Warranty Issue Denied

[farmall130]

We took our Montana in for some minor warranty work. I have been very pleased with the build quality of our unit after the nightmare I had with our SOB. I had inspected every inch of our new unit, and while I was on the roof, I noticed a place at the radius of the roof with something sharp underneath the rubber, like a seam or staple. It will definitely come thru over time. Our dealer asked for 6 hours labor to take that side loose, repair whatever is sharp and put it back together. Keystone has denied the repair. I really don't understand why they would deny a repair that will save a lot of grief over what will happen later...

[DQDick]

Did you call Keystone customer service? Before going to the dealer it's always a good idea to call Keystone and let them open a case. In this instance call them and ask what's the problem.

[mlh]

They think it won't be a problem while the camper is covered if ever.
Lynwood

[bethandkevin]

Loose staples under the roof membrane are a known issue that has been discussed here before. Ours was repaired under factory warranty.

http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...s=roof,staples

Here is a link to a prior discussion on the topic.

[Captain Joe]

On our previous 3750FL, all Keystone did was to tell the dealer to take pictures, document where the staples were, and put it on file if they become a problem. Keystone said they would repair it, but only if the staples come though. That issue has not been passed on.

[Phil P]

Hi

Make sure and get everything in writing.

Get a copy of the work order from the dealer and all documentation you can.

Make sure the work order has everything you ask them to look at on it; every little thing must be on the work order.

Don’t accept the stament from the dealer that there isn’t a work order because it was warranty.

You must get everything in writing.

When you talk to Keystone get an E-mail address and the name of the person you talked to then send an email stating your understanding of the conversation. If you get a phone call in return to the email you insist on a return email.

The customer service repetitive you talk to on the phone types what they think is important in the conversation in to their terminal and believe me they leave out a large portion of what was said.

I have been thru this and if you don’t get documentation Keystone takes the position that it didn’t happen.

Phil P

[1retired06]

I had a similar issue and was told the same thing. Likely objective: push out past the two year mark. My issue was not visible from the street, so I took a small piece off the rol1 of rubber repair material I always carry and covered the spot. It will never come through that.

[Art-n-Marge]

Here's a stab at their thinking... Warranties are typically for problems, not future problems. They would have rather you waited that the roof became a problem, than incur a cost they have to pay now for something that was NOT a problem yet. Then you have a one year warranty and this doesn't become a problem until two years later and they wouldn't have had to pay for it and they get to keep the money in the bank. They are angry you tried to make them pay for a future problem they could have gotten away with not having to pay. Shame on you for trying to get back some of your money from their profits.

Actually, it looks like you took in your rig to the dealer for the warranty work without contacting Keystone first. I think they don't want to pay because they weren't forewarned. On the other hand, the dealer should have contacted Keystone (Montana parent company who processes, approves and pays for warranty work) prior to doing the work. You still probably would have to fight to have this work done on a potential, not existing problem. Keystone probably would have approved extra goop be put on the roof and not taken apart to be rebuilt, but from others' posts this sounds like it's been done before and they don't like paying for it. Phil P's procedure says it best to try and get the best results. Not immediate results, but probably the best results.

[steelpony5555]

Yep, probably their thinking. It's not a problem today and to take up part of the roof to fix it it would be a major cost, so they are taking the wait and see approach. Maybe with a major fight you can get time to fix it. But like Mike says get a piece of Eternabond tape to put over it. That stuff is strong and also has some elasticity to it. I did the same to a couple of spots on my roof that did not look kosher for a just in case. Can't hurt but may save you some headaches down the road.

[jlb27537]

As mentined earlier. If it is a staple or such, I would cut a "U" shaped hole in the roof material. Remove staple, and fold roof back down and put a piece of EternalBond tape over it and forget it.

Easier to fix a small area than remove a large section of roof and try and get it back down.

I remember in the car business back in the 80's when GM had no clue how to paint a car, a customer came in with a small speck of dirt in the front fender. Was the Black Cherry that was all but impossible to match. She wanted me to paint the fender. I said no. She went to a different Cadillac dealer and they painted the fender. I saw her a month later on my service drive and went over to say Hi. Asked how she was. She apologized to me for getting mad about the fender. She showed me the result. Looked OK from one angle, but from the other was not even close. She said she wished she had left it alone.

Remember, it was not broke till they worked on it.

Jim

[Artemus Gordon]

Why they are thinking it might, be considering it a "Future problem"? This is clearly a "manufacturer defect"! They will fix it. Twice dealers were told no by Keystone for issues I reported. Single call from me to Keystone got them authorized. I am a very sweet guy on the phone ( don't read into this). I never raise my voice, I just move up the ladder, Higher I go, the more cooperation I get. "Yes Virginia" there is a Santa and he works at Keystone.

[farmall130]

I'm going to talk with the dealer Friday and see if it was approved. If not, then I will call Keystone. As far as calling before taking my unit in for warranty repair, I've never done that. The dealer always says just bring it in, because he has to get authorization anyway before he can fix it. And I don't think Keystone would authorize anything anyway just from my phone description without a tech looking at it. This place will definitely come thru, looks like maybe any day, I can fix it myself but that's not why I gave $50K+ for a 5th wheel.

[jlb27537]

quote: "Yes Virginia" there is a Santa and he works at Keystone.

Bah Humbug..................

[Artemus Gordon]

[quote]quote:Originally posted by jlb27537

"Yes Virginia" there is a Santa and he works at Keystone.

Bah Humbug..................
[/quot

Lol

[bethandkevin]

quote:Originally posted by farmall130

I'm going to talk with the dealer Friday and see if it was approved. If not, then I will call Keystone. As far as calling before taking my unit in for warranty repair, I've never done that. The dealer always says just bring it in, because he has to get authorization anyway before he can fix it. And I don't think Keystone would authorize anything anyway just from my phone description without a tech looking at it. This place will definitely come thru, looks like maybe any day, I can fix it myself but that's not why I gave $50K+ for a 5th wheel.

Exactly! I didn't spend nearly 60 grand to have a dealer put some "goop" or an Eternabond patch over something that isn't supposed to be there to begin with.
When I called Keystone, I was told to take it to my dealer to have it looked at. So if you take it to the dealer before calling Keystone, I believe you are one step ahead in the "game" called warranty service.