DEF header not cheap at $900

[dneeld52]

We're traveling from Indy to Glacier this week when the dreaded yellow DEF light came on. Knowing that I had just filled it emboldened me to keep driving! By the grace of God, it stayed on and we kept driving until we were 20 miles the west of Fargo, ND and suddenly it lost power and coasted down the off ramp and we crawled down the road to a John Deere Ag dealer. The unbelievably gracious service techs at RDO equipment helped educate us on the Freightliner dealers in the area and allowed us to camp out in their parking lot. I found the part 3 hours away and immediately started driving to St. Cloud,MN, 166 miles away. At 7:30 the next morning our friendly tech pulls up with his truck and we tore into the Seneca. 5 hours later we had pulled off the step, dropped the tank,the codes finally cleared and were on our way! What a pain the butt this DEF nonsense is. As noted here, heat must be an issue. If not the gracious guys at RDO Equipment, we would still be waiting at the Fargo Freightliner dealer, who said it would be 8 days before they could even look at it!

[hammer55]

cummings and who ever else need to be on this like stink on, you know, it is suppose to be under warranty for five years, but since not being right from the start, they either need to fix it right, or remove it,, it costs us a pretty penny to break down for any reason, and they should be held accountable for all of it, until it is fixed right,

[Mnwelsh]

I also had a serious DEF incident returning from Texas to Minnesota this year. My DEF gage went nuts out in the middle of no where. Red light in gage on, yellow light, green lights showed empty, and an engine light in the main gage cluster came on. Fortunately I had just filled up on fuel and DEF so I knew it was not a low DEF issue. I drove on to a campground and checked in . Driving to my site it went into limp mode. Again, fortunately once again there was a Freightliner dealer 6 miles south of the campground. They came out to my site and the tec spent over an hour with his computer plugged into my truck, talking on the phone with Freightliner techs and taking photos, crawling under and around the truck. He said the wiring harness from the DEF head unit to the engine compartment was installed under one of the metal brackets for the leveling jacks and was crushed, and it finally shorted out. He cleared the codes and I drove it to his shop where it took 2 days to get a harness and a DEF head unit because many things in the DEF tank were damaged by the short. All of this was covered by warranty as the truck was 18 months since purchase and had 12,000 miles. Ive driven it 2000 miles since the repair in hot summer conditions with NO problems. I feel lucky this happened while under warranty.

[jack4540]

Thinking about paying a spare header just in case . Seems to me it going to go bad at sometime . I always have a full tool box with me when I travel .

[allanlr]

I had a DEF header fail last Nov the weekend before Thanksgiving on the way from TX to VA. Broke down in Iowa LA., my son had to drive from San Antonio (our home town) because it was the only one available within 6 hours. We did not have a toad at the time. After we got back from that trip I found a new DEF header on Ebay for $300. I keep it with me at all times, easy to install behind the drivers steps. Will not be stranded because of that part again. BTW, I paid $900 out of pocket for the one in Nov, Freightliner reimbursed me $600. Said I should have waited the weekend for their service truck to troubleshoot iand then wait another day for the part. I was happy to eat the $300 to be on my way in 12 hours instead.

[EA37TS]

Def Header on our coach was replaced over the weekend.

[dneeld52]

Interesting that Freightliner only reimbursed $600. They are hard to find. I drove 3 hours to get one and the $900 was gladly spent. The Fargo freightliner dealer said he could have one in a week! If I waited, he still wanted $850, so Freightliner better realize that a summer breakdown mandates fast and immediate action. But like you, I'll eat the $300.

[DocDW]

Did you have it fixed at the Freightliner place in St. Cloud? They are a great place to work with as I get all my service (had a few issues in the 2 months of ownership) there. I am wondering if I need to have them check my def system as I’ve gone through at least 15 gallons of def fluid in the 1st 2000 miles that I’ve driven it.

[allanlr]

Yellow DEF light came on last week on the way out to CO from TX. Stopped and called Freightliner. Scan Gauge had a 3343 code, he told me he thought the coolant lines were crossed. I let it cool for about 45 minutes and continued on. I figured it if it went into derate I would replace the DEF and uncross the lines. I made the 40 miles to our destination without a problem. Headed home Monday evening and after we stopped in NM to sleep, started the engine and the check engine light was gone. Drove home without any issues. Taking it to Freightliner in the morning to have the lines checked. Have a trip in 2 weeks and don't need any more lights popping on.

[hammer55]

seems this is a emissions problem and should be taken care of 100%, and if it keeps up they should be held accountable,, with all expenses incurred with every break down,, and having stuff made in china is no excuse for people to not have use of their MH, we pay enough,,,

[dneeld52]

Originally Posted by DocDW

Did you have it fixed at the Freightliner place in St. Cloud? They are a great place to work with as I get all my service (had a few issues in the 2 months of ownership) there. I am wondering if I need to have them check my def system as I’ve gone through at least 15 gallons of def fluid in the 1st 2000 miles that I’ve driven it.

No, the coach was outside Fargo, and was dead per the DEF red light. St. Cloud was the closest dealer that had a DEF header, and they were open until Midnight. They were very nice and their price was in line with other dealers, considering they were one of the few dealers who even had one in stock!

[Jesse johnson]

It not just freightliners, it's all brands having issues with def headers. I work for a kenworth truck dealership as a tech and we have to replace them all the time. You woukd think as many problems as there are they would impose a recall or at the very minimum extend the warranty for that part and repair.

[jack4540]

I just talked to my local freightliner shop and they say that there is a 45 day back order on they headers . I found one on ebay , will be here in a couple of days .

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by jack4540

I just talked to my local freightliner shop and they say that there is a 45 day back order on they headers . I found one on ebay , will be here in a couple of days .

Must be hit and miss. The dealer that serviced my rig in Indianapolis had a DEF Header in stock.

[allanlr]

I spent all day yesterday at Doggett Freightliner in San Antonio. The ended up replacing the DEF heater control valve and changing the DEF filter. They checked the coolant lines to make sure they were not crossed, they said they were not. After replacing the pump and filter they ran a 1 1/2 hour SCR test. All passed. It had fault code 1713 stored but not active.
Part replaced was a Wabco 446 091.
I had to pay for the SCR test, said it was not covered by warranty since nothing failed. I told I would call Freightliner and argue with them about. I said it was like the doctor telling to take a treadmill test and my insurance not paying because I didn’t have a heart attack while I was on the treadmill! I have another trip later next week from TX to VA. I am not confident I will not have a DEF. Time and miles will tell.

[Metsfan]

Are the sprinter chassis having these DEF issues?

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Metsfan

Are the sprinter chassis having these DEF issues?

You might want to check the Sprinter forums.

[Rustynuts]

Originally Posted by Metsfan

Are the sprinter chassis having these DEF issues?

I know that there was a major emissions recall on the sprinters, my sister had hers worked on.

[Bill Johnson]

Originally Posted by jack4540

Thinking about paying a spare header just in case . Seems to me it going to go bad at sometime . I always have a full tool box with me when I travel .

Just watched a video on a semi looks to be a big job. They said about three and a half hours under warranty and he might be able to do it in an hour and a half if everything goes well and that is in a shop with an impact. I might do that in my garage with unlimited time but on the side of the road or in a campground I think I would pass, plus I would need to remove the roof on the garage to get it in .lol

[dneeld52]

We never made it to Glacier, since the dreaded "check engine " light came on again. We diverted to Great Falls where there were multiple Cummins engine shops. Rocky Mtn Cummins had our coach for 3 days, all of which was covered under warranty, but the mechanic was scratching his head trying to find something wrong despite the system throwing 3 codes, the first of which was "too much DEF being applied"! I watched as he checked the nozzle displacement and captured it and compared it to spec. Right on, no issues. After resetting the ECU he couldn't find anything wrong. He didn't want to send me out the door empty handed so he replaced the nozzle, figuring that if anything would throw a code, it might be the nozzle. I should add that they let us come and take the coach to a nearby campground everynight! I came back a day later and bought sub sandwiches for all (16) mechanics! It was money well spent. Now on our last day of driving back to Indiana, the dreaded yellow engine light came on in Rockford, ILL and I wrecklessly said "hell with it", and kept driving. We made it home and now I need to buy the best code scanner to read this crap. Any suggestions?