2010 Winnebago 40L. . .from Hell !

[jetartessales]

We just purchased a new (off showroom) 2010 Winnebago 40L from RV World in Nokomis, Florida. This purchase transferred to us on July 22, 2011.

Our shake down (understatement) trip of 3000 miles was a shocker. We turned the coach into RV. World service department with a total of 46 serious complaints. The pride of ownership fell from its graces almost at the snap of a finger. Here is the short list which includes the most serious.
1. Jacks will not work on manual. . .In "auto" the system raises the rear to the point of rear "4" being off the ground, then struggles to level front. . .without success. When raising jacks, the rear hang up until they cannot support the weight further, then "BANG" and the coach drops to the ground. In manual mode, the rear drop until they touch the ground then stop. Pushing front or left, only serves to run the pump
2. Both forward slides failed, the left during extension and the right during retraction.
3. Placing the AC blower on High, closes all the roof vents throughout!
4. MCD shades 3 failed . . .MCD says it is Winnebago install issue
5. We were locked inside our coach twice. Handing the keys through the window to a person outside to manually unlock the entry door freed us.
6. Every inch of the shoe molding at the base of the walls throughout came loose and worked away from the wall.
7. Foot rests (both) on Winnebago's mfg. pride and joy electric sofa BROKE and could not be used.
8. Shower surround (one piece shower enclosure) came loose from the coach bathroom walls and "oil cans" when you step into the shower. Shower floor is supported by a block of foam. . .you guessed it, the foam began colapsing as use progressed

A call to my dealer while enroute brought a call from "Steve" who is Winne's eastern Service manager. I offered to bring the coach to the factory at my expense. . .he said NO, due to the backlog of factory appointments thru the end of September. Steve set up a "bandaid" appointment with Tom Schaeffer's RV in Hamburg, PA. A call to the President remains unanswered.

I can go on and on with many other failures. I sit now, "coachless" while my dealer works through the list of problems.

Advice anyone ?

Thanks,
Eric & Anita Clapp
North Port, Florida

BTW, we just sold our 08 Fleetwood Discovery 40X which gave us 30K of virtually trouble free use. Our error !

[ryanallie1]

Hi All.

"WOW" Really sorry to hear of any story like this. What in the world are Manufactors thinking. Just by word of mouth, and your complaints alone, I bet they will lose some of their sales. And the more stories like this, the more they stand to lose. I don't know how much you paid for your Brand New Motorhome, but it really doesn't matter what the cost was. It would be enought to make anyone feel very ill and sick to their stomach. Not to mention how bad that you must feel that you have been totally ripped off. We bought our Motorhomme for a "Once in a Lifetime Buy". Except for that we wanted to do to our Motorhome ourselfs, such as an "Inside Make-Over", and all of the improvements and Mods. We haven't had so much as one problem with ours. It makes us feel bad to think that we could buy an older, Low Miliage Motorhome and not have any problems with it. I am lucky though, as I have done all of my own work and repairs on all of our RV's over the last 45 years. We wish you well, and hope that you can get them to get on the ball and fix your Motorhome as soon as possible. Band-Aid Fixs aren't worth a darn. If they can't bring it back to the factory, we think that they should give you another Motorhome right from the Manufactor's and this one, very well inspected before it leaves the plant. Then Business wonder we, we Americians by from other countries?. Because they build better products, and they last much longer than most Americian Products. Good Luck. Happy Travels. Dan & Jill

[racer99]

MAN!! My 1991 BOUNDER is looking better and better--I think the people that are putting these MH together aren't being paid enough to have pride in their work-I'd assume if you did the same work over and over you'd get profeceint at that job-I would be imbarassed to have my work brought back time after time-Where is the Quality control -They also aren't doing their job-Winnie CEO better start looking at making changes or they'll not be selling MH's-Maybe they should bring in some older RVers in the plant to over see the building-NAW that wouldn't work because most of the workers and management would get BOOTED--Just my 2 cents--Rich

[Lobstah]

jetartessales wrote:
We just purchased a new (off showroom) 2010 Winnebago 40L from RV World in Nokomis, Florida. This purchase transferred to us on July 22, 2011.

Our shake down (understatement) trip of 3000 miles was a shocker. We turned the coach into RV. World service department with a total of 46 serious complaints. The pride of ownership fell from its graces almost at the snap of a finger. Here is the short list which includes the most serious.
1. Jacks will not work on manual. . .In "auto" the system raises the rear to the point of rear "4" being off the ground, then struggles to level front. . .without success. When raising jacks, the rear hang up until they cannot support the weight further, then "BANG" and the coach drops to the ground. In manual mode, the rear drop until they touch the ground then stop. Pushing front or left, only serves to run the pump
2. Both forward slides failed, the left during extension and the right during retraction.
3. Placing the AC blower on High, closes all the roof vents throughout!
4. MCD shades 3 failed . . .MCD says it is Winnebago install issue
5. We were locked inside our coach twice. Handing the keys through the window to a person outside to manually unlock the entry door freed us.
6. Every inch of the shoe molding at the base of the walls throughout came loose and worked away from the wall.
7. Foot rests (both) on Winnebago's mfg. pride and joy electric sofa BROKE and could not be used.
8. Shower surround (one piece shower enclosure) came loose from the coach bathroom walls and "oil cans" when you step into the shower. Shower floor is supported by a block of foam. . .you guessed it, the foam began colapsing as use progressed

A call to my dealer while enroute brought a call from "Steve" who is Winne's eastern Service manager. I offered to bring the coach to the factory at my expense. . .he said NO, due to the backlog of factory appointments thru the end of September. Steve set up a "bandaid" appointment with Tom Schaeffer's RV in Hamburg, PA. A call to the President remains unanswered.

I can go on and on with many other failures. I sit now, "coachless" while my dealer works through the list of problems.

Advice anyone ?

Thanks,
Eric & Anita Clapp
North Port, Florida

BTW, we just sold our 08 Fleetwood Discovery 40X which gave us 30K of virtually trouble free use. Our error !

I'm very sorry to hear of the troubles...no one likes to have things go wrong with a new "pride and joy" purchase. I've had my share of gremlins with our coach too, and yes, it can be frustrating. Ours was not new, and not under warranty, so no help expected from anyone getting things fixed.

Looking at your list, the auto level failure is likely due to not being programmed correctly. There is a procedure to do this, but of course, they must work manually for that to happen. The jack system is fairly straight forward, either electric or hydraulic, and this sounds like an electrical/controller issue. Either way, should not be a major effort for your dealer to fix.
The AC at least won't keep you from using the coach while waiting for a repair. Slides are straight forward as well, and your dealer should be able to take care of those along with the door locks.

I really think a dealer should be able to get your list fixed in fairly short order if you apply enough pressure.
These things aren't Maserattis 😉

Jim

[Lobstah]

cctv wrote:

jetartessales wrote:
MaverickBBD:

Thanks for the suggestion however, our coach leveling system is Power Gear. Guess what . . .there is no consumer telephone number for this company. They will only talk to dealers. If the consumer wishes to correspond with Power Gear, they must do so by email.

Cheers,
Eric Clapp
North Port, Florida

I had the same problem with Power Gear, their tech support is useless.

X 100.

I broke a gear on my 23' wall slide in Gander, Newfoundland. There WAS no dealer. I'd try and avoid any Powergear product if possible just based on that one experience.

Jim

[wallynm]

Video tape every thing and then use a digital camera to create a photo file. Write a well reasoned letter and in your best English and grammar make your specific request known. If it were me I would ask for the full purchase price back based on MSRP. If they call to tell your the repairs are complete very calmly tell them you request all communication be in writing. Record all conversations. Reiterate you request that what ever you requested in your letter be granted. If you weaken and decide to take it back test every system several times in the dealers lot. You preform the test and do let the dealer employees preform the test. If any system fails do not take it and in writing make you demands again known. Be polite, calm and very specific as to the issues and the demands you have.

If all else fails post your video to you tube, contact your local TV consumer reports, and even send the video to the major networks.

[RFCN2]

Used debugged motorhomes cause less hair pulling.

[Goldencrazy]

That sounds really strange that so many unrelated things would go wrong. I am wondering if the fact it is an older coach that sat for awhile before being sold has anything to do with it. Could it have been i a flood? Did it just sit with no maintenance outdoors in hot weather? Do you weigh 500 lbs?

[Smitty77]

OP - Very sorry to hear what you are going thru. You picked this coach for a reason, and only you two can decide if you want to pursue working these problems out with Winnie. May take a long time to do so, from the list you have mentioned.

No matter what you decide, keep a good log of who you talke to, and what was said. Document everything. If you decide to work thru the problems, ask that Winnie give you in writing, a new manufacturer warranty from the time of when you feel they have a 'baseline fix' of your list.

Lemon route is away to go too, and with that list, may be your best course.

Please, do not let this ruin the adventure and joy of RV'ing. These are rolling homes, and things always require work and repairs - part of the 'joy' of ownership. Winnie in the past, had a good reputation for making things right. They have many owners that will not own anything but a Winnie. That loyalty was earned, and hopefully the current Winnie understands that the public does do research, and that 1st time quality is important. Quality sells, quality lasts, quality improves the image, quality makes a difference.

Best of luck, and stay as positive as you can, while being a fair while demanding customer.
Smitty

[ct78barnes]

We special ordered our coach last March and took delivery in May. The first 4 months we had to take it back to the dealer 5 times first the HWH jacks would not work in Auto then the back up camera died, then the slide motor died and the controler board went with it. Then the rear Tv had to be replaced. Most all of these problems where the vendors that Winnebago uses to put into these coaches. I could go on and on with other problems but won't. I think they need better quality control before they ship this things out. Also the dealers need to drive these coaches after delivery and check them out before delivery. We only had 3 weep whole covers left on the front windows when we drove it home. You could not talk and be heard with the wind noise. Called the dealer and he said the driver from Forest City drove through a bad rain storm and said the drivers are good at letting us know if there is a problem. Again I thought the Dealer was to check out the coach and test drive it but I guess not. Every one says this is normal and next year will be better and it takes around 6,000 miles to get all the bugs worked out . I hope so ours had 6,600 miles on it. We had a 2003 Winnebago bought used and drove it for 5 years with no problems. Guess this might be the last New Coach I will buy. Next time two years or older will be what we will look at.

[thataway]

We had the following problems with a 1991 Winnebago 38' diesel pusher: Service brakes failed--bad master cylinder after multiple trips to various service agencies. (electric over hydraulic brakes--not air) That unit had no "parking break--just an Allison transmission which you could crash into "Park" one time. The 100 gallon water tank fell out of the bottom of the coach and wedged against the rear wheels. The accellorator jammed wide open (cable jacket wore thru, and ice formed to freeze the cable.) Someone put a gasoline filter in the diesel line--and engine lost power due to disintregration of the filter and plugging of the line. Those were the major items--there were many other minor problems. We were also faced with "we can not get to it for several months". We threatened to take the unit to FMCA annual meeting and park it with cardboard lemons on the sides over the phone in a conference call with the dealer, service center and Winnebago. The factory did get us into a service center the next day. We found out later that the unit had actually been sold, and then returned as a "Lemon"--we were told it was a Demo! I have not owned a Winnebago since. I am sure that there are a number of good units built by Winnebago, but they will never get my money again.

[cctv]

jetartessales wrote:
MaverickBBD:

Thanks for the suggestion however, our coach leveling system is Power Gear. Guess what . . .there is no consumer telephone number for this company. They will only talk to dealers. If the consumer wishes to correspond with Power Gear, they must do so by email.

Cheers,
Eric Clapp
North Port, Florida

I had the same problem with Power Gear, their tech support is useless.

[wireman]

It is hard to believe that all the MH manufactures can't see that if they would have more quality control before these units leave the factory that it would cost them less in the long run. The cost to fix all these problems under warranty surely has to cost more than the problems being caught and fixed before being shipped to the dealers. If it costs an extra $300 per coach do do a complete check of all the systems on the coach before being shipped, pass it on to the buyer. I would think if you are paying $150,000 for a new coach that an extra $300 would be a small price to pay for less problems and aggravation. I realize that there is no perfect coach and just like cars, problems do occur. It's not like these things are being built at such a blistering pace now days that quality control should take a backseat to just rolling them out and getting them of the books. It's a combination of management and some of the workers who are there just to pick up a paycheck and have no pride in the work they do. Wireman

[roam1]

there was a long list on my new Windsport that I made them fix before buying and then a few more cropped up, CW fixed them all to my satisfaction, all is good now

it was amazing how it got bumped to the front of the Q before sale........

[MusTangFilly]

Sorry to hear about the holy******problems with your new motorhome, but am I the only one that wonders why at least most of these things weren't found out before you took possession of the coach? All the systems and various items should have been run, checked and all worked to your satisfaction while sitting and/or driving in the motorhome with your dealer/salesperson. I thought that was SOP.

While we've had a few issues with our 2007 Adventurer, and nothing like what you are experiencing, she's had her problems quickly taken care of by the dealer, the company, and other dealers of Winnebago when out on the road.

I certainly hope you get the care you deserve and need, to happily resolve your issues, and so you can enjoy your new coach in the years to come. I recommend you wait to see how these things are taken care of by everyone, before you contact an attorney. I consider acquiring an attorney a last resort, desperate measure. Happy trails.....

[Buck62]

driveby wrote:
While I realize all manufacturing can produce lemons and the OP certainly appears he's got one, there were a couple other posters who've had issues with new and recent purchases. So while I'm extremely happy with my 08 purchased in 07 I would go in eyes wide open if I were to buy a new one today.

Ironically in 07 I'm sure they were behind the demand yet in 11 they must have idle time and no need to rush. Or perhaps it is just they've stripped resources down so much that they don't have the practice they once did?

I do believe folks from Winnie read this, so guys(gals) pay attention! If this is a trend, reverse it. If it is truly isolated I hope you step up and resolve it.

Yes, there has been several reports on this and other forums about Winnie quality slipping on newer units. Perhaps in this economy they have cut their workforce down to the bone and not doing build quality follow throughs. Sometimes cost reductions can spoil your reputation for a high quality product. If I was considering a Winnie right now I think I would do a wait and see for more complaints to come up.