TIFFIN Complaints

Traveling on I 25 construction on highway created lots of bumps. The water tank mounted near rear of motor home ripped free of its mounting bolts and dropped down, only thing keeping it from completely falling off was the generator exhaust pipe which was underneath the tank. This also tore the support strap off the exhaust pipe. The water tank is mounted in an aluminum casing with a flange with bolts attached to frame. Called Tiffin and was told they were aware of this problem and could send us some straps to support tank until we could get it to a service shop. Representive from Tiffin said they had made changes to model for 2021 to address this problem. The mobile repair person who made supports said we were lucky we stopped before tank completely came off, we tow a car and the tank could have caused the car to flip which would have then caused the RV to wreak!

Apparently, there is a recall on our Motorhome with this VIN, which we took delivery of on April 30, 2021 and we have not been notified as of this date. Ford Manufacturer Recall Number 21S17 NHTSA Recall Number21V202 Why were we not notified after all of this time?

The contact owns a 2018 Tiffin Phaeton RV. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the dashboard instrument cluster lights suddenly began to flash off and on and the Diesel Emission Fluid (DEF) sensor light remained illuminated before the vehicles decelerated independently to 5 MPH. The vehicle was driven to a nearby service center(unknown) and the Diesel Emission Fluid sensor was replaced, and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 22,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Tiffin Phaeton. The contact stated that while the motorhome was at a standstill, the engine system fault and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact parked at a nearby location for four days. The contact called manufacturer and was informed that it was safe to drive the RV to the repair shop. The contact took the motorhome to the repair shop, where it was diagnosed with needing the DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) sensor assembly to be replaced. The motorhome was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 21,300.

DEF "Head" sensor failure resulting in power reduction to 5%. Due to faulty def head sensors the vehicle will experience power loss dropping to 5% load. These sensors do nothing but measure DEF fluid level and temperature in it's tank. DEF continues to be supplied to the exhaust meeting all EPA regulations in place at this time, BUT the Engine ECU will shut you down leaving you stranded. Problems with micro chip shortages have left many stranded with nothing in place to help them get "home".. We are talking weeks to Months in some cases only to have the def head finally replaced only to fail again with in a couple thousand miles. Emissions are not effected, but "Shaw Development" (DEF Head manufacturer ) Nor Cummins (engine manufacturer) has not done anything to prompt the EPA to allow a work around for this problem. Emergency Response vehicles do have programing in their ECU which allow them to operate normally until new parts are available. Why not for the thousands of Motor Home owners as well as over the road trucks which are effected as well. It's not a question of if this will happen, it's a question of when this will happen.

In June 2021 at a milage of 10,630 the DEF sensor become faulty and warning lights came when on I-5 interstate, CA. A replacement sensor solve the issue but the new one also getting stuck causing the DEF level not reporting correctly. I am worry about the "Limp mode" if the sensor is not working causing a safety hazard. Either sensor needs to be more reliable or the enabling of the limp mode should be done under careful consideration giving enough time for the driver to get to safety.

RV Diesel Exhaust Fuel (DEF Head) Sensor failure. These failure rendered our RV drivability limited and us stranded at Cummins dealerships, once in 2019 and again in 2020. We have been full time RV'ers and rely on motorhome getting us from place to place. We were lucky to not have the engine derate while driving, but had to pull over on the freeway, there were no off ramps or rest stops for miles as multiple warning lights and codes flashed on the dash so we could call Tiffin to ask for help, what to do and where to go. We where able to get to a Cummins dealer to have it fixed. We were warned to drive slow and straight to the Cummins dealership before the engine derated. RV Diesel Exhaust Fuel Sensor failures have been occurring & re-occurring at an astronomical rate across the country, we firmly believe that RV's should be exempt from requiring DEF / DEF Sensors, period. Please do not wait until there is a FATALITY, OR POSSIBLE GREATER FATALITIES before making this change retroactive for all RV's nationally. The Cummins dealerships and Tiffin have the repair records. The error codes we received was SPM 3521 FMI 11 error code. Looking it up it is "After treatment 1 Diesel Exhaust Fluid Property". Also SPN 3364-9, ECM 1761-9, ECM 3031-9, SPN 3364-9 and ECM 3031-9 showed up.

RV Diesel Exhaust Fuel (DEF Head) Sensor failure. This failure rendered our RV broken down and undriveable ("derate" mode of 5 mph) roughly 1,500 miles from home, on the freeway, in approx. 105 degree weather. We had our family with us & our dog. Note; we did NOT have a tow vehicle to transport us to a safe area. This constituted a VERY UNSAFE TO FATAL CONDITION / SITUATION!!! Typically, RV's are not operated on a daily, or even weekly basis such as big rig trucks by truckers. That being stated, the DEF (diesel exhaust fuel) lifespan is greatly shortened (contaminated, crystallized) if not used on a regular basis. -Being that these Diesel Exhaust Fuel Sensor failures have been occurring & re-occurring at a astronomical rate across the country, we firmly believe that RV's should be exempt from requiring DEF / DEF Sensors, period. Please do not wait until there is a FATALITY, OR POSSIBLE GREATER FATALITIES before making this change retroactive for all RV's nationally.

Engine Fault Codes 3364, 3031 & 1761. DEF Head Senor Failed. Derated the engine. Travel speed reduced to 5 MPH. Replacement Part backorder from Tiffin Motorhomes. Limited information when availability.

The motorhome will go into Check Engine and Low DEF fluid mode with the proper level of fluid in the tank. Once it went into the Limp Mode with the Red Check Engine light coming on without any warning. I had to get the motorhome towed to a service center. After the service center performed work to clear the code, I was able to drive it for 40 mins before the Check Engine light came on again....