|
Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 54
|
Breakdown in Amarillo - Bay Star Sport/F53
Purpose:
The purpose of publishing this information is NOT to cast blame or criticize those involved. It is to share our experience and lessons learned to prevent others from experiencing the same problems. We have only good things to say about the staff at Newmar, Midway RV Dealer (Grand Rapids, MI), and ESPECIALLY the technicians and management at the Tri-State Ford Dealer, Amarillo, TX, all who honestly did their very best to help us out and get us back on the road.
Background:
This incident involved our new 2016 Bay Star Sport 2705 with around 1,700 miles on the chassis. I am not sure we will ever really know what the “root cause” of the failure that occurred was, but the following is based on what we have been told by the technician who serviced the unit in Amarillo, TX, and Newmar customer support and technicians. We are not new to RVing; the Bay Star Sport is our 4th coach over the past 30 years. My husband is a mechanical engineer and super handy.
For those who have not been following the earlier posts regarding our exploits, on Monday we noticed our automotive AC was blowing warm air while driving from Arkansas through Oklahoma. Heading west, it was very uncomfortable with the sun pouring in the windshield, even though we did try and run the roof AC. The back of the RV was quite cool, but we were very hot in the cab. It was a miserable drive and we stopped late just west of Oklahoma City for the night. Our plan was to find a Ford dealer in Amarillo or Albuquerque and get it repaired. We assumed the automotive AC was Ford’s responsibility, so did not call Newmar.
The next day we headed out in the morning and around 11:00 or so local time I was driving 70 MPH on US40 when the power steering went out. I had all I could do to steer to the side of the exit ramp we were fortunate enough to be passing at the time. The engine died thereafter. I kept thinking, what if I had been in the mountains on a steep curve! Crawling under the front end, my husband discovered the clutch on the AC compressor had blownup and the belt to the power steering had slipped off causing fluids to be sprayed all over the engine compartment. Needless to say, we needed a tow.
Lessons Learned:
If the Ford chassis is still under warranty, call the Ford Roadside Assistance 800 number and get their help to secure a tow. I called a couple of Ford dealers first to see where I could get service and then asked for recommendations for tow company. Had I called Ford Roadside Assistance (RA) things would have gone a bit more smoothly. But we did secure an outstanding company, Cierra, from Amarillo, to tow us to in. We waited about 4 hours for the tow vehicle to come, just about what they indicated when we called, since the truck was already on one call and we were about 1.5 hours away. The driver was courteous, upbeat, professional and knew exactly what to do to ensure our RV did not suffer any damage. This is the first time in 30 years we ever had to be towed. He got us to the dealership in great time. We felt the tow bill was reasonable (not sure what Ford RA will think). However, it would have been better to have Ford RA handle this, as it would have paid the bill directly to Cierra. We paid for the tow and will now have to submit the paperwork to Ford RA with an explanation as to why we called direct instead of calling them. Fair enough.
What Was the Root Cause:
Initially, it appeared the AC compressor had a catastrophic failure. A new compressor was available, but not the belt. We had to wait a day for the belt to arrive. The next day, they installed the new compressor in the a.m. and the belt after lunch when it came in. Testing the system, they discovered that the high-pressure hose from the AC compressor to the evaporator (heater core) had been damaged by rubbing against the engine accessory drive belt. This appears to have been the root cause, NOT a bad compressor. The Ford technician believes that this hose had been installed incorrectly (connector angled into frame/belt instead of away from it), resulting in it being continuously rubbed by the belt until it started leaking. Lack of fluids then caused the compressor to explode and eventually the belt to fall off the power steering.
Trying to secure the high-pressure hose at the end of the day revealed other issues. First, the part number on the hose was not recognized in the Ford database of parts/prints leading the Ford technicians to assume this hose was a Newmar aftermarket part. Next, we tried to contact Newmar for further technical assistance—where do we get a new hose. Second lesson learned: the sticker on the front of the coach with a picture of your service rep is not very helpful. We called the number and just got voicemail. Also, customer support ends at 4:00 Indiana time. We were an hour earlier in Amarillo. Next I called the Newmar Customer Support number and spoke with a rep (not technician). He said the info would be passed on to a Tech and they would get back to us. I asked them to have their tech call the Ford dealer and speak directly to the Tech who was doing the work. After an hour, still no call, and now it was too late to reach Newmar CS--even the afterhours number, which again yielded only a voice mail. Message to Newmar: extended hours are critical for customers in emergency situations, especially with various time zones across the country. It is also important for technicians across the country working on the units to have a direct line to Newmar technicians. Our greatest frustration was constantly waiting for a critical piece of information in order to move forward with any kind of resolution.
By the time I had reached my own dealer to try and get some help from their Service Manager, he was left with very little time to contact anyone at Newmar before they closed. But he was able to escalate the call and let me know, which was very reassuring. We did not know that our original message also reached the Newmar techs, and someone finally called the Ford tech. Unfortunately, all they could tell him was a list all the people they tried to contact without success at Newmar. Telling the tech there was nothing more they could do until the next morning.
This was Weds night. We left very discouraged, but were able to finally drive the vehicle to a nearby campground (we had been camping in the parking lot of the Ford dealer since it was not drivable) where we spent the night and were able to get much-needed services, like power, water, and dump. Later that evening (after hours) the dealer service manager called us and said they heard from Newmar and were authorized to have the hose made locally and install it on the coach. This was great news! We would head back to dealer in the morning.
What we learned that may be important to others with the F53 chassis from Newmar. The hose IS a Ford part. Due to poor data keeping, the part was not properly identified in the Ford data base/prints. It appears (and we are still looking for confirmation of this) Newmar purchases their chassis’s from a local Ford dealer who installs these hoses in the lengths needed for various models. This is where the hose was more than likely installed incorrectly/or they did not ensure it was not able to rub on the belt. This does sound similar to the problem with the wiring harnesses not being secured and burned when falling against the exhaust. The Ford technical said it was as simple as turning the connection a few degrees to prevent this from happening. We also learned that we are not the first customer to experience this particular failure. There may have been 4 last year and one other this year. Thus, Newmar needs to implement an inspection process for this issue asap and customers should maybe have their units checked. I know I would! Just as we checked our wiring harness.
Later that night we received a follow up call from the Service Manager at Midway. We also received a call from the dealer telling us Newmar had authorized them to have a new hose made locally and install it. We went back to the Ford dealer in the morning, they removed the hose, sent it out to be duplicated, and when the new part arrived, installed it and tested the AC. All was well, and about 1:00 on Thursday, we were back on the road.
In summary:
We lost 4 days of our vacation. I do not even know how to put a dollar value on this or the stress, worry and sitting around for hours in the dealer lounge. The root cause may have been something as simple as a bad connection of a high pressure hose. However, we consider ourselves VERY lucky that it happened where and when it did. Things could have been so much worse. We happened on a great Ford dealer dedicated to great service—as corny as that may sound--in a friendly town with everything we could possibly need. These technicians are highly qualified and never gave up on getting us repaired and back on the road. Newmar did come through, and I believe if they too look at these lessons learned, they could improve their customer support/services in some very simple, basic ways. Above all, communication and access to technicians by customers and other technicians would go a long way to improving the customer experience and addressing major breakdowns around the country. Perhaps benchmark best in class escalation processes and procedures for these kinds of incidents. How things are handled, the follow-up and continuous communication to the customer, can definitely make a difference in how the customer perceives Newmar after experiencing the trauma of a breakdown.
Our advice to others buying new F53 coaches. Have their technicians ensure the high pressure hose in on correctly and not rubbing on any other moving part!
If we learn anything new or further clarification of anything written here, we will update the group accordingly. We love our new Bay Star Sport in spite of all that has happened.
Lynn in MI
2016 Bay Star Sport 2705
Ford Escape - Std Trans - Toad
|
Linear Mode
