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.

Keep that in mind next time someone says "you're only paying for the name" Do you still believe Carrier when they said that truck only had 165,000 miles on it? Good luck.

i have a 98 volvo 660 and am extremly happy with it the volvo d 12 gets 7.5 mpg when im running it and over 8 when just crusing.

i drove a MACK vison for a little while it was a real nice truck. I drove a 9400i at Venezia and it also was a very nice truck. Sorry about your luck. my 2cents is that volvos are a girly truck. And now they own MACK :evil: . Best of luck to ya.

Re: I wish I had bought a Freightliner or a Volvo!
 

So why are you blaming International?

Those may not be International parts, but International is still culpable - afterall, they're the ones that built the truck and chose to use those parts. If their name is on the hood, they're ultimately responsible for the reliability of their product.

Both make valid points.

If a part is installed wrong or half booty'd, it will fail.

Brings up a good point.

I have an International that has nearly 900,000 miles on it. I have had to spend little on it until the last coupe of months. The turbo went out in Fresno and it may have some other problem going on. I am trying to get out there to check it out now. Whatever happens, I am glad that I bought the truck. I got a good deal when I bought it and figure it paid for itself during the first year or two. I have owned several different brands and think that I have had better service out of this truck than any I have owned. I especially like the way my sleeper is laid out. If the truck needs an overhaul, then it is about time, although I had hopped to get over a million on the odometer. If an overhaul is needed, then I will make a decision as to whether I want to spend the money or sell it and buy another truck. It has a CAT engine. I have had to rework the radiator twice, rebuild or replace the fan clutch twice, both rears, king pins, steering box, 2 injectors, o-rings and sleeves. These are just normal wear and tear items. They could have happened with any brand. I certainly don't blame International. I would buy another just like it, if I could find one. I have had to replace a fan clutch, king pins and lifters in my Kenworth in the last couple of years. This truck had a rebuild just over 100,000 miles ago when it dropped a couple of lifters. I don't blame Kenworth for that problem. Parts wear out. It doesn't make any difference as to the brand. Most have the same suppliers for most of the parts that go into the trucks. If a truck has been well maintained you are less likely to need to spend a lot of money on repairs. I change my oil every 15,000 miles. I also try to make any other repairs as soon as I am made aware of them. When you own trucks you will need to make repairs.

Exactly.

My point was that with the exception of the heater defroster issues, dashboard panel, and the parking brake / trailer valve mounting in the dashboard, the rest of the "laundry list" pertained to vendor supplied parts which can be found in other makes of trucks as well, and can cause the reported problems no matter what make of truck they are installed in.

Can't single out International for that.

Also, as I said earlier, International is aware of the heater and dashboard issues and has issued updated service parts to correct 2 of the 3 problems listed.

The company I work for has always used exclusively International trucks, currently there are 25 in the fleet, so the boss has some "influence" when he calls the dealer to report a problem.

Factory guys from International have visited our shop and observed problems the company was having, hopefully leading to product improvements in the future.

International does seem to be proactive in dealing with issues involving their proprietary parts.

Well they've used the same dash since the mid 90's and his truck is a 04 and they still can't get it right?

That's why I like this forum! You learn new every day :) See - I used mechanics at our shop. These are the guys (and one pretty girl, believe it or not) who fix company trucks of the carrier I'm leased to. A lot of owner-operators at our company use them because we're offered a discounted rate on repairs ($60/hr as opposed to $85 at the International dealer). However, I must say quite a few times I wasn't happy with they way they "fixed" things. For example, no one told me about the service repair kit that Splitshifter mentioned. ..

Nowadays I trust our shop only to grease my truck. I go to TOROMONT (CAT's dealer in Canada) to service the engine, and International truck dealer who I bought the truck from if I need some advice on the chassis.

If anyone is looking for a good deal on a new truck - International dealers in USA and Canada are giving away their 2007's 9400 and 9200 models because they are being discontinued... Carrier Trucks in London ONT. advertises a 2007 International 9400 (Cat 435 hp, 72" sleeper) for Cnd$92,000. I talked to one of their salesmen today and he said soon they would only have conventional 9900 and aerodynamic ProStar. He also said they usually sell out 9900 early in the year while tons of 9400's and 9200's still gather dust on the parking lots. Now 9900 ... that's a truck I can live with (even if it uses same dashboards as 9400).

Tsk,Tsk,Tsk, well hope you learned a lesson. Intl's suck. I can say that because I have driven a few.

We have a new 2008 Intl in the barn where I work. 968 miles, back in shop for warranty. ABS light on. We have daycabs obviously, but they put the exhaust in the wrong spot. When blindsiding, the Exhaust is kinda in the way.

Interior is nice, however, with all the problems I see with the older Intl's the drama should just continue.

I think their brakes suck also.

The brakes are not made by International.

Most have Meritor brakes and the air valves are Bendix.

Same brakes you'll get on any other brand of truck these days.

International has always had a reputation for building a good, solid truck. I would buy another one if I could get a good buy. I think they build one of the best, undervalued trucks on the market.

That would be Swift flooding the used market with all the 2-3 year old fleet tractors.

Every big company at one time or another floods the market with used trucks from all different maufacturers.

I'm sitting at a truck stop in Edmonton , Alberta, CANADA and there's an International dealer nearby. I went in to check out the new ProStars. .. I was glad to see they have totally new dashboards, not like the shabby ones used on 9400 and 9900 models. Anyone driven the ProStar yet? Any feedback?

Welcome to Edmonton !! Are you parked at the Esso ( or is it Shell ) truck stop on 170th St, just south of the Yellowhead ? There is an International dealer pretty much round the corner from there, as also other truck dealerships further west along that road ( 118 Ave ).

About the Prostar...one of the drivers of a fleet owner who works for our company, drives one. During some routine servicing at our shop, one of our mechanics accidentally damaged an air-valve. When our Parts lady called around, she was told that International doesn't have that part, and they'd have to procure it from Chicago, which could take about a week or so. Suffice it to say, the truck will have to sit all that while.

To give International the benefit of doubt, maybe this happened because it's a new model and they're yet to stock up fully on all the parts. Still, it's not a good advertisement for a brand new model. I hope they get their act together soon.

Yeah, that's where I spent a day and roamed the lots of those dealers in the area. There's an International, a Kenworth, a Mac, and a Peterbilt. I got tired of the Esso and I moved to Flying J in Sherwood Park, east of the city. At least here I have Internet access and can get free showers (my carrier issued us TCH fuel cards).

Yep - that sucks. The owner was probably really stressed out to have the new expensive truck gather dust in your shop. I think the best make in this regard is Freightliner. These guys have branches everywhere ... I remember once when I drove a company Columbia I damaged a mudflap hangar. To be fair I decided to buy it with my own money and install it. I was doing a run across the entire US (Portland, OR to Mississauga, ON, Canada) and the first dealer i stopped by didn't have the part but they gave me a map with all the Freightliner dealers along my route. A couple of stops/days later I was able to get the part and install it much cheaper than in Canada :)

When I have to buy dealer items, I absolutely love my Freightliner.

How can u think a MACK VISION is nice and a VOLVO is girly? lol....that mack vision has to be one of the ugliest trucks on the road

I never drivin a volvo i just dont like them. Im a mack guy i think the vision is a nice truck for OTR. Im not putting down a volvo i just not a big fan of a truck company that also makes cars. :wink:

Volvos happen to have the nicest and roomiest interiors of any OTR trucks. Last year when I was at MATS I went inside every truck made and the Volvo trucks were really impressive. Kenworth and Peterbilt are fancy, but if you want comfort you go Volvo.

I own a 2001 Volvo 770 and IMO is the best truck I have ever had. Plenty of room inside and nice smooth quiet ride.

I have driven KW T-600, T-2000, Freightliner Century and Peterbilts and they don't come close.

A truck company that makes cars?

Who do you think owns Freightliner, Sterling, and Western Star?

Diamler Chrysler, last time I checked they made cars also.

If Volvo didn't buy Mack 6 years ago, Mack would have been out of business.

I hope that is a joke right there. Cuz if you think that is ture then i hate to tell you you are a fool. If anything volvo is hurting mack sales. Mack had the RD Model up intill 2002 when volvo bought mack out and made the grantie the grantie is a joke for offroad use. The RD would run laps around the volvo/grantie. Mack has been the #1 seller for Off road type of trucks for years. (dont hold me too that i think i read that some where)

If you knew the history of Mack you would know Mack and part shareholder company at the time Renault have been struggling for the last 20 years.

If Renault didn't merge with Volvo that would have been the axe for Mack.

If you don't believe it, what companies have you seen that run Mack trucks?

Very few if any left.

I know all the dump truck copmpanys around me run nothing but macks. Macks aint that big into the OTR trucks. But i know alot of food grade outfits by me run macks. Mack is more of a off-road truck. But i still think the vison and CH are good OTR trucks. But hey to each there own.

I still like Mack trucks, I just wish they would come out with something new for OTR.

I know Mack is still big back East, but out West here, not too popular.