I wish I had bought a Freightliner or a Volvo!
 

Some people say Freightliners suck and Volvos are for sissies, but I must say I'm really unhappy with my 2004 International with its 235,000 miles. The quality of materials they use is awful!

I bought the truck in April 2007 with 165,000 miles on the odometer. Since then I've replaced:

- starter
- windshield wiper motor
- a couple of valve actuators and sensor under warranty (Cat C15)
- coolant tank
- defroster control unit (inside the dash): it didn't direct the air flow 100% to the windshield in the "defroster only" mode
- defroster control panel: it got stuck in either "cold" or "hot"
- steering box (steering felt too light)
- steering shaft (lots of vibration on the steering wheel)
- all tires - I have switched to the original low profile tires because the truck was over-sensitive with 11R22.5 tires. now it stays on course...
- did top set (valve adjustment) twice because there was constant noise (tapping/knocking) from the engine
- did Dyno to make sure I got all the HP
- right rear wheel shock absorber
- speed control sensor above the break pedal

I also had to repair the dashboard panels on top of the dash, near the windshield - they all had broken screw nests/holes.

The last straw that provoked this message was this: after I replaced the defroster control unit inside the dash, and the mechanic reinstalled everything, I noticed I had difficulty pushing in the air brake yellow knob: the whole right part of the dashboard seemed to flex in too much. I took off the outside cover and discovered the inner plastic sheet had a broken part where the screw was supposed to go in. So it didn't hold the pressure when I pushed in the brake know. I called our shop and the manager said, "All our trucks have that thing broken!" This company fleet consists 100% of International trucks - mainly 9200 and 9900 models!

When I just started driving in 2002 for Challenger Motor Freight as company driver, they gave me a 1999 (!) Volvo with 500,000 miles on it. I drove that truck for 6 months and I had much much much less problems with it than what I have had with my 2004 International!

How about that!

PS: I just discovered that tapping/knocking in the engine was caused by a loose band clamp on the exhaust manifold. "It's a full day job," a guy from Philly Peterbilt told me. Yeah, right ... my home town CAT promised to do everything under my extended warranty...

I am sorry you are having all these problems, I know how frusterating it can be!!

I have a friend that has an Volvo 880 and that truck is SWEET!! It is an 07 and it rides like a dream!! He has not had any problems with it either.

tootie

Do you know what engine it has? Some people swear by Cummins, others say nothing beats a Volvo in a Volvo.

It is a Volvo engine.

tootie

I bought an ex Covenant fleet freightliner and have been very happy with it. A few things went but it was under warranty. Warranty is over and my fingers are crossed but like I said so far I am very pleased with it.

I heard a rumour at our 100% International fleet they want to buy a few Cascadias from Freightliner ... to see how they compare.

I don't know about Volvo's being for sissies. They ride great, are very ergonomic, and get decent mpg. They do, however, depreciate quicker than they should.

I know a husband/wife team at our place and their Volvo with a Cummins engine sucks fuel like crazy. They said they had been to all kind of shops and noone could figure out what the problem was. They said they felt lucky when they were getting .... 5 mpg and they only drive at 60 mph! This of course is more of an exception than a rule.... I think Volvo trucks like having a Volvo engine in them.

7 of your 13 items have nothing to do with International

Have you ever noticed that people that are having a bad day or just don't care about there equipment just pound the buttons in instead of pushing them in slowly.

I care about my equipment. It should be more rugged and the quality of assembly can be improved too - for the money they charge for these trucks.