EGR, Computer Are Main Sources of Problems with 2008 Engines, J.D. Power Survey Finds

This story appears in the Sept. 20 print edition of Transport Topics.

The main problems owners of 2008 heavy-duty engines have encountered involve the exhaust gas recirculation system and the engine computer, J.D. Power and Associates said in a report.

The problems caused downtimes averaging more than 10 days and seven days, respectively.

“The study finds that 51% of owners of one-year-old heavy-duty truck engines in the 2010 report [were] experiencing some type of problem,” J.D. Power, based in Westlake Village, Calif., wrote in the recently released report, “2010 U.S. Heavy-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study.”

The report focused only on engines put into Class 8 trucks sold in 2008, the first time that the company examined engines built to meet 2007 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards, Todd Markusic, senior director of the commercial vehicle practice at J.D. Power, told Transport Topics.

“The most frequently reported engine problems are calibration issues with electronic control modules and problems with the exhaust gas recirculation valve,” Markusic said.

“Today’s truck engines are becoming more and more sophisticated and rely heavily on electronics, which is why calibration issues with electronic control modules are so common,” he added.

He said that EGR problems resulted in an average downtime of 10.25 days per incident, while engine computer problems kept a truck out of service for an average of 7.87 days.

Most heavy-duty engine manufactures introduced EGR in October 2002 as part of a consent decree with EPA, agreeing to meet Jan. 1, 2004, standards early. By 2004, all heavy-duty manufacturers were using EGR.

Duane Kyrish, owner of Longhorn International Trucks, Austin, Texas, said that the long downtime for repairs often derived from delays getting spare parts. The problems, he said, “were overwhelming during 2008, which was deep into the recession.”

He said that the ’07 technology engines ran well initially, then often developed “hiccups.”

“That happened during a period of time with very low engine sales,” Kyrish said. “Many parts suppliers had gone out of business, and those remaining were often weak and couldn’t keep a large inventory of supply parts.”

Kyrish is the board member of American Truck Dealers association for International trucks, part of Navistar Inc. Longhorn operates nine dealerships in west and central Texas, he said.

Jack McDevitt Jr., president of McDevitt Truck Sales, Manchester, N.H., said problems with EPA-compliant engines hurt customers.

McDevitt sells Mack, Volvo, Peterbilt, Western Star and Isuzu trucks, he said. He is Mack’s board member for ATD.

“Obviously, the technology was more complicated beginning in 2004 and continuing in 2007,” McDevitt told TT. “The components we had to put in were new technology, and very complicated and very problematic.”

“Some engine makers were not as responsive to customers, who were having component failures, and it really, really hurt,” McDevitt said. “It put some people out of business.”

McDevitt said Caterpillar Inc. was the most unresponsive but also that others were not as responsive as they had been in the past. Caterpillar stopped marketing engines for the heavy-duty truck market in 2009.

Detroit Diesel Corp., part of Daimler Trucks North America, and Navistar Inc. ranked the highest in customer satisfaction, Markusic said. Both companies scored in the 770 range on a 1,000-point scale.

“We can’t differentiate between the two,” he said, “because we don’t want to imply someone was highest.”

The study also found that the number of engine problems increased after 50,000 miles of service, up to 80.5 problems per 100 vehicles.

Two engine manufacturers commented on the study.

Christy Nycz, spokeswoman for independent engine maker Cummins Inc., which has more than 40% share of the Class 8 engine market, said that the company has been constantly improving its products.

“Cummins has seen a continuous improvement in reliability of components, such as the exhaust gas recirculation valve, with the evolution of our engines from 2004 to 2007,” Nycz told TT. “We expect the reliability of our EPA-2010 certified engines to be even better.”

“There is no question that diesel engines have grown more complex over the past several years as [manufacturers] moved to produce cleaner engines,” Navistar spokesman Roy Wiley told TT.