Another Freightliner horror story

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
Over this last Memorial day, A/C went out on one of our Sterlings. FOD was the closest and said they could check it quick. So when we got there, they said it was a loose wire to the compressor. Ok.....no problem. Fix the wire. They said since it was under warranty, they had to replace the whole compressor and clutch. Ok.....all one unit and we have it. Ok again....although we become suspicious of replacing a compressor because of a loose wire. They said if they held the wire a certain way, everything ran ok and cooled well. Ummm???
Well a day went by and they suddenly said the pressure was too high and we now needed a expansion valve. I said why?
They said the bunk was keeping the pressure too high. When I asked if the frontcab) was cooling, they said no. I then asked how they knew they needed a expansion valve if the front wasn't working. You guessed it...................dead silence.
I then proceeded to have Don Garrison from Bentz call them and explain the bunk had nothing to do with their repair until the front unit was working. Same thing I told them...imagine that?

By day three guess what? They said they couldn't figure out how to fix it. This dealership is a total joke. They ordered a expansion valve anyways, and then cross threaded it wrong trying to put it back on because they ordered the wrong one in the first place.
I wouldn't trust these people to fix a bicycle.
Also....never had a dealership specifically say, "we can't fix our own A/C unit". Unbelievable I thought.

It gets more fun.
After pulling it out and refusing to fix it, we then take it to Fort Worth Sterling. They tell me after looking at it that the orifice tube is damaged and FOD blew a bunch of metal and debris into the evaporator and clogged the expansion valve. Ordered all the parts from Twin Air to correct the screw up. At this point, told system was damaged and everything would be covered under the original warranty repair.
After ordering parts and usual Freightliner bs, another three days pass. Keep in mind that FOD is the first to ever work on this A/C unit.

And of course one more laugh.
When we pick it up, you guessed it, they want $1800. Plus.....the truck is full of grease. Had to send it out to get cleaned. Then they drop the bill to 1400 and say you need to file a "progressive damage claim" This came from their asst. service manager James. Of course I hadn't heard of this either so I made a few calls including one to Freightliner of Knoxville, and they haven't heard of it either. The guy bold face lied to us.

We paid the 1400 to get the truck out, but it has turned to legal action for the rest.
These kind of dealerships really ruin it for the decent ones.
And there are a few. Very few.
Sadly, this is probably the last time I do anything with a Freightliner product.
We bought several KW's this year and the service has been outstanding.
Sorry.....this got a little long, but sometimes you have to put the truth out there. There was no misunderstandings or anything of a sort. It was deception, bold face lies, and shoddy service.
Now to make the story a little longer, they (Fort Worth Sterling) did essentially replace everything and it is working great.
It is amazing how a loose wire turned into ALL of the A/C components and parts being replaced.

Probably should add, our M2 just blew a condensor last night. 2nd one this year. I think I will repair this one.
 
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terryandrene

Veteran Expediter
Safety & Compliance
US Coast Guard
FOD could be Foreign Object Debris or perhaps, Freightliner On Deathrow
 

pelgrn

Expert Expediter
I Have 3 units that lost there air in the last 2wks,one of the 2 is a freightliner m2.I have had good luck with the service center in ST Loius so i hope they continue there good work.If they even mention a loose wire were outta there.:eek:
 

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
It is a shame but I guess this is our fault, sort of. You at least went to legal proceedings on yours, I might end up having to. Everyone who has had these kind of problems should go after Freightliner. It is begining to look like it is more than the dealers. Of course, dealing with a forgien company in the US courts should be a riot. If I ever buy another truck it is not likely it will be a Diamler Truck. What do you expect from the bunch that brought us Nazi's and Hitler? Layoutshooter
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
Have to wonder.
For the folks with a M2, if your condensor keeps going out, I found with a little investigating, they now have three.
When they get too many complaints that could result in a recall, they just switch manufacturers.
I called Freightliner in Oregon, and they said they have to keep doing replacements with manfacturers because they can't find one that lasts. Shouldn't this have been done at the engineering phase? Maybe assuming too much?
Team stopped in Amarillo, TX and the dealer there said they order 30 a month and were out. Could have them in 2 to 3 days, or pay 175 and it could be overnighted. Used some JBweld and some freon and down the road they went.
 

pjjjjj

Veteran Expediter
And of course one more laugh.
When we pick it up, you guessed it, they want $1800. Plus.....the truck is full of grease. Had to send it out to get cleaned. Then they drop the bill to 1400 and say you need to file a "progressive damage claim" This came from their asst. service manager James. Of course I hadn't heard of this either so I made a few calls including one to Freightliner of Knoxville, and they haven't heard of it either. The guy bold face lied to us.

We paid the 1400 to get the truck out, but it has turned to legal action for the rest.

I shouldn't be asking this becuz I know nothing about how these things work, or at least, how they are supposed to work, but when this happened, wouldn't the manufacturer step in to resolve this problem between repairers, to make sure their customer is covered and their reputation is intact?

A different make of vehicle, but one time husb needed a warranty repair done in an out-of-the-way place which had no authorized repairers. A pile of phonecalls, redtape, time, and a temporary lien on the truck later, the unauthorized dealer got permission to do the work from the authorized dealer who usually deals with us, with the mfr as the intervenor. Nobody would/could touch it without written authorization from all parties as to who would be paying who, for what.
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
With regards to Freightliner, the manufacturer won't step in unless you have 100's of trucks.
They basically will tell you that the dealers are independent of the manufacturer and if you need assistance, dealing with that specific dealer is your only option.
 

pjjjjj

Veteran Expediter
That stinks! So I guess you must choose the dealer wisely, yet how are you supposed to know which ones know their stuff??!!
 

sixwheeler44

Expert Expediter
With regards to Freightliner, the manufacturer won't step in unless you have 100's of trucks.
They basically will tell you that the dealers are independent of the manufacturer and if you need assistance, dealing with that specific dealer is your only option.

HI Dave, my wife n i have also owned a m2 n had three condensers go out so we sold it n bought a kw T-300 which we love. U said in ur story u boughten new kw this yr r they t-300 or the new 370. any info on this would b appreciated ty.
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
I can remember like back last year or later you Dave and Rich and some other pundits....agreed the class 7's were crap and if one were going to buy, go with Class 8's as they are built alot better.....and here we are mickey mousing around again with the freightshakers..... I drove the Fl's back when they came out back in the early 80's I believe while they rode good they were a piece of crap then, electrical problems and shorts all over the place....things it appears have not changed.
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
My personal opinion is there is little difference between a 300,370, or 600 except for the engine size. All of the wiring,cab components are the same. We opted for the Cummins because after a change in the fuel rail system, they seem to be pretty much trouble free. Cost of a full rebuild is substantially less as well when that time arrives.
With regards to the M2's, they do have their flaws, but are much improved over the FL series. The bad news is that reliable service and parts availabilty is poor. I know the smaller Mercedes have been a real sore spot for many.
Many of the FL line including Sterlings, are opting for the Cummins instead. Can't say that I blame them.
In our case, we have a Cat in the Freightliner trucks. They have been pretty reliable up to this point.

Before I forget, we went with the 07 300's because I didn't want the engines with all the emissions parts on them.
 
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TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
Well in defense of the M2 and their owners you buy what you can afford and make due the best you can. We are lucky that Bob is a mechanic and can work on most things him but that air conditioner has driven us nuts. We did our homework and we talked to many dealers before we bought our truck and we made a very good choice. When we have a problem getting a part or a dealer messing with us we call Heath of Middle Georgia Freightliner. We have had our truck three and a half years, been paid for one and a half of those years and still to this day we have a problem we call Heath, him and his shop has saved our butts more than once. We have had problems with a dealership not knowing about a recall, not knowing they had discontinued a number and how to cross reference the number to get a part, we call Middle Georgia they tell us what we need or if needed they will send us the part!

Middle Georgia is one of the reasons our next truck will be a freightliner as I despise most Freightliner dealerships. We want a 14 mpg truck for our next truck and we think the Cascadia is the way to go with the new DD13 in it. We are specing the next truck for fuel mileage first then comfort.
With the experience we have gained from this truck and now we are not first time truck buyers we will be able to get a class 8 truck for our next one!
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
Guess your M2's must be like Sprinters some run well with very few problems against others that start out with nag problems that never seem to end...how so many faulty parts end up in the same truck???*L*

Linda/Bob...congrats on going with a Class 8!!!
 

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
I don't know if it is the M2 being the problem or the shoddy service at most Freightliner dealers. Most I have been to have been "replace and see" shops. There seems to be fewer and fewer mechanics and more and more part swappers. Layoutshooter
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Hey Dave,
Here is a dumb a** thought.

You ever think of putting a FL50-80 condenser on the thing?

I don't hear much of the failures with them as I do with the M2s.

Also Linda, I heard the Cascadia getting 10 to 12 but 14? Are you serious?

Oh and Layout, they also gave the world the EU.
 
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