Warranty Answers

Discussion in 'Peterbilt Forum' started by Belials, Jun 10, 2014.

  1. Belials

    Belials Light Load Member

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    Hello everyone,

    I am a brand new member here, I actually found this website doing a random search for something else. I was reading some of the posts here regarding DEF lines and some other issues people were having and I noticed a lot of people were very upset over the procedure.

    I didn't notice anyone else doing such a thing, so I wanted to post here and offer my assistance. I am a warranty manager at a Peterbilt dealership. I have been doing this for a while and would love to answer questions anyone may have about the procedure for failures, coverages, etc.

    Most people I encounter during my job don't seem to care about understanding why I have to do things a specific way, or why their failure isn't covered. This forum looks like a pretty good place to maybe reach out and talk to some of the drivers who do want to know, and maybe I can even make someone who is upset understand a little better.

    First and foremost, I will not disclose my name, location or company name, as I am still employed by them! Second, please do not ask me for confidential information or schematics on new trucks - we're legally not allowed to provide that (and I'll be more than happy to explain why, if someone wants to know!)

    Anything else I will answer to the best of my abilities, and one last thing: When you are at a dealership, please try not to get angry at their Service department or Warranty manager - we're just doing our jobs and following the procedures set forth by Cummins, Peterbilt, Paccar, Cat, etc.

    Hope to be able to answer some questions soon!

    -Belials

    Edit: I just saw "ThePeteStore" started a thread way back in 2011 and apparently hasn't kept up with it. I'm not affiliated with that store, and unfortunately I don't have much knowledge regarding parts sales, truck sales, or in-depth technical problems. This thread will be related specifically to warranty, but feel free to ask any question and I will do what I can to find the answer for you.
     
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2014
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  3. Cat sdp

    Cat sdp . .

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    Welcome........

    In your experience are emissions issues the majority of the claims ? I'm sure they are...... Have you ever asked anyone from paccar/ cummins about this?

    Tks
     
  4. Belials

    Belials Light Load Member

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    Thanks for your question

    I would say Yes, emissions tend to be one of the biggest issues. I ALWAYS recommend customers purchased Aftertreatment warranty - it is almost a guarantee you will use it, and if you choose not to..Well, then after your base engine expires, have fun paying for any failures!

    I've talked to reps from both Cummins and Paccar and there really isn't one specific problem or anything. The emissions system just takes a Hell of a beating, and with the constant EPA requirements, it's no surprise that it tends to fail.
     
  5. pupeperson

    pupeperson Light Load Member

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    I have a 2014 Pete 579. I had what I thought was a warrantable failure of a wheel seal on the front drive axle at approx. 125,000 miles. Took it to a dealer and was told that the warranty expired at 100,000 miles so I would have to pay for the repair. I told them that part of the purchase agreement was an extended warranty on the entire truck as it was financed thru PACCAR Financial, and they should confirm that and repair it under warranty. They came back and said I'd have to pay for it and then try to collect from PACCAR. I called the dealership where I purchased the truck and spoke (complained) with my truck salesman (a very knowledgeable guy) who promptly faxed me a sheet from their warranty book saying that the wheel seals in my truck were warranted to 350,000 miles even without the extended warranty. I forwarded a copy to the dealership where I was having the truck repaired, and they finally agreed they would repair the truck and forward the bill to PACCAR. So far so good, but a lot of un-necessary hassle. Also, it's the first leaking wheel seal I ever had repaired in a dealership shop where the grease soaked brake shoes were NOT replaced along with the seal. Is this the kind of service I can expect when forced into a Peterbilt shop away from home? I was pretty unimpressed with the service I got from them, with the exception that they DID get me in and out of their shop in quick order, which was good. Truck was going to be down a day anyway, and I lost no time as a result of this failure.
     
    KB3MMX Thanks this.
  6. Belials

    Belials Light Load Member

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    @Puperperson,

    I can't believe you had such a hard time having such a simple failure covered by warranty.

    The way the Peterbilt warranty works, is this: For the first 12 months, 100,000 miles, the chassis components are covered by Peterbilt.
    Once the twelve months is over, or you've reached the mileage (assuming you do not have an extended warranty), many of the individual components are then covered by the vendor for an additional period of time. So for instance, wheel seals generally have three warranty durations, depending on the hub.

    12 month / 50,000 miles
    12 month / 100,000 miles (Peterbilt warranty)
    or
    36 month / 350,000 miles, which is provided as additional warranty from the vendor.

    This is a very basic failure, and it's actually one of my favorite to process, just because it's so quick and easy!

    Any warranty administrator should have known, and I'd be willing to say that most service department should know this as well. I don't want to go ahead and say that dealership is incompetent, but maybe their go-to person was sick that day, or the warranty administrator is new. Who knows.

    Regarding the oil soaked brakes - we only replace them with a failure when they cannot be cleaned. If we can clean them, we'll leave them on. If we cannot remove the oil, we'll replace them. This is also covered by warranty, parts AND labor. The dealership will actually get paid time to replace them specifically due to that failure.

    I wouldn't say all dealerships are like this, I think the majority of them are good. However, if you do encounter this sort of problem again, feel free to contact your home dealership. You can ask the repairing dealer to treat the job as warranty and provide you all of the bad parts and a copy of the repair order. Once you get back near your home dealer, you can request that they file the warranty for you.

    Of course in this case, you'll still have to pay the repairing dealer, but hopefully your home dealer can file it and get most of your money back!
     
  7. pupeperson

    pupeperson Light Load Member

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    What really surprised me was that this happened at one of, if not THE largest Pete dealership in the country.
     
  8. Belials

    Belials Light Load Member

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    That is incredibly surprising. Any dealership that does a fair amount of warranty work should have an understanding of the basics. Sometimes failures can be iffy and will require extra time for figure out if its warranty. Wheel seals aren't one of them. Even if their warranty person wasn't there, or new, the service department should have known.

    I understand not all service managers are very involved in warranty, but most of them, in my experience, know what the basic warranty failures are. Anything beyond that, mine will come to me.
     
  9. Klleetrucking

    Klleetrucking Medium Load Member

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    Belials, thanks for volunteering your knowledge and input. You're well spoken and convey that through the keyboard. I don't have a warranty anymore as my Pete is an '03 but I'll be watching this thread with great interest. Thanks for stepping up.
     
    BoxCarKidd Thanks this.
  10. Belials

    Belials Light Load Member

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    Thank you Klleetrucking! I appreciate the comments, and really I enjoy answering the questions for people. In my job, I usually only hear people getting upset over why their truck isn't going to be covered with warranty, they typically don't care to hear anything else. It's nice to be able to explain the reasons why.
     
  11. Belials

    Belials Light Load Member

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    Just wanted to make another post here to remind everyone that I am still here to answer any warranty questions you may have.
     
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