Community Forums

llmats1 · 01-10-2012, 11:38 AM

If you are thinking about purchasing a new Fleetwood product you might want to think twice about it. I purchased a 2012 Fleetwood Jamboree Sport and had the typical new vehicle problems: interior trim not attached correctly, exterior door handle showing 3/8" gap to full body paint, dust and debris under decals and so on, took it to the selling dealer and they said it would be a week or more. What's going on! Fleetwood has been bought out by Berkshire Investments, before any work can be done the dealer has to document the problem, take pictures and send the paperwork in for approval. Needless to say not much was approved because of the bean counters. Not a happy camper!

That was the first experience with their wonderful warranty service. Later the check engine light came on because of an evaporative emission defect, took it to Ford who said that Fleetwood had relocated a lot of the emission system components along with adding a new filler neck and leaving most of the lines just balled up and stuffed into where-ever they could be. Ford took it to another Fleetwood dealer who took pictures and sent them to Fleetwood who said that because I added a heavier swaybar to the coach that they couldn't cover any warranty work to be done to the coach.

Again thin twice before you purchase a Fleetwood product, they have tied the hands of their dealers and don't care about their customers.

Add more if you have experienced this too.

SarahW · 01-10-2012, 03:01 PM

Sorry you are disappointed with your new Fleetwood. I'm happy to say that we have not had that experience, at least not so far. We had a few minor items after our initial shakedown cruise and the dealer handled them all without a problem. We now have over 4,000 miles on our Bounder and it's great.

I have to ask, did you not notice the defective interior trim or the decals before you bought the RV? Hope it works out for you.

Oh...and welcome to the forum!

Fred and Bonnie · 01-10-2012, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llmats1

What's going on! Fleetwood has been bought out by Berkshire Investments, before any work can be done the dealer has to document the problem, take pictures and send the paperwork in for approval.

OK. I'll bite. Where did you get the info that Berkshire bought out
Fleetwood?

fred

llmats1 · 01-10-2012, 04:00 PM

The coach was special ordered and we noted the defects on delivery plus added a few that were noticed later, the dealer tried to address all the issues but he was shackled by Fleetwood and the warranty approval process, they denied most of the items on the list. On the emission issue they were using anything that they could to deny any warranty work, saying that the sway bar was affecting the evaporative emission system.

SarahW · 01-10-2012, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred and Bonnie

OK. I'll bite. Where did you get the info that Berkshire bought out
Fleetwood?

fred

I'd like to know that, too. IIRC, they are owned by American Industrial Partners Capital Fund.

Tha_Rooster · 01-10-2012, 04:47 PM

The emission system is a ford problem. Way back when mine was under warranty they took pictures of paint defects but other things were not a problem. I would like to know what adding a sway bar has to do with anything unless something was moved or unhooked. What were some of the items they denied?

SarahW · 01-10-2012, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llmats1

The coach was special ordered and we noted the defects on delivery plus added a few that were noticed later, the dealer tried to address all the issues but he was shackled by Fleetwood and the warranty approval process, they denied most of the items on the list. On the emission issue they were using anything that they could to deny any warranty work, saying that the sway bar was affecting the evaporative emission system.

Have you contacted Fleetwood directly or are you relying on the dealer's info? I know that it's pretty standard for any company to have to approve warranty claims, even automobiles.

Many times any after-market add-ons will void vehicle warranties unless installed by the dealer. Did they install the sway bar for you?

What a mess. I'm sorry you have to be disappointed in your new moho.

Cat320 · 01-11-2012, 08:44 AM

JMHO, but it sounds like it's a dealer problem, not Fleetwood. As noted above, go to Fleetwood directly.

llmats1 · 01-11-2012, 12:45 PM

The denials are coming directly from Fleetwood not the dealers, it has been to 2 different dealers. Some examples are: interior roof trim falling off ceiling, curtain track on ceiling does not have enough screws to keep the track straight, exterior door handle on entry door has white gap of 3/8" showing around half of the handle which ruins the effect of the full body paint, paint still had masking tape residue and scratches where some of it was removed. Now with the check engine light for evaporative emissions they are denying the claim because of the after-market sway bar.

Fencebuster · 01-11-2012, 06:37 PM

Very sorry for your issues with Fleetwood. To a degree, I do think that the dealer makes a difference. We had a dimple in our exterior that appeared to come from the refrigerator. That is the only item our dealer waited to work through Fleetwood's claims. Everything else, they felt, was part of good customer service - we were a cheap advertisement if they took care of us. I don't know if they filed claims with Fleetwood that were denied but they took care of everything: trim piece on passenger side that broke off due to too much torque being applied during attachment, wallpaper crookedly applied, plumbing leaking creating oil slicks when the slide was moved out. And, the biggie - replaced all of our batteries when they blew up last winter in the extreme cold! We didn't know we'd have to exercise the generator and charge the batteries more than once a month because we were newbies and we didn't disconnect everything we should have (inverter switch at the inverter). Blamed it on us not being given an owner's manual. Anyway, no issues since they took care of everything and we're out of warranty. Wouldn't hesitate to allow them to give us a fair deal in the future. Partnership between dealer and manufacturer is what it appeared to be to us. I really hope you get your issues resolved without spending money.
Come on Fleetwood! This is your opportunity to shine.

Mr_D · 01-11-2012, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW

Many times any after-market add-ons will void vehicle warranties unless installed by the dealer. Did they install the sway bar for you?

What a mess. I'm sorry you have to be disappointed in your new moho.

Read up on the Moss-Magnusson Act!! It prohibits the manufacturer from denying warranty coverage UNLESS they research the problem AND it's DIRECTLY a result of the modification. Only then can they deny coverage. They can't just say a warranty is void on the emission equipment for installing a sway bar UNLESS the installer moved or removed the factory stuff.

Here's a link to the Wiki on it.

Here's another that might help more

Gary RVRoamer · 01-12-2012, 06:56 AM

The chassis issue would be with Ford, not Fleetwood.

Once Ford has inspected the problem, they can say that in their judgement it was caused by the after-market part. That's all that Magnuson-Moss requires.

It sounds as though Fleetwood is saying the 3/8" paint gap is the norm on the Jamboree's paint job, i.e. they paint around the handles rather than installing the handle after the paint job. Have you looked at other Jamborees to see if they are similar?

Elkhartjim · 01-12-2012, 07:29 AM

If Fleetwood is requiring pre-approval on warranty issues, I may know why. While my Bounder was under warranty I returned to my selling dealer (DeMontrond RV-Houston) for several small items to be repaired. One item happened to be the under kitchen counter plastic soap dispenser bottle that had cracked. On the copy of the repair order they gave me it showed an 8 hour labor charge to replace the bottle because they had to R&I the counter top to replace the bottle. We all know the bottle is simply screwed on from underneath the cabinet. I don't have a clue if FW paid the charge.

llmats1 · 01-12-2012, 03:37 PM

Ford is working on it at my expense so far. They have found that Fleetwood replaced the filler neck and the hose is to large to fit on the gas tank, several lines that Fleetwood cut and lengthened had no clamps, the hoses were just shoved on the tubing for the emission system and that there are several leaks on top of the gas tank. This has nothing to do with Ford as it is all modifications that Fleetwood does in conjunction with the motorhome install.