My EuroVan Problems
I haven't had many problems with my EuroVan. My "report card"
for Volkswagen and Winnebago is:
- Volkwagen design and manufacturing: - A
- Volkwagen quality control: - A
- Winnebago design and manufacturing: - B
- Winnebago quality control: - F
- Dealership (Dirito Bros, Walnut Creek, CA) pre-delivery inspection: - F
- Dealership service department: - A-
So far, the Volkswagen part of the vehicle has been very reliable.
Several things were wrong with the camper conversion, however. Most
of the problems were present at delivery, and could have been found
and fixed before I saw them if the dealer had gone through a
pre-delivery inspection.
- The coach battery charging circuit was disconnected. This meant
that the coach battery was completely drained, and there was no
electricity at all ever getting to the camping appliances (water pump,
lights, refrigerator, furnace, etc.) I noticed this before I drove
the van off the lot. The dealership diagnosed and fixed it quickly.
A wire had pulled loose near the fusebox, and this wire is what
provides voltage to the solenoid that enables the rear battery to be
charged from the engine alternator.
- There was a missing gasket where the rear sprayer nozzle connects
to the sprayer hose. This meant that, any time the water pump was on,
water would gush out between the nozzle and the hose in back. The
dealer replaced the hose, and commented that he'd just replaced
another one recently on a brand new EuroVan Camper with the exact same
problem.
- The rear windshield washer hose was broken above the right rear
window. When I'd try to use the rear washer, no fluid would come out
of the nozzle at the window, but eventually, fluid would start
dripping down inside the vehicle at the right rear windowshade. This
was a difficult problem to get fixed. There's a hose that runs all
the way from the pump and reservoir in front under the hood back to
the rear window. The dealer said that Winnebago had punctured the
hose during the pop-top installation. It took them awhile to fix it,
because access was difficult. In the process of fixing it, they
ripped the fabric covering on the rear hatch, and misadjusted the
electric door locks so that they wouldn't work. It took a total of
three all-day visits to the dealer to get this one completely
straightened out, but they did eventually get it perfect at no charge
to me.
- The wrong furnace thermostat was installed, causing the furnace
to "short cycle". It would cycle on/off every 30 seconds or so, and
never put out much heat. I tweaked this to acceptable performance
myself by adjusting the heat anticipator screw. After the warranty
had run out, I found out from the EuroVan mailing list that this was a
common known defect, and I probably should have had the thermostat
replaced under warranty. Instead, I installed a relay in the circuit,
which lowers the current load on the thermostat, thus giving normal
performance.
- One of the burners in the stove had a screw loose, and was very
wobbly. I easily fixed this myself with a screwdriver.
- The propane detector didn't work at all. The dealership replaced
it.
Notice that all of these problems were very obvious on the first
camping trip. They could have been found at Winnebago's factory, if the
factory had done a final inspection of the vehicle which included
running all appliances. If the dealer had done a similar inspection,
they would have been found. In fact, the dealer gave me a
"pre-delivery inspection checklist", which Winnebago had put together,
and which included testing all the appliances. The dealer didn't
actually go through the checklist, however. It's quite obvious
that nobody even bothered trying to switch on the interior lights,
much less light the stove, furnace, or refrigerator.
Instead, I found all the
problems myself.
I've only had a few problems that happened after delivery.
- The refrigerator slowly got fussier and fussier to light on
propane. From talking with others, this is a very common problem with
ALL propane refrigerators. They're just not as maintenance-free as
the electric refrigerators we're used to in our houses. I fixed this
by pulling it out and cleaning the rust out of the burner.
- At around 20,000 miles, the coach battery charging circuit failed
again. After a day of driving on terribly washboarded dirt roads in
Death Valley, the same wire pulled loose just like when the van was
delivered. I'm glad I watched the techician diagnose and fix it at
delivery. When I examined the connector, it seemed a bit
loose-fitting. I tightened it up with pliers, reconnected it, and
it's been fine ever since.
- The electric rear window defogger had one of the heater lines break.
I suspect my dog may have broken it by scratching at it. I fixed this
by painting on a special liquid compound made for this purpose. It's
electrically conductive paint, available at auto parts stores.
- The tires wore out. This only took 30,000 miles, but there were
no unusual wear patterns on the tires indicating poor alignment or bad
inflation. I have been on quite a few dirt and gravel roads, however.
I replaced the original Goodyears with Michelin Agilis tires, which
are quieter.
- The shocks started to squeak and show signs of wear. I
replaced them with Bilsteins at about 31,000 miles. The Bilsteins
are a definite improvement, though not as drastic as I had
expected after hearing others rave about them.
My habit of driving on
washboarded roads probably didn't help the original shocks.
- At around 30,000 miles, the rear battery yet again lost its
ability to charge from the alternator while driving. This time, I
traced the problem to corrosion in a connector on the cable that
carries current from the front to the rear electrical systems. (It
was completely unrelated to the connector at the fusebox that had been
disconnected twice before.) Total cost to fix: $0.00 and about 45
minutes, much of which was spent reprogramming the radio after it lost
all presets when I disconnected the battery.
- At about 36,000 miles, the "check engine" light came on and
stayed on. The owner's manual says to continue driving at reduced
power and make a service appointment, so I did that. The dealer said
the computer had registered a slipping torque converter, but that the
torque converter was fine. They reset the light and tested things,
but performed no other repairs. I guess it was a fluke. I noticed no
other symptoms of a malfunction. Even though the regular warranty had
expired, the cost of the dealer visit was covered by the five-year
emissions warranty.
- The gas-filled lift struts that hold up the cover over the sink
and stove started losing their lifting ability. These struts are
similar to the ones commonly used on lots of car hatchbacks, but
they're very short. I searched locally with no luck, and finally
ordered a pair of replacements from Winnebago, for a cost of
about $30.00 including shipping. Replacement was easy, using just a
screwdriver. Several other members of the ev_update mailing list have
had this same problem.
- The switch on the driver's door that controls the courtesy lights
and key reminder chime stopped working. A minute with a screwdriver
let me remove the switch and see corrosion on the contacts. Another
minute with a wire brush on a Dremel tool cleaned the corrosion and
fixed the problem.
All-in-all, this has been a reliable vehicle for 37,000 miles and
three years. None of the problems has been serious, and
the vehicle has never failed to start or left me stranded. Well, once
it stranded me when I got it stuck in a muddy ditch, but that was my
fault.
The two dealers I've visited have been very cordial and honest in
dealing with the problems I've had.
From discussions on the EuroVan mailing list, I think my experiences
are not unusual for a EuroVan Camper owner. The VW supplied parts
tend to be reliable, especially now with the VR6 engines. The camper
stuff has little problems. The refrigerator seems especially
trouble-prone, and the furnace isn't too far behind. If it's any
consolation, the newsgroup rec.outdoors.rv-travel is often filled with
discussions about failed propane refrigerators and furnaces of all
makes and models, in all kinds of RV's.
Although I haven't experienced it, there IS one serious potential
problem which all owners of EuroVans should be aware of. Many, many
members of the ev_update mailing list have complained of leaking fuel
lines, and quite a few of these have resulted in fires, usually
destroying the vehicle. This seems to be a particular problem with
the '93 vans, although it may start happening to the newer vans as the
rubber in the fuel lines ages. If you own or are considering the
purchase of a '93 EuroVan, see the discussion on the ev_update list at
http://www.egroups.com/group/ev_update/
and check your fuel lines. If you smell any hint of gasoline while
driving, stop the vehicle and do not drive until the fuel lines have
been checked and repaired as needed. After several list members filed
complaints, the NHTSA started a safety recall campaign going for this
problem.
I am a bit concerned about maintainability of the engine/drivetrain.
Like most modern vehicles, it's packed in under the hood pretty
tightly. Furthermore, the EuroVan is a rare beast, and I expect that
when I need parts, I'll rarely find them in-stock at a generic auto
parts store. I'll probably end up needing to go to the dealer for
most service, and even so, I may end up waiting for parts to be
ordered if something unusual breaks. So far, this is just paranoid
fear on my part, as the engine/drivetrain has performed perfectly.
I would advise anyone contemplating the purchase of one of these,
or any other RV for that matter, to make SURE and go through the operation
of each and every appliance before you sign the paperwork to buy the
vehicle. And if anyone from VW or Winnebago is listening, I'd advise
Winnebago to test all the appliances before the vehicle leaves the
factory, and I'd advise all VW dealers to test all appliances before
delivery.
Back to Rich's Eurovan
©1999 Richard Cochran
