Your recreational vehicle may be involved in a safety recall and may create a safety risk for you or your passengers. Safety defects must be repaired by a certified dealer at no cost to you. However, if left unrepaired, a potential safety defect in your vehicle could lead to injury or even death.
What is a recall?
When a manufacturer or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determines that a recreational vehicle or item of RV equipment creates an unreasonable risk to safety or fails to meet minimum safety standards, the manufacturer is required to fix that vehicle or equipment at no cost to the consumer.
NHTSA releases its most recent list of recalls each Monday.
It should be noted that RV recalls are related to vehicle safety and not product quality. NHTSA has no interest in an air conditioner failing to cool or slide out failing to extend or retract—unless they can be directly attributed to product safety.
NHTSA announced 8 recall notices during April 2020. These recalls involved 4 recreational vehicle manufacturers—Forest River (3 recalls), Thor Motor Coach (3 recalls), Keystone RV Company (1 recall), Newmar (1 recall),
Forest River
Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2022 StarCraft Starquest ST93079 school buses. The wire harness may contact the vehicle frame, resulting in chaffing of the wiring for the fuel pump and the anti-lock braking system (ABS).
Forest River will notify owners and Ford dealers will inspect the wire harness for damage. If no damage is found, dealers will apply anti-abrasion tape over the area and ensure clearance to surrounding components. If damage is found, dealers will splice in new wire and apply anti-abrasion tape over the area and ensure clearance to surrounding components. All services will be performed free of charge. The remedy for this recall is still under development. The recall is expected to begin May 29, 2020. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-800-348-7440. Forest River’s number for this recall is 51-1156.
Forest River
Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2021 Starcraft Bus AllStar ST93109 transit buses built on a Ford chassis. The wire harness may contact the vehicle frame, resulting in chaffing of the wiring for the fuel pump and the anti-lock braking system (ABS).
Forest River will notify owners and Ford dealers will inspect the wire harness for damage. If no damage is found, dealers will apply anti-abrasion tape over the area and ensure clearance to surrounding components. If damage is found, dealers will splice in new wire and apply anti-abrasion tape over the area and ensure clearance to surrounding components. All services will be performed free of charge. The remedy for this recall is still under development. The recall is expected to begin May 29, 2020. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-800-348-7440. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Forest River’s number for this recall is 55-1154.
Forest River
Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2016 Rockwood Lite RLT2604WS and Flagstaff Lite FLT26RLWS recreational trailers. Due to insufficient clearance between the front tire and slide out actuator, the tire may contact the slide out bracket and become damaged.
Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a lift kit that will provide the proper clearance between the tire and the slide out bracket. Damaged tires will be replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall is expected to begin May 27, 2020. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-642-8943. Forest River’s number for this recall is 10D-1159.
Thor Motor Coach
Thor Motor Coach (TMC) is recalling certain 2020 Tellaro 20AT and Sequence 20A motorhomes. The dinette/booth seat belt reinforcing brackets may be missing. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 210, “Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages.”
TMC will notify owners, and dealers will install the missing brackets, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin May 19, 2020. Owners may contact TMC customer service at 1-877-855-2867. TMC’s number for this recall is RC000187.
Thor Motor Coach
Thor Motor Coach (TMC) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Aria 3401, 3601, 3901, 3902, and Venetian G36, J40, L40, M37, R40, and S40 motorhomes built on DTNA chassis. The brake caliper mounting bolts may have been insufficiently tightened.
DTNA will notify owners, and DTNA dealers will inspect and repair the vehicles, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin May 19, 2020. Owners may contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712 or TMC customer service at 1-877-855-2867.
Thor Motor Coach
Thor Motor Coach (TMC) is recalling certain 2020 Chateau 31W and 31WV, Quantum KW29 and LF31, Vegas 24.1 and Axis 24.1 motorhomes and 2020-2021 Four Winds 24F, 28Z, and 31E motorhomes built on a Ford chassis. The rear axle differential may have an insufficient amount of fluid, possibly resulting in a failure of the rear axle assembly and a driveshaft separation.
Ford will notify owners, and Ford or Lincoln dealers will inspect the rear axle differential fluid level and adjust it, or replace the rear axle as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin May 24, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or TMC customer service at 1-877-855-2867. TMC’s number for this recall is RC000188.
Keystone RV Company
Keystone RV Company (Keystone) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Crossroads Hampton 371FKL recreational trailers. The Federal identification Tag may incorrectly indicate the tire pressure as 6 PSI when the correct tire pressure is actually 80 PSI. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of 49 CFR Part 567, “Certification.”
Keystone will notify owners and will replace the Federal Identification Tag, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin June 1, 2020. Owners may contact Keystone customer service at 1-866-425-4369. Keystone’s number for this recall is 20-376.
Newmar
Newmar Corporation (Newmar) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Essex and London Aire, 2019 Mountain Aire, Ventana LE and Ventana and 2020 Kountry Star motorhomes built on DTNA chassis. The brake caliper mounting bolts may have been insufficiently tightened.
Newmar will notify owners, and DTNA dealers will inspect and repair the vehicles, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin May 19, 2020. Owners may contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712 or Newmar customer service at 1-800-731-8300. Newmar’s number for this recall is 20V-127.
Please Note: This is the 15th in a series of posts relating to RV Manufacturers Recalls
Worth Pondering…
It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn’t.
—Martin Van Buren