“Check Engine” Light in Less than 10,000 Miles

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March 18, 2015

Check Engine

Dear Sir,

On April 25, 2008, I purchased a new Allegro Bay Motor Home, Model 35TsB, which has a Cummins Diesel Engine up front—a main reason I purchased this motor home. When returning from a trip on August 3, I had engine problems & the “check engine” light came on. On August 5, 2014, I took the motor home into the local Cummins dealer in Anchorage, AK to ask them to check out the engine.

The dealer told me that the actuator for the turbo was defective. There were only 9,898 miles on the engine, but it was out of warranty. In Alaska, we only use our motor home from June to the end of August.

The dealer checked with Cummins manufacturing to see if they would replace the actuator & Cummins replied since the engine was out of warranty they had no responsibility & they denied the dealer’s request to replace the actuator.

I have paid the dealer for the part & labor, but I believe that in all fairness, Cummins should have provided the actuator & I pay the cost of labor. I believe the actuator was defective to have failed in less than 10,000 miles, but since it was past the warranty coverage date, I would pay for the labor. I cannot believe that an engine with the reputation that the Cummins diesel engine has would fail in less than ten thousand miles.

I am asking your assistance to communicate with Cummins Manufacturing concerning this matter.

Thank you for your help in this matter.

Sincerely,

Condon G.

Anchorage, AK

Resolution:

After contacting Cummins, Action Line received the following letter:

To Whom It May Concern,

We here at Cummins Northwest strive every day to give our customers the best service available. We received your letter and spoke with Condon G. We took the claim to our policy program & was able to get Condon G. 95% back on the actuator. Condon G. was pleased to hear that we were able to get him his money back. We would like to thank you for bringing this issue to our attention & we will continue to provide the best customer service we possibly can.

Thank you,

Brent R.

Ceco Shop Supervisor

Anchorage, AK

Leave a Reply

2 comments

  1. William E Auld

    Is there any known help for owners of Ford Triton V10 engines with spark plug failures in which the hole in the heads of 1999 & 2000 A Class with less than 100,000 miles have a failure, mine at 108,000 Kilometers, I am getting no where with Ford Motor Co.
    Repair methods are available but a quoted prices of $4-500 for each plug hole which comes to $4000 to $5000. for a complete spark plug hole replacement on all plug holes.

    -1
  2. K Cain

    Had the same issue Oct 26, 2014 with new 2014 Newmar MH with 400 HP Cummins Engine with only 8971 miles. MH was purchased in June 2014.

    On road trip check engine light came on near Oklahoma City, OK. Freightliner Motor Home Division in OK City diagnosed as defective Variable Geometry Turbo Actuator on engine Turbo. Required reprogram of ECM and replacement of Variable Geometry Turbo Actuator.

    Fortunately, warranty covered all parts and labor.

    Perhaps Cummins should recall these defective turbo actuators.