Hi Everyone

This is my first post here so please be kind ;-) I have a 2018 Eriba 320GT, bought from new, and I recently took it to Erwin Hymer Travelworld for it's 3rd annual service - my closest Hymer authorised dealer / service centre. After waiting there for approx 4 hours on the day of the service, I was told that there was a "problem" removing the off-side brake hub and would I mind wiating a little longer. I agreed and, after a couple more hours, I was told that they couldn't replace the brake hub and that there was a problem with the axel - all very vague - and would I mind leaving my van with them so they could fix it.

Anyway, after chasing them by phone and email a few of times for an update afterwards, I finally received an email from them yesterday (1 month after the service date!) stating the following:

"Upon removal of the centre nut that holds the drum to the axle on the offside, we noticed that the nut tightened as it was being removed. So, we had to work the nut back and forth on the thread to clean it up. However, the nut seized onto the thread of the hub (which is part of the axle) we tried our best to remove this without damaging the thread, sadly this was not the case and has severely damaged the hub/axle as a result.

You require the axle to be replaced, due to the nut seizing on the hub. This is not covered under warranty as it is seen to be due to “environmental” factors i.e., rust/grit/dirt in the thread. To replace the axle, it will cost £1991.88 Including VAT and labour. Without a new axle it cannot be driven as this is extremely dangerous."

I don't believe that this can have been caused by "environmental conditions" issue and that someone at the service centre did something to cause this - all the 2 previous services were carried out by the same dealer.

Does anyone have any experience of such an issue or can provide any help or information on how best to respond to this? I have already gone back to ask for photos and a better explanation of how the problem was caused. Perhaps I am being too cynical something doesn't feel right about this situation.

Any help or constructive feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

I find it hard to believe that "one shot" nut would cause severe damage to the stub axle thread. The nut is designed to be sacrificial and hence only used once.

There must have been some very heavy handed work done on the nut removal to damage the thread beyond clean up, perhaps they tried to chisel it off or cut it off with oxyacetylene?

Pretty much the service technician's fault by the sound of it.

I think the two major caravan clubs have a legal helpline.
Steve

Sincere thanks to everyone for your replies. These are really helpful and some really good points have been made. I'll be sure to use your feedback to prepare my next communication back to the service centre. Good shout, Steve, re the legal helplines - I am a Caravan & Motorhome Club member and that hadn't occurred to me!

The service centre claim to be "fully certified to NCC standards". I wonder if the NCC, or other relevant trade body, offer an arbitration service in such situations?

I hope I won't need this and that, by making a clear case that the liability should be with the service centre, I can settle this at no cost to me - I won't count my chickens just yet though....

work it backwards and forward to clean up the thread? Seriously? And how does that work exactly? I'm sorry, that excuse is possibly the lamest I have ever heard. The only nut that you use to clean a thread is a die nut..

And whilst I'm on, a stripped thread on the hub repair does not require the entire axle to be replaced. At the most, a new hub is the way forward, though it would need Alko to do this to remove the exsting and replace it..

Though, the news is certainly a bummer and you have my total commiserations...

Complete and utter “tosh”. Hubby Neil who has many years experience of removing stubborn bits off cars says that this is totally down to the technician as they style themselves these days. They’ve fouled up and are trying to shift the cost of their mistake. Use whatever legal help you can but this is not for you to pay. Good luck.

I remove hub nuts on a weekly basis during service and repair and have never had any problems with removing one.

Even when replacing burnt-out drums, and/or bearings and shoes (due to the handbrake being applied when towing) I've been able to remove the hub nut as normal.

The threads should be clean, with no lubricant applied when the new nut is fitted. If grease is applied to the thread before installation the torque is increased substantially, but even so it should undo without damage.

With a clean fit and the hub cap fitted correctly I can't see how the installation could be contaminated with grit or whatever.

The complete axle will either have to be replaced, or returned to Al-Ko to have a new stub axle fitted and aligned, which isn't something that can be done at a dealer workshop.

Was servicing carried out at the same workshop in previous years, with no intervening work carried out by others?

I am not in any way a technical person but this sounds like some garbage made up to try to cover their mistake/incompetence.

If it was due to "environmental factors" there should be lots more of us experiencing similar problems, and there clearly are not

This is one of those that i think you will have to challenge, even if you have to take legal advice. They are clearly trying to fob you off .

It might also be worth searching the wider net to see if this is has been experienced by Eriba owners in Europe. It is not the same issue but I had a problem with a VAG engine part and was told it would be very expensive to replace and be at my cost. I did some research on the web only to find out that there was a problem with this VAG part common to several of their marques manufactured at a certain time.

As soon as I presented this information in person at the dealership , with a copy of a letter I was intending sending to the UK HQ the situation changed. I ended up only having to make a small contribution to associated labour costs.

They would have let me pay everything if I hadn't questioned the facts. I need to say that throughout these "discussions" I was relentlessly polite and calm but absolutely determined not to be fobbed off.

Hope this helps in some way and good luck in getting them to own up to their responsibilities

MikeT

Thanks to all for the additional replies yesterday - again, extremely helpful and they certainly give me more confidence to fight this.

In answer to JohnE's question - "Was servicing carried out at the same workshop in previous years, with no intervening work carried out by others?" - all 3 annual services have been carried out by the same workshop and there has been no intervening work carried out at all between services.

MikeT - You make some good points and I totally agree that one should always be polite and profesisonal in any such engagements as there is nothing to be gained in getting emotional/rude in my experience - quite the opposite!. I have searched for any evidence of similar issues on the internet but nothing so far - I'll keep looking.

Thanks, again

Darren

I wouldn't pin my hopes on the NCC. It is, after all, the caravan industry's trade association and, presumably dealers have to pay an annual fee to be members. The NCC therefore has a vested interest in protecting their members interests and cannot be considered an independent arbiter in such matters.

The same hubs are used on almost all caravans and I've never heard of a similar problem. I'm wondering whether the nut was cross threaded when replaced at the previous service and the poor 'tech' who dealt with it at this service was faced with a problem caused by a colleague 12 months before.

I had wondered whether it had been put on 'cross-threaded'. Presumably, these nuts are relatively 'soft' and being wound on with a great big torque wrench, a clumsy (ahem) 'technician' may not have noticed - or if they did, just made sure no one had seen it and sneaked away...