Just back from my first long (3 wk) trip in 2018 AI - gripes.

[blyon3]

Hi All, just joined the forums today. I expect that I'll be checking in here often.

I just completed a 3 week trip, covering about 3,000 miles to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Waterton Lakes, Banff, Lake Louise, Glacier National Park, Missoula, Idaho Falls, and Salt Lake City.

Most major systems worked great. Of the problems I had, I see that (based on this forum), they are common problems. That's good - but what's bad is that there seem to be no solutions for some of them. My most annoying issues below:

1) Power Shades. One day shade is completely "stuck" up and won't move at all. 2 of the night shades will no longer go all the way down. 2 other shades seem to go too far down, resulting in a little wrinkling/buckling of the shade. 1 reliably seems to get stuck up and has to be quickly pulled/helped down. As a result, we've lost confidence in all of the shades and resorted to raising/lowering each shade one-at-a-time with someone ready to baby them up/down as required if they get stuck. Very annoying. But the most annoying thing seems to be that there has been little or no progress on this issue, which seems to be common among 2017/2018/other? owners. Ugh.

2) Buggy Fusion Nav system. We had several instances of the Nav system crashing and becoming unresponsive until a complete power reset could be done (also annoying when on the highway!) I've now updated the software and hope that some of that buggy behavior will cease. However, the update process refuses to let me update the maps to the 2018 versions - I get a "can't unlock maps" message which also seems to be a common, but unresolved, problem among owners.

3) Halfway through the trip I noticed a tank heater pad hanging halfway off beneath the vehicle. Again, a common problem, and I'm not too worried about it, but my vehicle is only 7 months old and 3,000 miles, so.... ???

4) I haven't searched the forum for this one yet - but my driver-side windshield sprayer (attached to the wiper arm) keeps coming off or moving to where it doesn't spray right. The passenger-side one has a plastic "guide" that seems to keep it in place but there's no similar guide on the driver side. Not a biggie - but wondering if anyone has seen this too?

5) I'll also be asking the dealer about my water pump - it seems to cause some excessive noise/vibration - loud enough that I suspect it may not be normal.

I'm very happy with the furnace/heater, gas stove, fridge, fan-tastic, bed comfort, and general features (even 4wd!) But man, it can get annoying quick when the fancy power-shades don't work!!!!

Bill

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by blyon3

Hi All, just joined the forums today. I expect that I'll be checking in here often.

I just completed a 3 week trip, covering about 3,000 miles to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Waterton Lakes, Banff, Lake Louise, Glacier National Park, Missoula, Idaho Falls, and Salt Lake City.

Most major systems worked great. Of the problems I had, I see that (based on this forum), they are common problems. That's good - but what's bad is that there seem to be no solutions for some of them.

Bill

WELCOME to the Forum (or club or group depending on how you view networking sites). CONGRATS on first trip. Have logged 3,000 miles on my unit but mostly short trips. Tomorrow starts my over 1,000 mile trip. There will be problems. You bought a new vehicle and a new house all at the same time. While a new car & a separate new house will both have startup & break-in problems, they are addressed separately. In the AI, a problem with one is a problem with both since you can not detach one from the other. That is the only way I can think of these problems so it does not drive me nuts. From your list, they are minor. Consider yourself lucky. But your #1 is TRULY the BIGGEST minor annoyance, we might as well move it to the Major Problem category, only because this should not be happening at this point in the AI timeline. No solution to give you. Sorry. But many are pursuing this and other options, so keep checking. Lots of ingenious folks here

[wachuko]

Bill,

Welcome to the forum. Great place to exchange ideas, help each other out fixing stuff (even if it is not broken, lol ), make friends, and spend long hours just reading some of the experiences of owners with their AI.

As Alex mentioned... if those were the problems you had, consider yourself lucky. Those are minor annoyances. None of those left you stranded or prevented you from starting or completing your trip.

The house comparison is a good one... some things might require fixing after taking ownership... some of these might be too complex for me to tackle and I will look for the dealer to take care of them (have not had one of those), some might just require Airstream to send me a component that I can replace (had a magnetic switch fail), and some I might just deal with it because I want something better than what was installed by Airstream.

I am new here as well. First RV and less than 3K miles on it. We have many trips planned. Our first trip over 1K (1,188 miles one way to be exact) miles will be our next one. I plan to take my wife, during the July 4th week, to a place she has always wanted to go... Precious Moments Chapel in Missouri. We are now planning the route and stops... The first few trips have helped us find out what works and what does not, what to leave behind... what to change... and opportunity to test everything before our first real long trip. At least long for us... it is all relative, right? A forum members recently reported on an 11,000 miles trip that they just completed!! We are looking forward to those trips someday...

Back to your list:

1) Power Shades - yes, common issues... many would like to make them manual to avoid the hassle... some have found that operating one at a time works best... other have not had issues, and others just don't bother...

2) Buggy Fusion Nav system - have not had issues after unplugging the ipod we had on the top usb port... I actually like it... still, even if using the GPS, we keep one phone with Waze just to prevent running into some of the experiences forum members have shared.

3) Tank heater pad hanging halfway off beneath the vehicle - happened to us as well. Quick fix with black duct tape (after spraying some 3M adhesive to the face of the mat that came off)... Do that and forget about it.

4) Driver-side windshield sprayer (attached to the wiper arm) keeps coming off - have not experienced this

5) I'll also be asking the dealer about my water pump - it seems to cause some excessive noise/vibration - I have nothing to compare it too... might need to record what mine sounds like and share to see if this is normal or you have an issue with it. So far, based on the noise ours make (not loud), we never have worried about it.

Again, welcome to the forum and please continue to share your journey!!

[Mansderm161]

I had problems with drivers side windshield washer also. Mercedes fixed it, no charge, and no problems since

[Titus]

My 2012 Sprinter also has a windshield washer sleeve on the passenger side only. I don't know why, but I assume it was normal since I didn't see any way that the drivers side sleeve would have fallen off. I had the nozzle on the driver side crack such that it did not grip tight. I ordered these on Amazon and they worked/fit fine. Simply pry the hose off the old nozzle and push onto the new nozzle.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[CraigL]

Have you added fresh water to the coach? On ours when we add fresh water the system looses prime due to infill cap being removed. Usually our pump makes a loud grumpy sound when running sinks and once air out all is well.We usually just let it work out when we use the water after a few hand washes or toilet flushes you forget it was even there.

[Titus]

I have never lost prime when adding fresh water - and see no reason that you would. If anything the pressure inside the fresh tank drops as you use water from it and this drop in pressure could (in theory) cause it to lose prime. Opening the fill port should let air (pressure) into the tank. But apparently the fresh tank is vented somewhere because I never hear a sucking sound when I remove the fill cap after using some/most of my fresh water over the period of days. I do notice when draining the tank that it drains a lot quicker when I remove the fill cap - so there must be a bit of a seal somewhere that prevents rapid draw-down.

When de-winterizing I always use the hose fitting to fill the water heater and plumbing. Then when I disconnect the hose and turn on the pump all that the pump has to do is fill a little plumbing - about 10 seconds of running and its done. I don't like to run the pump for many minutes just to fill the water heater and plumbing.

[AirstreamInc]

Hi bylon3,

We are sorry about the issues that you described in your 2018 Interstate. Please send us a direct message with your contact information and the last 6 digits of your VIN so we can share it with our Customer Service and Technical Support team.

You can also reach Airstream Customer Service and Technical Support at customer_support@airstream.com

We look forward to helping you get this resolved. Thanks!

[FlaBucki]

My 2014 AI didn't come with power shades, but the manual ones in the back windows have broken twice just in the normal course. My drive side washer came off the first year; a cable tie to the arm did the trick for awhile. But I noticed last month on the road that the cable had flipped around and I sprayed forward about 20 feet when I tried to use it.

The Kenwood NAV and Sat radio that was standard with 2014 has proven to be very unsatisfactory. The NAV requires a yearly paid map upgrade from Garmin or it will not work, and the upgrade process is way too cumbersome. The Sat radio works but does not provide artist info and the like and there is no scrolling of stations function. When I have time I intend to junk it and find a suitable replacement.

[Tronadora]

Regarding the noisy water pump...
I think I've narrowed it down to when I go from being hooked up to a city water hose, then back to using the pump. I believe this is when the air gets in that needs to worked out of the lines... by running faucets and toilet until it all clears out and the pump settles down.


Oh, and speaking of hooking up city water... I have a theory that this is when I get too high pressure and/or air gets in the line which causes my connections behind the toilet to leak water onto the "deck" at the toilet base. Yeah, I know, the AI has a pressure regulator so theoretically there should never be a case of too much city water pressure causing this problem... if that is true, then I have to blame it on air in the lines during the switchover. Feel free to correct me if I've got that wrong.

[blyon3]

Well, on my trip I used mostly city water - and only infrequently the fresh water tank with pump. So, your theory sounds quite plausible to me. I'll have to systematically bleed the air out of all fixtures next chance I get and see if the noise seems more normal... I think there is an internal pressure regulator, but I've got an external one that I use anyway! Thanks!

[amirm]

Originally Posted by blyon3

4) I haven't searched the forum for this one yet - but my driver-side windshield sprayer (attached to the wiper arm) keeps coming off or moving to where it doesn't spray right. The passenger-side one has a plastic "guide" that seems to keep it in place but there's no similar guide on the driver side. Not a biggie - but wondering if anyone has seen this too?

Ours has a guide but the tube falls out of it often. The tube snaps into it. At first I did not see it and was wondering why the tube was dangling there. Then I found it.

5) I'll also be asking the dealer about my water pump - it seems to cause some excessive noise/vibration - loud enough that I suspect it may not be normal.

Two things you can do to make it quieter if there is nothing physically wrong:

1. Look inside and make sure the pex hoses are not touching the walls. In ours they cut it a hair too long causing an elbow to touch the wall. That in turned caused horrible resonances.

2. Stuff a towel in front of the removable access panel. The repair guy left one in there in the process of fixing #1 and I noticed that it muffles its noise fair bit. So I left it in there.

[Mansderm161]

I have not hooked up to city water yet. Although we are supposed to have a built in pressure regulator, one of my first campgrounds had extremely high pressure and that worried me so I just filled water tank using an added inline filter. My water pump is loud but works well. I only turn it on when using water and then turn it off. I commented to the campground that their pressure seemed really high and they commented back,"we sell regulators if you need one."

[Tronadora]

Oh, and speaking of water pump checks... I have 3x found that the screen filter at the water pump has become clogged with algae slime. A delicacy here in the Pac NW. And that can also cause a labored pump sound.

Get down on the floor (under the fridge on my GT) and slide the cutoffs closed on both sides of the filter housing... which is the clear plastic section that reveals whether you have blockage. Then undo the squeeze tabs to release the filter chamber and go give it a good rinse to flush it clean.

It's less than a one beer chore, so you'll have to invent more of a reason for you to be down there to earn more than one...

[AMS1]

Hi Blyon3;
I’m very sorry to hear about the problems you are having with your shades. My name is Steve Snowden, and I am the Director of Sales for Automotion Shade. We take concerns such as yours very seriously. I would be grateful if you could contact me at steves@automotionshade.com to discuss things further.
I look forward to hearing from you
Steve Snowden

[Sue Yeutter]

My water pump ran for a longer than normal amount after I shut off the faucet and the cause was algae. One of my AS friends helped fix it. He used algae remover (sorry, can't remember the name and it's back in FL) and I did a lot of fill and drain of the water tank after he cleaned the screen. It wasn't as easy as cleaning your filter sounded - a 2 or 3 beer job! I keep the water well chlorinated to prevent algae. I'd rather smell chlorine than deal with algae. I also use the tank and just use city water to fill the tank, I think using the water in the tank helps keep it clean. Now the water pump stops as soon as I close the faucet.

[blyon3]

I was contacted by Automotion Shades and am now back on track (see what I did there?) with my shades operation. The non-functional shade was due to a broken motor which was replaced. Most of my other problems could be traced back to limits - seems my upper limits in several cases were set so high that it caused stress and problems when lowering. In any case, they are all operational now and I'm hoping they stay that way. Now I'm wondering when I'll hear something from Fusion about the "can't unlock maps" issue....

[Boom23]

Originally Posted by blyon3

I was contacted by Automotion Shades and am now back on track (see what I did there?) with my shades operation. The non-functional shade was due to a broken motor which was replaced. Most of my other problems could be traced back to limits - seems my upper limits in several cases were set so high that it caused stress and problems when lowering. In any case, they are all operational now and I'm hoping they stay that way. Now I'm wondering when I'll hear something from Fusion about the "can't unlock maps" issue....

That's good news!

Did you change the limits on the shades? If yes, how did you do it?