My problem was that the parking brake warning signal sounded when the parking brake was disengaged and the transmission was in drive or
reverse. The signal would start sounding a short time after starting the engine and beginning to drive. During a five-minute phone call to
Freightliner Customer Service, I described my problem and the technician told me that the most likely cause was a faulty parking brake switch
located in the rail near the rear axle on the driver's side. Based on how quickly and confidently the technician stated his conclusion, I fully
expected a dealer's technician to verify the cause and to either replace the defective switch or disable the warning signal in less than an hour, so I
made an appointment at McCoy Freightliner to have the repair done as we traveled through Salem. After "working" on the problem for 2 1/2 hours, we were assured the problem was solved and I paid our bill. Less than ten minutes after we left
the shop, the problem resumed. We returned and the technician disconnected the switch, disabling the alarm. A replacement switch was not in
stock. It took the technician nearly 1 1/2 hours to locate and check the parking brake switch. I believe the only reason he found it when he did was
because he had requested that I unlock some storage cabinets so he could locate a "VCU" (which he never did find) and, at that time, I told him
what the Freightliner technician told me. The switch was located exactly where I had been told it was. He demonstrated to me that the alarm
would not sound when the switch was disconnected. He "worked" for another hour, during which he replaced a relay that he thought to be
defective (I suspect it wasn't) and he reconnected the switch. As we discovered, he didn't test his solution long enough to realize that the problem
was not solved. I believe that a qualified tech should have isolated the cause of the problem in far less time than it took and that most of the
$275.00 I was charged for labor went for on-the-job training of the tech. This is outrageous. As fulltimers, we have owned this coach for eight years and have had it serviced across the country, many times by Freightliner dealers. I cannot
remember ever having felt this cheated and dissatisfied with service. I would not trust McCoy Freightliner to work on my coach again.
Class A - Diesel
Posted: 2013-08-22 00:00:00
My problem was that the parking brake warning signal sounded when the parking brake was disengaged and the transmission was in drive or reverse. The signal would start sounding a short time after starting the engine and beginning to drive. During a five-minute phone call to Freightliner Customer Service, I described my problem and the technician told me that the most likely cause was a faulty parking brake switch located in the rail near the rear axle on the driver's side. Based on how quickly and confidently the technician stated his conclusion, I fully expected a dealer's technician to verify the cause and to either replace the defective switch or disable the warning signal in less than an hour, so I made an appointment at McCoy Freightliner to have the repair done as we traveled through Salem. After "working" on the problem for 2 1/2 hours, we were assured the problem was solved and I paid our bill. Less than ten minutes after we left the shop, the problem resumed. We returned and the technician disconnected the switch, disabling the alarm. A replacement switch was not in stock. It took the technician nearly 1 1/2 hours to locate and check the parking brake switch. I believe the only reason he found it when he did was because he had requested that I unlock some storage cabinets so he could locate a "VCU" (which he never did find) and, at that time, I told him what the Freightliner technician told me. The switch was located exactly where I had been told it was. He demonstrated to me that the alarm would not sound when the switch was disconnected. He "worked" for another hour, during which he replaced a relay that he thought to be defective (I suspect it wasn't) and he reconnected the switch. As we discovered, he didn't test his solution long enough to realize that the problem was not solved. I believe that a qualified tech should have isolated the cause of the problem in far less time than it took and that most of the $275.00 I was charged for labor went for on-the-job training of the tech. This is outrageous. As fulltimers, we have owned this coach for eight years and have had it serviced across the country, many times by Freightliner dealers. I cannot remember ever having felt this cheated and dissatisfied with service. I would not trust McCoy Freightliner to work on my coach again.