Warranty deadline expired before work completed

[Marklin]

Fellow owners, perhaps this has happened to you...we brought our 2018 Venetian to the dealer where we purchased, to get warranty work performed. It was in their care for 6 weeks during which time items were diagnosed and sent to Thor for approval. There seemed to be a lot of back and forth w Thor and although some items could be completed, others simply had no timeline. Meanwhile, after delaying our trip to the southwest for 3 weeks, we picked it up. We thought we’d have the opportunity to return home in March to wrap up diagnosed items which were already being processed. Now we find that Thor will not honor these repairs past our warranty deadline which expires end of this month. They say they can extend for 60 days but starting over w a new dealer starts the whole process all over again and local dealers are backed up. Super frustrating. We’d like Thor to honor the diagnosed repairs, to be performed by our dealer, when we return in March. No more, no less. Has this happened to you?
Thanks much for any thoughts you might have.

[Skip 500]

I have run into the same issue. I called Thor, knowing that my warranty was to expire in January and I could not get into my local dealer for repairs until December. The dealer was then going to take pictures to send to Thor for warranty authorization. Thor assigned a reference number to the repairs to be done and assured me that even if the repairs did not happen until after the warranty was up, that they were covered. So, lets see how they are on their word.

[Bob Denman]

It would seem to me that you have a ton of proof showing that these problems existed before the warranty expires...
Be persistent, and good luck!

[Marklin]

So it would seem. Unfortunately, since we can’t get work scheduled before March, they’re not budging. To skip500...be aware, it took us multiple weeks (6) for diagnose/approval process before we picked up sticks.

As I say, we’re just trying to get work done that HAS been approved during warranty period, just not yet performed. Does anyone have a name at Thor where I can escalate?

[JamieGeek]

Are you hearing all of this from the dealer? Have you contacted Thor directly?

[TurnerFam]

Thor has always honored our ‘warranty’ repairs, even when disgnosed prior to the end of the warranty, and actually only repaired months later... but that was at their Factory Service Center in Wakarusa.

I tend to always consult the service center first, even though I might wind up having the repairs done somewhere else - then they have a record of the emails, and you have proof that they already o.k.’d them, even if a repair shop, or the service center, can’t get to it for a long time.

[Marklin]

Good thought. As you might suspect, this is our first rodeo and it’s truly one unique experience after another. Shouldn’t be this difficult ��. Thx!!

[Laco]

This is where your dealer should go to bat for you. I had some repairs going on, that didn't get completed until after the Thor warrantee was over, but it was transparent to me, as the dealer handled any problems that may have occurred, without my involvement.

[Lynanne56]

Originally Posted by Marklin

Fellow owners, perhaps this has happened to you...we brought our 2018 Venetian to the dealer where we purchased, to get warranty work performed. It was in their care for 6 weeks during which time items were diagnosed and sent to Thor for approval. There seemed to be a lot of back and forth w Thor and although some items could be completed, others simply had no timeline. Meanwhile, after delaying our trip to the southwest for 3 weeks, we picked it up. We thought we’d have the opportunity to return home in March to wrap up diagnosed items which were already being processed. Now we find that Thor will not honor these repairs past our warranty deadline which expires end of this month. They say they can extend for 60 days but starting over w a new dealer starts the whole process all over again and local dealers are backed up. Super frustrating. We’d like Thor to honor the diagnosed repairs, to be performed by our dealer, when we return in March. No more, no less. Has this happened to you?
Thanks much for any thoughts you might have.

How long do the batteries in the Thor Axis usually last before they need replacing?

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Lynanne56

How long do the batteries in the Thor Axis usually last before they need replacing?

Welcome to the site.

Can't really answer that question: Depends on how the batteries were treated before you picked it up (assuming that you are treating them well).

If your coach sat on a dealer's lot for a long time it is likely the batteries are already on their way out.

If you ordered it and picked it up right after it came in (e.g. batteries were new when you picked it up) you may get some years out of them before they go.

Our house battery (yeah we only have one) lasted about a season before a cell died (it was one of the "Harris" batteries). Our coach battery is still going strong after 4 seasons (I believe it is a Motorcraft (Ford) battery).

[TurnerFam]

as for 'batteries', our stock factory supplied batteries have lasted well over 4 1/2 years, and I don't plan on replacing them anytime soon...

when it comes to 'warranty' work from Thor, as much as many of us want to depend on our local dealer, especially the one we bought our RV from, they many times either don't have the time to do it correctly, or don't have the personnel and experience to really tackle some of the issues - but the FACTORY service center does... we've always found that using them is the best overall course of action - you have a specific date of service, you arrive the day before at their facility the night before, hook-up to electrical and water, and have it ready for them to drive 100' into the service bay the next morning at 7am. It will be returned to you by 3pm the same day, if all the work can be accomplished by then, otherwise usually one more day has you set and ready to go. You can stay there and try out all the systems and make sure everything is up to your standards before you ever leave, and the techs are terrific, and know much, much more than the standard 'rv' techs at most any dealer.

While most of us might not want to use our 'vacation' or travel time sitting in Wakarusa Indiana, it's actually quite a nice diversion, including the Thor Motor Coach facilities and their tours, and the close proximity to Elkhart and Napannee and the RV Hall of Fame.

Our last warranty repair, and total Schwintec column and gear replacement for the rear main slide, was 6 months after our warranty 'expired', but since it was an issue I had already reported to them, they scheduled us as soon as practical to have it replaced, even though it wound up being months later. I doubt I would go to any local dealer to try to accomplish the same repair, and I imagine that it would an exercise in aggravation, not to mention that it's HIGHLY doubtful they'd ever have it repaired in just two days.

[gnach]

Originally Posted by Laco

This is where your dealer should go to bat for you...

SHOULD is the operative word. If it's Camping World, forget that help.

[Marklin]

Originally Posted by TurnerFam

Thor has always honored our ‘warranty’ repairs, even when disgnosed prior to the end of the warranty, and actually only repaired months later... but that was at their Factory Service Center in Wakarusa.

I tend to always consult the service center first, even though I might wind up having the repairs done somewhere else - then they have a record of the emails, and you have proof that they already o.k.’d them, even if a repair shop, or the service center, can’t get to it for a long time.

Thanks to all of you who responded. We were able to escalate at Thor (thanks again for the name . They agreed we weren’t being treated fairly and will accommodate. Too bad we had to go through so many channels but all’s we’ll tgat ends well. Ps. Our dealer bought out Camping Workd out here so as soon as I saw the heads up about them not helping, I moved on. Would be nice to get to Elkhart for service but the Midwest just not in our travel plans anytime soon. We’ll definitely make tgat work one of these days. Again, thanks to all...these first rodeos can be a little painful

[Wonderdog]

Our Axis had problems diagnosed just before the end of the warranty period. Thor approved repairs to be done after the end of the warranty period. I called and sent pictures and emailed with pictures. They were most accommodating.

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by gnach

SHOULD is the operative word. If it's Camping World, forget that help.

I really liked when people don't know what they are talking about. CW in many locations is fantastic. The Svc Mgr at Myrtle Beach disagreed with Thor, brought his general manager into the 'discussion'. Finally, the general mgr stated the regional mgr would be told that location would not want any more of that model and~~ all done! Doubt if your dealer would do that and would not have the clout as the number of units sold are not even a drop compared to a large CW location.

[tinker3030]

I had a problem like that. I called Thor and they actually put it in writing and sent it to me that the warranty repairs would be honored. It was just Dixie Rv not doing what they were supposed to do. My unit went in on July 11, no parts or authorization by Thor was done until Sept 6. Thor honored it, but Dixie Rv dragged their feet.

[tomkat334]

My warranty expired while the dealer had it. I turned it in two weeks before expiration and they had it for 5 weeks. I had compiled a pretty long list of repairs. All the work was covered even though some of it was completed after the warranty date was exceeded. Whether the dealer was in contact with Thor I do not know. All I know is the repairs didn’t cost me anything.