Brakes Failed AGAIN!!!!

[Capt Joe]

Heading out this afternoon to make our way to Pensacola for our younger grandson's birthday. Didn't make it out of town before the driver's side front brake started dragging and heating up. Found a nice large church parking lot and sat there for about an hour when the temp finally got down to about 150 degrees on that rotor and the caliper released. Was able to ease on back home....after cancelling our reservation. I called the local Chevy dealer, who is the Workhorse Service Center, and talked with the General Manager (big boss) who is a fellow that graduated from high school with me (a LOOONG time ago) and I'm taking it in in the am. Billie Donn told me they could look at it first thing. Hopefully they will be able to check it out and get right on it. Maybe they will even have some parts.

This is my second go-round with the brakes on my W20. First time it was the passenger side one that hung up. I have an infared thermometer and on the first hangup, the temps were over 500 degrees on the rotor and this time the temp was about 450. This time the ABS light came on and the little 'alert' light...the red ! in the circle...also came on. I didn't see those coming on with the first failure. Fortunatly my extended warranty covered the first one...$100 deductible but didn't cover the freight to get the caliper, ABS sensor, etc and those charges were about $200 (think I got ripped).

After I got home a little while ago, I called WH at the 877-246-7731 and got the Roadside Assistance number of 877-946-7731. They were very nice over the phone and since I was now in a safe location and everything, they did confirm that my local Chevy dealer was the closest location for WH Auth service. I asked them about the Recall and they referred me to the 247-7731 number for info on the Recall. Hopefully they will be both eager to please with prompt service as well as assisting with the financial impact of this second failure. Anybody else had a brake failure repaired since the Recall has been announced?

I'll post back later when I have a diagnosis and repair...as well as the WH response.

Thanks for reading my rant.....Was really disappointed to have to cancel out on taking the MH over for the birthday party. Our grandsons do really love to sleep in the motorhome with Gramma and Grampa. Oh well, hopefully it will be fixed for our planned trip with some of our Sunday School class scheduled over Memorial Day weekend and for our grandson's trip to Tenn in July.....

[max49]

Good luck Captain and let us know how it goes. I admire you guys patience with this brake problem.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt Joe Oh well, hopefully it will be fixed for our planned trip with some of our Sunday School class scheduled over Memorial Day weekend and for our grandson's trip to Tenn in July.....

Capt Joe, I expect that "when" your service center calls the regional service manager you should get those brakes fixed under warranty and it shouldn't cost much if anything. They might only fix what's broke so I'd keep an eye on that opposite caliper. Have them completely flush the brake fluid.

[Capt Joe]

Thanks for the replies and the encouragement.
Driver, I had to have the other front caliper replaced last June about a week after we returned from an 1800 mile trip to the Keys and had the brake fluid completely flushed later in the summer after I found that sticky stuff in the passenger side master brake reservoir tank. They took the master cylinder completely off and cleaned the tank real well before flushing the lines. That 'gunk' was nasty....thicker than honey and when I stuck my finger into the tank to check the level, I didn't think I'd ever get it all off my finger.

Hope you are right about them 'taking care' of it. My bud at the service center said earlier when I talked with him that we would call Work Horse first thing.....Also hope they have the needed parts, caliper, ABS, etc...in stock or a quick turn around on them so I can make our schedule for leaving at noon next Thurs....Sure want some of those catfish out of Lake Eufaula (COE park host told me yesterday they weighed in a 52# catfish last week at the park where we will (hopefully)be staying ). We are planning on frying up a bunch of fish up there....Oh well, if my luck with the fish holds out like it has lately with my other things, I guess we can always drop back and fry some shrimp and grouper.

I'll let ya'll know what we find in the am.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt Joe Thanks for the replies and the encouragement. Driver, I had to have the other front caliper replaced last June about a week after we returned from an 1800 mile trip to the Keys and had the brake fluid completely flushed later in the summer after I found that sticky stuff in the passenger side master brake reservoir tank.

Capt Joe, {Believe it or not} The sticky stuff in the reservoir was preservative that was in the brake components. It floats as a skim on top of the fluid and it is does not adversely effect the operation of your hydraulic brake system.

Please don't put your finger in the hydraulic brake fluid going forward. This contaminates the fluid. When you did stick your finger in there the slime coated your finger, "That's normal."

I often recommend the use of a small mirror to check the brake fluid level.

Now that said when the system is flushed the preservative is some of the first stuff to go.

Sounds like some good fishin'!

[Samflhomes]

I am a first time RV owner today and have not yet taken delivery on my National Sea breeze 2003 34 footer. It has 8.1 vortec and the wokhorse chasis. I am pretty disappointed to read about brake problems. Can someone give me an update of where this problem is at today. I saw 78 pages of posts that is now a closed forum. Is their a fix? what do you advise I tell the dealer I bought this unit from when I call him tomorrow. Is ther somethings I should have checked and done before I take delivery?

Thanks

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samflhomes I saw 78 pages of posts that is now a closed forum. Is their a fix? what do you advise I tell the dealer I bought this unit from when I call him tomorrow. Is there somethings I should have checked and done before I take delivery?

Samflhomes, You didn't have to go back that far to get an open thread about brakes. See this one ....

NHTSA Campaign 09V110000 A RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED

I would ask the dealer to make sure that you are listed as the owner of record for your chassis. If that is not the case send me your bill of sale and I'll work on that for you.

You may want to ask the dealer to see if he can flush the hydraulic brake system and install new fluid. How many miles are on the unit and has it been on the lot for a long time. High mileage is a good thing contrary to perception and the NADA because it keeps everything exercised. One might also ask how long the vehicle sat on the lot as well.

I would be concerned about tires at this point check the DOT code on the sidewall. They might be as much as 8 years old!

Pull the dipstick and check to see if the oil looks clean. Listen to the engine after it has achieved operational temperature. Take it out for a test drive and see what the seat of your pants tells you. You'll know right away if this vehicle is for you.

Your fuel filter is inexpensive on your rig, I would have them change that.

Check under the hood for a grease fitting on the brake relay rod to see if that has been lubricated. If there isn't a grease fitting on the relay rod I would have them install one. That procedure is inexpensive to resolve.

Check the cooling system, the recovery bottle should have coolant showing up to the cold line.

Check all other fluids especially after you have warmed up the engine - check the transmission.

There are many things that go along with taking delivery of a vehicle that should be checked however your dealership may not be certified to work on chassis. My service center has a $99.00 lube, oil and filter special and they check everything else as well.

The brake campaign that is in place right now will assure you that the brakes on your vehicle will not be something that you are not going to have to worry about in the future. All the suspect parts are going to be replaced by newly engineered components.

You will get a letter as to when you can expect to bring in your vehicle to complete the campaign. Now if that same vehicle continues to sit there, the dealership will have to have the campaign completed before they sell the vehicle.

What they will do after you take delivery is make any repairs to the brakes that are needed. If the brakes are working then I would just wait until it's my turn to bring the vehicle in for service. Hopefully you can schedule the campaign during the off season.

I have a 2003 W22 and it's been great! Now over 77,000 miles and we have folks here with over 85,000 miles and still smiling!

[angelman]

The best way to tell that you are about to have a brake hang-up is when you come to a stop at a light. If the vehicle moves on idle theres no problem. If it doesn't roll or you hear a little squealing there's something wrong. I just got back from a 2500 mile trip without a toad and had a failure going across from melbourne to tampa. There was a bit of traffic and I was following someone. Pulled into k-mart for about 40 min. all was good after. I found that if you heat up the brakes just a little, they will fail. Get yourself an infared temp gauge so you can point it at the rotors if you have a failure. Downshift as much as possible to avoid heating up the brakes until the recall is completed. Good luck.


We are all awaiting the new brake parts.

[jdsr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt Joe Thanks for the replies and the encouragement. Driver, I had to have the other front caliper replaced last June about a week after we returned from an 1800 mile trip to the Keys and had the brake fluid completely flushed later in the summer after I found that sticky stuff in the passenger side master brake reservoir tank. They took the master cylinder completely off and cleaned the tank real well before flushing the lines. That 'gunk' was nasty....thicker than honey and when I stuck my finger into the tank to check the level, I didn't think I'd ever get it all off my finger. Hope you are right about them 'taking care' of it. My bud at the service center said earlier when I talked with him that we would call Work Horse first thing.....Also hope they have the needed parts, caliper, ABS, etc...in stock or a quick turn around on them so I can make our schedule for leaving at noon next Thurs....Sure want some of those catfish out of Lake Eufaula (COE park host told me yesterday they weighed in a 52# catfish last week at the park where we will (hopefully)be staying ). We are planning on frying up a bunch of fish up there....Oh well, if my luck with the fish holds out like it has lately with my other things, I guess we can always drop back and fry some shrimp and grouper. I'll let ya'll know what we find in the am.

I had 3 failures and im sure the parts they used on mine will be the same ones you will get. IMO until we get the new parts there will still be failures. I dont know why you would be expected to pay anything for repairs because of the recall. What alot of us are hoping for is our money back on past repairs and brakes that work from the recall. Be very careful out there.

[Capt Joe]

We came on over to Pensacola in our Vue this afternoon for our grandson's 5 year old birthday party tomorrow and upon my request, the service advisor from the Workhorse Service Center called late this afternoon with an update on my situation.

They had talked with the regional service manager for WH and he authorized repairs to get me back in a safe state on my brakes. This will include a new caliper, etc and will be covered by WH warranty, even though my chassis is a 2003. Repairs have been completed, they had the caliper in stock so there should be NO charge to me at all and I will pick our 'baby' up on Monday.

The service advisor at the Center also said the regional manager told them this was NOT the recall repair and the recall repairs should be ready about October and will include replacement of ALL 4 brake calipers. Didn't have any thing to say about any reimbursement for previous repairs...but then too I didn't ask that question.

So, all in all, I am very satisfied with the outcome and speed with which things were taken care of.....THANKS WORKHORSE AND THE TOMMY THOMAS CHEVROLET WORKHORSE SERVICE CENTER FOR A JOB WELL DONE!!!

One interesting note is that the when I was talking (shooting the bull) with the mechanic doing the work, he told me he had disposed of over 4000 pounds of the Bosch calipers just from their relatively small shop. Hmmm, VERY interesting.

[Samflhomes]

One correction my new Rv is a 2004 not 2003. National Seabreeze model LX 8321 with W22 Chassis. Does 2004 make any difference vs 2003 as far as possible brake problems are concerned?

Thanks for your help

[jdsr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samflhomes One correction my new Rv is a 2004 not 2003. National Seabreeze model LX 8321 with W22 Chassis. Does 2004 make any difference vs 2003 as far as possible brake problems are concerned? Thanks for your help

the recall is for 2001- 2008 I believe. I would be oh so careful with it since your not the org owner and dont know what has been done and what could be going on with the brakes. Im the org owner of mine and know every little thing about the brake usage, service preformed, when failures happened and what was done to "fix" the brakes. Until I get the brakes fixed the right way I am, and will be concerned. Im not trying to scare you but just inform you. Do a search here and on other sites. Lots of info out there. good luck

["007"]

Samflhomes welcome to irv2.
Congrats on your new MH, safe travels and happy motoring.
If your dealer follows through with what DriVer has said you should not have a problem.
Also when checking out your MH use these PDI LISTS to make sure everything else is a OK.

[darbyjudy]

Capt Joe, I also had a brake failure after the recall was announce and it was on the left front. I took to Register Chev., all the mechanic did was to lube the pins and slides, he didn't replace the caliper so I imagine I will still have problems on that wheel. It did not cost me anything, Workhorse picked up the bill. I sure will be glad when they finally get the new calipers so we can take a trip with the constant worry of overheating the brakes. It has been a nightmare for some of us. I lost my brakes completely once and beleive me that is scary.