Cummins engine issues - Be aware!

[sunsets2c]

We have a 2016 Itasca Ellipse Ultra by Winnebago. It has a 450 hp Cummins engine with 16,264 miles on it. On our way back to FL diesel fuel started blowing out the back of the coach, and quickly we had white smoke billowing up behind us. We were able to get off I-95. Coachnet was great and we had a tow truck there within 2 hours and were towed to a Cummins repair center.

Here is the part you need to be aware of: the cause of our problem was a split in one of the fuel injectors. As most of you know, these pieces inject diesel fuel into the cylinder under extremely high pressures. It seems Cummins is aware (according to the repair person) that these injectors are "prone to fail". And in fact Cummins has wrapped new injectors with a red rubber sleeve to absorb the intense vibration of the injector as it functions which causes it to split.

I am extremely irritated that a company that produces a product that is "prone to fail" has not recalled rvs to replace these parts. And since there are more than one of these on the engine (the number six injector is also extremely susceptible to the same failure according to the repair person) we can look forward to more issues like this one.

To add insult to injury Cummins charged me my $100 deductible even though the engine is still under warranty.

Wish CAT still made engines for rvs.

[Crasher]

Of all the Cummins engines I have owned, I have never heard of or had that problem. 43,000 miles on my current coach and it runs as good as the day I bought it. Hope your problem doesn't happen again.

[mwallin]

If you had a Cat you would long for your cummins. There are no engines built today worth what they charge. The problem is they squeeze every last drop of HP out of them, they are on the edge of the envelope and prone to failure. Worked for a Cat dealership and never saw one that wasn't broke.Try getting with local rep and getting it good willed. I would say the more polite the better chance but you might be surprised. I do this all the time a year out of warr.

[chuckftboy]

Last year a friend of mine had the same problem coming north on I-95 from the Keys. 8.3 also under warranty. I'll have to ask if he was charged $100 deductible. Seems strange to charge a deductible on a factory warranty repair.

[RogerBall]

We received a recall notice from Cummins regarding the cracking injector lines. The fix was to wrap the lines of #4 and #6 injectors with a 1" piece of fuel tubing slit lengthwise.

I would think your engine would have been part of the recall.

[sunsets2c]

Interesting responses - appreciate all of them.

In reply:

1) never rec'd a recall for our engine. Definitely would have taken care of this. New injectors come with a red rubber sleeve from end to end on the injector.

2) charging a deductible is supposedly a 'new' Cummins position on warranty issues - based on mileage on unit (per repair center)

3) owned a used 2006 Ellipse with a CAT - ran like a gazelle with no problems

4) owned a new 2012 Ellipse with a Cummins - no problems

5) now have a new 2016 Ellipse and Bingo! Guess my number was up. Or it may just be like all products now and quality is not what it used to be. As someone mentioned, trying to get everything possible out of a machine without really looking at parts that would be adversely affected seems to be the norm anymore.


I attempted to find a phone number to get to customer support at Cummins, but could only find an email form. I sent info to them, but have not had a reply yet. Wasn't nasty - just very disappointed.

[sunsets2c]

Originally Posted by RogerBall

We received a recall notice from Cummins regarding the cracking injector lines. The fix was to wrap the lines of #4 and #6 injectors with a 1" piece of fuel tubing slit lengthwise.

I would think your engine would have been part of the recall.

Do you remember when you rec'd the recall notice??

[Winemaker2]

Sounds like a candidate for a NHTSA incident report. Even if there is a recall or TSB they did not contact owners. That does get attention if enough reports...helped me w WH Bosch brake isdues on last MH

[speed racer]

It's all about quality control and I dought if Cummins makes these parts. Almost every industry today has a problem with supplyers.

[Dav L]

FYI, a Recall is only for Safety related issues. ie: if the injector failed...would you have good chance for that to cause an accident? Will it catch fire?

From your description, I doubt it would be considered safety related.

A TSB is published for an issue that doesn't have an obvious solution. From your description, the shop found the problem readily. Existence of a TSB does not indicate that there is a chronic problem. But...TSBs are often published for ways that a higher frequency repair issue can be fixed more efficiently, yet professionally. And, a TSB does not indicate the OE will repair for free. Most all say "reimbursable as per the Warranty". ie: if it's out of warranty, no reimbursement.

[Winemaker2]

I woukd consider leaking... spraying fuel around a hot engine and exhaust a safety issue. Maybe others feel differently.
I've seen many TSBs w known fix... the mfg just doesn't advertise the probem and agree to fix all w/o cost to owner. They wait for owners to have problems and then they MAY cover $.
In some situations I think they can be a cop out on a real problem.
Example: Bolts on electric slide motors... owners not notified and known fix applied to all immediately. Unaware owners can / did have damage...sometimes expensive... as a result of not knowing and repairing the problem. Just my opinion!!

[Cypressloser]

The fuel injection system is most likely Bosch, I know it's still a component of the Cummins engine but nevertheless.
I have owned many pieces of farm equipment with Cummins Diesel engines over the decades and my experience is that they are the most reliable, easiest to work on diesel and much much less of a fire hazard compared to gasoline powered engines, you can literally douse the whole engine in diesel fuel and nothing happens - well, it'd make a big mess and stink.
The $100 "deductible" that was charged may have been for shipping and/or shop supplies on out of warranty repairs added on by the repair facility - just my educated guess.

[jimmy braden]

Originally Posted by Cypressloser

The fuel injection system is most likely Bosch, I know it's still a component of the Cummins engine but nevertheless.
I have owned many pieces of farm equipment with Cummins Diesel engines over the decades and my experience is that they are the most reliable, easiest to work on diesel and much much less of a fire hazard compared to gasoline powered engines, you can literally douse the whole engine in diesel fuel and nothing happens - well, it'd make a big mess and stink.
The $100 "deductible" that was charged may have been for shipping and/or shop supplies on out of warranty repairs added on by the repair facility - just my educated guess.

Older diesel engines that was just flat true -

Newer ones much less so. For one you now potentially a (min) 3000psi spray of highly atomized 'oil' in proximity of an exhaust system with high turbo heat ( also not historically present on farm equipment).

Fire can is a much larger possibility from about 2002>. Engines use Forced induction at higher pressures. That means more heat in exhaust..

[Smitty77]

Not long ago another thread came along about this same issue(?). And I responded on that thread too. But will do so here to, as I feel strongly about my opinion.

My opinion, is that this is a Safety Matter. Not a blown injector, but a cracked and spray fuel line is a fire waiting to happen. And that could be a life or death situation for those in a coach.

I also shared in that post, that the Cummins Culture has shifted from deuces past. Cummins used to go out of their way to 'Do the right thing.'. They would take care of a problem long after warranty had expired - IF, it was one they deemed was design or quality of manufacturing related. And the old Cummins Culture, was one of 'Their engine, their responsibility of working back thru suppliers if the problem was on the the supplier side.'

Now a days, it seems like Cummins is going strictly by the warranty period. After all, look at those with the $20-30K + ISX Valve problem on a few years of engine. Bad design, and or execution of design, by Cummins - NO WAY THE OWNER SHOULD EXPECT A 1/2 - 1 Million mile engine, to self destruct at such an early age.

I would encourage the OP to report this 'spraying fuel failure', so that the numbers of problems are somewhat tracked.

I also encourage Cummins Board of Directors, to do a 'Top Down Review' of their current practices. And if they too find what us as mere customer's have seen as a 'Cummins Culture Shift' - then start the process of again changing culture so Cummins regains the reputation of 'Doing the Right Thing'. (May cost some to cover honest error in either design or execution of design. But, the word of mouth between the small RV'ing community, larger trucking and commercially used vehicles - is the best advertising they could ever achieve. When customer's won't buy a product because it does not have a Cummins engine - the dividend is paid.) (Now, if I were buying a new RV, I'd carefully research those with Detroit/Volvo/Mercedes as an option...).

One final opinion. I believe CAT made as good as engine as any, maybe better, in most of their OTR engines. Parts could be a bit more expensive at times. And of course now finding places to work on RV's with CAT's is not always easy either. They, as did Cummins (And all engine manufactures.) - did have teething pains during all of the fast poorly thought out and executed changes on smog controls regulations. So not all of the problems fit squarely on these manufactures.

OK for others to have a different perspective!

OP - Hope all is smoother sailing from here. Best to you, and all,
Smitty