Oakmont Warranty - Service Charges

Squirlee

Well-known member
My Oakmont is in for some relatively minor warranty work prior to the warranty expiry. We have been extremely happy with how we have been treated at this dealership.

However, today they tell me that I have to pay a "diagnostic" fee because THEY can't find the issues. I know what it is like chasing gremlins in electrical, hydraulics etc but why do I have to pay them because THEY can't find the problem?

My bedroom slide comes out on its's own (the hydraulic pressure relaxes and the slide just slowly comes out - full extension after a couple days). They can't get it to do it so I have to pay a diagnostic fee.

My convertor quits occasionally - gives a loud beep and then it shuts down, shutting down my fridge. Batteries are still full because when I reset the convertor the fridge runs again for hours. They can't find the problem so I have to pay a diagnostic fee.

They also say that there will be a record of the request and if it occurs again they will look further into it. On my dollar?

Just really frustrated after having a really positive experience with this dealership.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi squirlee,

I don't blame you for being frustrated. Getting charged for looking into an intermittent problem is kind of unfriendly on their part, if they sold you the unit. From their perspective, if they can't find a problem, they can't get warranty reimbursement from the manufacturer.

That said, here's what I'd suggest:

First, on the bedroom slide - are you sure it's hydraulic, not electric? If you have a single switch that operates all of your slides, it's probably hydraulic. And if a single switch, what's probably happening is the hydraulic ram is leaking a little, allowing the fluid to pass the seals, which allows the slide to move by itself.

Second, on the refrigerator - sounds like you have a residential refrigerator and where you've said converter, you mean the inverter (changes 12V DC into 120V AC) that supplies power to the fridge. I'm assuming you're describing the inverter shutting down when you're towing, or boon docking because if you're on shore power, the inverter shouldn't be providing the power to the refrigerator anyway. The inverter will usually shut down if there's not enough battery power, or if the refrigerator has a startup surge that exceeds the ability of the inverter. So if your batteries are still fully charged when this happens, you likely have a marginal inverter.

You should call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. Discuss these 2 problems and that they're intermittent, and that the dealer can't duplicate the problem in order to diagnose. Ask them to approve testing/replacement of the hydraulic ram and the inverter, and to notify the dealer for you.

You might also have a talk with the general manager at the dealership about the policy. Intermittent problems are not all that unusual his techs should be able to discuss the problem with you and come to a tentative diagnosis even if they can't reproduce the problem. They should have made the call to Heartland for you to discuss how to proceed.
 

Squirlee

Well-known member
Thank you for that reply!!! I will call Heartland at the number you provided and see if they will authorize the replacement.

Thanks again.

Hi squirlee,

I don't blame you for being frustrated. Getting charged for looking into an intermittent problem is kind of unfriendly on their part, if they sold you the unit. From their perspective, if they can't find a problem, they can't get warranty reimbursement from the manufacturer.

That said, here's what I'd suggest:

First, on the bedroom slide - are you sure it's hydraulic, not electric? If you have a single switch that operates all of your slides, it's probably hydraulic. And if a single switch, what's probably happening is the hydraulic ram is leaking a little, allowing the fluid to pass the seals, which allows the slide to move by itself.

Second, on the refrigerator - sounds like you have a residential refrigerator and where you've said converter, you mean the inverter (changes 12V DC into 120V AC) that supplies power to the fridge. I'm assuming you're describing the inverter shutting down when you're towing, or boon docking because if you're on shore power, the inverter shouldn't be providing the power to the refrigerator anyway. The inverter will usually shut down if there's not enough battery power, or if the refrigerator has a startup surge that exceeds the ability of the inverter. So if your batteries are still fully charged when this happens, you likely have a marginal inverter.

You should call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. Discuss these 2 problems and that they're intermittent, and that the dealer can't duplicate the problem in order to diagnose. Ask them to approve testing/replacement of the hydraulic ram and the inverter, and to notify the dealer for you.

You might also have a talk with the general manager at the dealership about the policy. Intermittent problems are not all that unusual his techs should be able to discuss the problem with you and come to a tentative diagnosis even if they can't reproduce the problem. They should have made the call to Heartland for you to discuss how to proceed.
 
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