Anyone heard of a bad batch of Cummins 400 ISL's?

[rebelsbeach]

We've got the east and west coast covered Cheryl, how about the rest of the U.S.?

[Sweet40FD]

We sure do Bob.
There may be some that just read the forums instead of joining in. That's what I did for a long time. But I saw how helpful everyone was in answering questions, so I took the step and had mine answered. This forum has been the best thing for alot of us.

[Doc Mark]

For some reason I had completely missed this thread - BAD Doc - No Donut! ! !

Since I have a 2007 Mountain Aire on order, I plan on calling the salesman at Independence RV in Orlando today and asking for the engine serial number installed in my new coach. I, too will refuse to take delivery if the S/N falls within the defect range.

As an aside - in case anyone out there wonders if these forums are worth their time - this thread makes it obvious that prior to the internet we would NEVER get this type of information. My thanks to Bob and the other owners of iRV2.com for the superb service they provide the RV owner. My hat is off to you gentleman.

[Route 66]

I believe the 2007 Mountain Aire uses the ISM engine which has not had any problems reported.

[rebelsbeach]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Route 66:
I believe the 2007 Mountain Aire uses the ISM engine which has not had any problems reported. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nice catch Dirk....

From the '07 MADP page:

Spartan® K2 Chassis with IFS
Cummins® ISM 450-Hp Engine

[76dc]

I had my coach for 9days and had 2160 miles when my engine blew. I was in San Anglo Tx for about a month. Still outstanding bill that Cummins would not pay. Ser # of old engine 46513908, New engine 46602735. It was a mess, rear of coach, towed vehicle, oil all over the highway. Cummins, Newmar,spartan, all acted as if this was a rare occasion. Motor went out on 3/9/06. Found out later at Spartan factory while getting service that Cummins had several go out, most happened while being driven to dealer.
This is my second Newmar and will be my last, as far as Iam concerned Newmar will leave you out in the cold as far as notification. Should have been advised of this when I purchased coach.

[Sweet40FD]

D. Cote; what bills is it that Cummins would not pay? Our engine blew July 14th and we are still without our Coach and it could still be another few weeks before we get it back. We are fulltimers and are having to live in a hotel. We were told all our expenses would be paid. After reading your post; I'm worried now.
Thanks,
Cheryl

[rebelsbeach]

DCote, WELCOME to iRV2!!

I see your '06 43' Dutch Star suffered the same fate my friend's '06 43 MADP suffered...

I won't repeat all my thoughts,but safe to say CUMMINS dropped the ball here...

I did read that you're unhappy with Newmar and regret that has to happen.
In my friend's case, Newmar is doing ALL it can.....remember, it is Cummins that misrepresented
the facts here.

I understand that you are upset, but having had the issue of the side radiator fan coming off, I cna only say GOOD things about the way Newmar and Spartan treated me.

I look forward to hearing more of your experiences with your coach and wish you luck.

[Lug_Nut]

I can only assume since no recall has been made on the windowed serial numbers, that these faulty wrist pins (if that what it was) were not necessarily in all. If they were I would imagine it would be far cheaper for Cummins to do a recall. But if these parts were used here and there on that "batch" of engines such a recall would cause far more problems. Even advising the suspected group of users could cause unsatified people, even those with no problem. You would end up with these people wanting their engine replaced regardless. If this is the circumstances, they are in a lose/lose position.
I just can't believe Cummins would not correct the problem if they could. But, in the forementioned senario, if it were correct, they would probably be faced with doing similar to what we see now.

[GaryKD]

Lug_Nut,
A recall has been issued for emergency vehicles only. Motor coaches have been excluded from this recall. I do not agree Cummins is in a lose/lose situation. The recall requires owners, of emergency vehicles within the serial range, to take their vehicle to a Cummins dealer and they will replace the defective part(s). For 7 years, I was the warranty manager for South America, for a Fortune 10 company. I am all too familar with the players involved (title not person) and the positions they take. In this situation, Cummins is as bad as Firestone was with their tire problem. There is no excuse for Cummins not being clear on the serial number range for engines that were installed in motor coaches. They should also make the same repairs they are making to emergency vehicles (replace the defective part(s). Owners can demand what they want, that does not mean each owner gets a new engine. It means the affected owners get the good parts. The bottom line is Cummins may be acting legally, but they and coach manufacturers who use Cummins engines are getting close to loosing my future business.

For any who do not agree, all I ask is for you to decide when would you buy your next coach that has a ISL engines in it? Now, next month, next year, next decade or never? The cloud hanging over these engines, in motor coaches is thick and heavey. Unless Cummins becomes informative on this issue, this should be enough to kill the ISL and the coaches that have them.

[rebelsbeach]

Gary, call me silly and slap me sally,but I would buy an ISL coach tomorrow with the assurance from Cummins that they found the bad wrist pin vendor and solved the issue.
It goes without saying that I WOULD NOT take one of these engines in the affected serial number range...

I don't subscribe to the "ban ya for life" thing with Cummins,although I am a bit dusmayed they've not issued the recall.

My buddy Jeff is being taken care of and we have a date penciled in to pick up the coach and head to the factory for some minor repairs.
At least in "his" case, Newmar has stepped up to the plate and is attending to his needs. although a GREAT DEAL of this is because of the interaction of our dealer with Newmar...

[GaryKD]

Sweet40FD,
You have a new job. Get everything in writing, from a person who is authorized to make the commitment. Email is an excellent way to do this. My recommendation is to gain the agreements and information via telephone. Ask for the person of authority (must be at least a manager or higher) to confirm the agreement in writing, via email. Ask for that person's email address. If you do not get the email in 24 hours, send that person an email with the agreed to details.

I do mean get everything, absolutly everything in writing.

[GaryKD]

Good evening Bob,
The assumption that Cummins would give you that assurance is false. How could they give you that assurance when they have not admitted there is a problem with engines installed in motor coaches? If anyone was to purchase a coach with an ISL engine and wanted written assurance (there is no other kind of assurance) from Cummins that this problem is not in the engine they are considering buying, my view is a snow ball in Miami has a better chance of surviving that this person getting the written assurance.

Until Cummins admitts there is a problem, nothing pro active can be done on their part.

The only people, at Cummins who can fix this are the CEO and COO. The attorney says keep quiet and say nothing, follow the law. The CFO says keep quiet and say nothing, we do not want to spend the money. Engineering says keep quiet and say nothing, statisicly it is a small problem, we can fix those that break. And the chorus to this song is the customer has a warranty. That's why the only people who can make it right is the CEO and COO. They are supose to have the company's future in their performance evaluations. They are the people who have as part of their responsibility to do the right thing. Everybody else is missioned to keep only their piece of the company in tip top shape.

[rebelsbeach]

Gary, you are absolutely correct as always and I sincerely appreciate you sharing your point of view.