W-20/W-22 Workhorse Chassis Brake Problems?

Winnie35, I don't know the answer to that, and nobody else will at this time.  We do know that previous repairs to the recalled brakes will be reimbursed, but we don't have a definitive answer on when and if you get reimbursed if an unauthorized (non-Workhorse) repair center did the repair.  Thanks for keeping this recall agenda on the forefront here and there, as I fully believe that Workhorse would still be wearing blinders if the NHTSA didn't have all the reports from owners with brake failures. 

Windsport02, thanks for the report and consequent post here! 

Max....'ol buddy, yeah....I did roll my eyes when I read that (over there), and although I didn't "gag", I thought the whole post was sad, as no matter what your title is, you should be rooting for the CUSTOMER, and not for the MANUFACTURER constantly.  I'm glad jdsr did post "thanks to NHTSA" for bringing this recall to fruition.....I appreciated that!

Duner, thanks for the updated link! 

Clay...thanks for posting over here, and just FYI.....I had my brake fluid changed out by our local Workhorse Service Center, and they said it was clean as a whistle.....Just piece of mind baaaaby!  ;D

Voyage1 said:

Winnie35, I don't know the answer to that, and nobody else will at this time.  We do know that previous repairs to the recalled brakes will be reimbursed, but we don't have a definitive answer on when and if you get reimbursed if an unauthorized (non-Workhorse) repair center did the repair.  Thanks for keeping this recall agenda on the forefront here and there, as I fully believe that Workhorse would still be wearing blinders if the NHTSA didn't have all the reports from owners with brake failures. 

Windsport02, thanks for the report and consequent post here!   

Max....'ol buddy, yeah....I did roll my eyes when I read that (over there), and although I didn't "gag", I thought the whole post was sad, as no matter what your title is, you should be rooting for the CUSTOMER, and not for the MANUFACTURER constantly.  I'm glad jdsr did post "thanks to NHTSA" for bringing this recall to fruition.....I appreciated that!

Duner, thanks for the updated link!   

Clay...thanks for posting over here, and just FYI.....I had my brake fluid changed out by our local Workhorse Service Center, and they said it was clean as a whistle.....Just piece of mind baaaaby!   ;D

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Well I hope i get that money back. I used all wh parts and this brake job has lasted longer than the one done 6 weeks before by a wh shop. BTW, jdsr/winnie35 says your welcome and wishs he could have used his handle over here to but understands sense it is taken. Hey guys its like the eternal flame, we must keep it lite until every last one has his brakes fixed.  Like I said over here and there, we won, they lost.  When its all said and done we should write a book on what those few folks over there said caused all our failure. The last one that was sent to me as a post over there was"I need to wash my wheels the right way to prevent my brakes from failing". Im serious guys. I didnt make it up.  Anyway love this site

Voyage1 said:

Clay...thanks for posting over here, and just FYI.....I had my brake fluid changed out by our local Workhorse Service Center, and they said it was clean as a whistle.....Just piece of mind baaaaby!   ;D

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My fluid was pretty dark and there was a little sediment of some kind in it. Guess it was time to switch it out.

I post here often when I have something that seems to be worth posting (at least to me )
Starting posting here back when the old Compuserve RV forum went away and my old friend Ed Juge was still alive.

Voyage1 said:

Max....'ol buddy, yeah....I did roll my eyes when I read that (over there), and although I didn't "gag", I thought the whole post was sad, as no matter what your title is, you should be rooting for the CUSTOMER, and not for the MANUFACTURER constantly.  I'm glad jdsr did post "thanks to NHTSA" for bringing this recall to fruition.....I appreciated that!

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Mark,

I must admit, I too rolled my eyes at the post Max referenced.  I think the term "stonewall" would be a better than complementing WH on customer service.

Bill

Update:

My understanding is that Workhorse is planning on sending an "Interim Notice" out to affected owners shortly.  They have not determined the fix and parts will not be available until late Fall.  Also, Workhorse will reimburse owners for repairs done after November 2007. 

None of the above is Gospel, but I suspect it is fairly accurate. 

Fits with what I'm hearing too... Oringinally I heard November for the letters.. now they are talking July

I wonder where the nov 2007 date came from. Both of my repairs were in june or july and then in august i believe.  You dont think they looked at when most of the parts were shipped out and went a couple of months later. It wouldnt be hard for them to see what months the most calipers and such were shipped.  I for one cant see how they can use a certain date. If we have brake failures and have documents to prove it then they should pay for it, plain and simple. Does anybody know where that date came from?

Received my Safety Recall Interim Letter in the mail today from WH.  8)

Quote:
Originally Posted by figallegro 
There are a lot of accolades about Workhorse stepping stepping up to the plate. However, 1. quite a number of their reps still do not know what is going on and insist that it is owner error causing the problem, 2. they are only reimbursing owner repair costs for repairs made after November 2007. Many people with older units have spent upwards of $8,000 for repairs out of warranty prior to this November 2007 date and will be out all of that reimbursement...                                                                                                                                                                                      I wrote the following on another site  in reply to the above quote and it would be a crime if workhorse would be allowed to get away with it. If workhorse think they got a blackeye from not wanting to provide us with reliable brakes, wait till they try this scam...     
This is my reply and to me makes sense. "IF" the statement about reimburshing for repairs after november 2007 is true, That would mean no money will be returned to owners because all the repair dates ( the date they will reimbursh for,after nov 2007)would fall within the three year warr period. That would be a slick way of not paying most of us back. Like I said "BIG IF". But on the other hand its true it will be time to contact nhtsa and our congress again. I for one dont see that one of my checks I wrote in august or sept 2007 for the same parts and failure should be treated any diff than repairs made after nov 2007. Well one big diff. Most if not all of those repairs were probly done under the 3 year warr.

We received our Interim Notice, safety Recall for our Workhorse chassis, today. feel pretty good about getting it so fast.

Ray D  ;D

Just got my recall notice and the reimburse date IS nov, 2007. Two of my fail dates are june and aug of 2007. I called the nhtsa and they said to file a complaint with the ftc. (1-877-382-4357). The ftc said the more complaints we get filed the better it will be so I hope you folks will file a complaint. It only take a couple of minutes. I will write my congressman that responded to me on this nhtsa issue and ask what he thinks about this date and WHY wh chose it.  I am also going to file with the BBB. I'm wondering if taking them to small claims court will do any good. I think it only cost me 50.00 and they will have to spend money to defend themselves. I believe this is a case the little guy can win.  Its not the money anymore it the principle. 

I am sitting at the Chevy RV dealer in Marysville, WA.  They state the letters are going out but that no action will be taken as far as actually replacing parts goes until this coming October or thereabouts. 

Looking forward to receiving my letter. 

I received my "Interim Safety Recall Notice" today also, and I was correct in reporting that the Workhorse reimbursements for past brake failures will only be covered on "certain repairs made after November 16, 2007".  I do feel like they will take as a case by case basis, some....SOME reimbursements for repairs prior to that date.    So Winnie35....hang in there! 

I do appreciate the interim notice and card by Workhorse, and I am grateful that the NHTSA has pushed for this recall due to many Workhorse owners who had several brake issues. 

Update.  It's becoming apparent that some people are having continuing brake problems, and that Workhorse has been using the "owner's responsibility" statement in the interim notice to deny the repair costs.

I for one, will be glad when the "official" recall is announced, and the repair parts are available, as we have two trips scheduled this Summer for a total of 6,000 miles, and I don't want to be sitting in a Workhorse service center arguing about the payment......especially since the "OLD STYLE/PROBLEMATIC" calipers would go back on the motorhome. 

I have a bad feeling about this whole thing!  I think you are only going to be reimbursed for the cost of the calipers ONLY. It seems they will NOT reimburse you for the cracked rotors or any other components that failed. In my case the cost of the calipers is only about one quarter of the total out of pocket expense to replace all the needed parts due to the defective calipers. Looks like Workhorse/Bosch have found a way to reduce their cost of this Recall. Seems typical.

I was told that only the calipers would be replaced.  Any other parts would be my responsibility.

I received my notice too, which prompted me to drive the mile to talk to the local WH mechanic. I could tell he was annoyed by this whole process. He said these exact brakes run up and down the highway every day on Fed Ex trucks. He said they are actually high end brakes, but with the motorhomes sitting during the winter that's what is causing the sticking problem. He is worried WH may declare bankruptcy due to this large outlay of cash. My comment was "how come other motorhomes from years past, and other chassis companies, aren't having this problem"? He said they didn't have the tight tolerances these calipers have. I hope Bosch is sharing the cost on this because with todays economy, WH could fold and stick everyone with the bill. He said the labor time to replace four calipers is about 4.5 hours and that will have to be figured in to the repair costs too.Do you guys think they deserve to go out of business? Basically going from a workhorse to a deadhorse.

While we do not have a WH chassis I suspect the delay in admitting they have a problem has added tremendously to the cost. Denial has likely cost them much more than had they addressed the issue early on when it first became apparent.

I agree with that. They may have been able to replace calipers on coaches that hadn't received any damage yet. It seems inevitable that all the coaches with these brakes will eventually fail. Fix it now and save some money. Stop denying the issue is their's.

Ron said:

While we do not have a WH chassis I suspect the delay in admitting they have a problem has added tremendously to the cost. Denial has likely cost them much more than had they addressed the issue early on when it first became apparent.

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I absolutely agree with you, Ron. And the true cost is not just the cost of the actual repairs, but also their short and long term reputation.

Just before I actually received my Interim Notice letter from Workhorse, I called my local Workhorse dealer and when I mentioned the NHTSA 'recall', the manager insisted to the very end that there was NO RECALL, that the posted information at the NHTSA website was 'just information'... huh? The letter states right on it 'SAFETY RECALL 50901-C'; and some members wonder why I have been so upset with Workhorse for the last two years...

On a lighter note, I'm two weeks away from doing the do-it-yourself project of inspecting the rotors, lubing the caliper brake pins and changing the brake fluid. I've had it planned for some time but it took longer to get all the necessary tools to do the job. (475 ft. lbs. on those lug nuts had something to do with it.) I'll probably take some pictures and can post my experience if anyone is interested... I've never done this before but am looking forward to learning the steps so I can do myself every 18-24 months.