Keystone Warranty - What A Joke!

Yep, unfortunately this is all too common in the RV industry. How can they even say “normal wear and tear” on a toilet.

Keystone should be sorry, they are doing business like this!

Keystone has a pretty bad rap when it comes to warranty issues. I've read plenty of horror stories over the years. I've read stories where they won't even cover their own shoddy workmanship. If you've equipped your trailer with a toilet that's only designed to survive 6 months then that speaks volumes to the rest of the trailer. I noticed that the OP said they brought back the trailer with a punch list of warranty items. I wonder if Keystone is spending a decent amount to fix all of those issues and trying to save a buck where they can.

The smartest thing to do would be to cover the cost and work out something with manufacturer over the bum toilet (pardon the pun:B). I'm sure Keystone has a working relationship with the manufacturer with plenty of money being exchanged between them. Surely the two can figure out a way to rectify a situation for a customer so that everyone leaves happy. It sure beats bad press and the potential of missing out on future sales.

Really it's just a pathetic display of customer service. Keystone must be staffed with ex insurance claim adjusters lol.

JCR-1 wrote:
Gm doesn't make the shocks , nor the radio, nor the thousands of parts installed on their vehicles however they fix them when they break and stand behind the warranty. Keystone should repair without question and bill the offending manufacturer back for parts and labor. If you state a warrant then stand behind it. The whole RV industry is shady like that and they give you a folder with every body else's warranty.. Good luck chasing parts around for warranty.. You are pretty much on your own when you buy an RV .If you are not hands on DIY guy then best to stay with the motel/hotel scene.

Exactly, I didn't have to fight with Takata over the malfunctioning airbag in my vehicle, GM fixed my vehicle and did whatever they needed to do to get compensation from Takata. No other industry gives you a dump of warranty cards from third parties that supply sub-assemblies and says 'good luck sucker, you're on your own'.

DownTheAvenue wrote:
Why not talk with the manufacturer of the toilet? After all Keystone only installed the toilet, and in theory, the warranty is with the manufacturer not the installer.

Been there, done that. The toilet manufacturer won't pay either...

Ozlander wrote:
Change the valve yourself.
It ain't rocket science.

Not really what the OP wants to hear, but it's a valid point. I've owned 3-4 new RVs over the years, and got to the point where a warranty issue would have to be pretty significant for me to invest the time, energy, and stress to drag a unit back to the dealer for repairs. Particularly since a significant pecentage of the work I've had done at dealers ends up being less than satisfactory, and grossly overpriced. Toilets are stupid easy to remove, replace and repair. Take them up on their offer to provide a new part, and fix it. Easier in the long run.

Change the valve yourself.
It ain't rocket science.

Sorry to hear about your experience.

On the other side I had excellent response from Keystone on the one warranty issue with our Outback 295RE. At almost 1 year, the clear coat on the aluminum rims started to craze. Without much expectation of warranty coverage I went to my dealer. They looked at them, said it shouldn't happen, took pictures and said we will see what we can do. About a week later they called, said bring the trailer in, we have new wheels for you. Keystone replaced them under warranty and also paid for balancing since I had the originals balanced.

Keystone didn't make the wheels, but they covered it, as they should on warranty issues. Most of the parts on your car aren't made by the car mfg they are purchased but other than tires and batteries and maybe a few other things, covered under the mfg warranty.

IMHO warranty coverage depends a great deal on dealers attitude and how well they work with trailer mfg.

Gm doesn't make the shocks , nor the radio, nor the thousands of parts installed on their vehicles however they fix them when they break and stand behind the warranty. Keystone should repair without question and bill the offending manufacturer back for parts and labor. If you state a warrant then stand behind it. The whole RV industry is shady like that and they give you a folder with every body else's warranty.. Good luck chasing parts around for warranty.. You are pretty much on your own when you buy an RV .If you are not hands on DIY guy then best to stay with the motel/hotel scene.

Points made on the toilet manufacturer responsibility, but as Keystone purchases hundreds of them they could easily subrogate if they gave a **** about their customer. This is rampant in the RV industry. Just too lazy or stupid to represent thei customer in a process where they have the power to rectify but just do not give a ****.

DownTheAvenue wrote:
Why not talk with the manufacturer of the toilet? After all Keystone only installed the toilet, and in theory, the warranty is with the manufacturer not the installer.

This aside, I'm not sure why all the fuss since the trailer manufacturer has agreed to cover the cost of a replacement valve and there isn't much to swapping out that valve anyway. :h With the water off just remove the toilet for easy access, remove the old valve, install the new one, and reinstall the toilet - done. I'd also wonder if perhaps the original valve didn't fail because it wasn't adequately winterized, which of course neither the toilet manufacturer nor the trailer manufacturer can be held responsible for.