam Roadside Assistance service. In March 2014, I was driving from Jackson, MS to Savannah, GA on my way to Roebling Road Raceway. 116 mile till Savannah, my Chevy 454-powered C-class suddenly lost all power and left me on the side of the Interstate in the middle of Nowhere, Georgia. I called my insurance company's roadside service. Twice they dispatched an inadequate tow service. Finally, I called Good Sam. Although I wasn't a member (yet), they helped me find the right tow service. Then, they found a shop within 35 miles that was able to work on my coach that day. It was a crank position sensor. I made it to Savannah that night. Needless to say, I'm a card carrying Good Sam Roadside Assistance member to this day, even with the newer Jayco Precept.

katiedog · 11-17-2016, 06:29 PM

Loved our 454 class c
The crank sensor was the only problem over 11 years.
Always carried a spare and a OBD tool.
Hoping for great luck with our V10 ford 31 DS.

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