KEYSTONE Complaints

WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY, I EXPERIENCE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THESE TRAILER TIRES. TIRES WERE INFLATED TO MANUFACTUER INSTRUCTIONS 65 PSI. PRE TRIP INSPECTION SHOWED NO CRACKS OR DRY ROTTING. THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF ANY DEFECT. VEHICLE WAS NOT OVERLOADED. AFTER REPLACING THE FIRST BLOW OUT, A SECOND TIRE CATASTROPHICALLY FAILED WITHIN 30 MILES OF THE FIRST. CAMPER SUSTAINED DAMAGE TO THE WHEEL WELL, EXTERIOR TRIP, SOME LIGHTING WIRING AND PUT A HOLE IN THE FLOOR FROM UNDERNEATH.

I OWN A 2011 KEYSTONE COUGAR 5TH WHEEL THAT INCORPORATES A SLIDE-OUT BUMPER / BIKE RACK THAT THE SPARE TIRE IS MOUNTED ON. THE SAME PRODUCT WAS USED IN SIMILAR 2011 KEYSTONE 5TH WHEELS THAT WERE THE SUBJECT OF A KEYSTONE RECALL #12-178 INVOLVING THE NHTSA. OUR BUMPER HAS FAILED IN THE SAME MANOR DUE TO METAL FATIGUE. THIS WAS A VERY SERIOUS SITUATION THAT OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE THROUGH SALT LAKE CITY ON 6 LANES OF TRAFFIC TRAVELING 80 MPH. THE BUMPER HOLDING THE SPARE TIRE & OUR 2 BIKES ON THE RACK WERE HANGING JUST ABOVE THE PAVEMENT. FORTUNATELY, SEVERAL DRIVERS ALERTED ME TO THIS & I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER. WHILE DEALING WITH THIS, I WAS NEARLY KILLED BY SEVERAL LARGE TRUCKS THAT NARROWLY MISSED ME. AFTER TAKING THE SPARE TIRE & THE BIKES OFF, I SECURED THE BUMPER WITH STRAPS AS BEST I COULD & CONTINUED TO MY DESTINATION OF LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE DAMAGE & POSSIBLE DEATH THAT WOULD HAVE OCCURRED IF THE ASSEMBLY HAD FALLEN OFF. KEYSTONE MANAGEMENT MADE A DECISION TO DECLINE TO DO ANYTHING & SAID I NEEDED TO DEAL WITH LIPPERT COMPONENTS, THE SUPPLIERS OF THE ASSEMBLY. THEY ALSO DECLINED TO DO ANYTHING. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY NHTSA DID NOT REQUIRE A RECALL ON ALL 2011 KEYSTONE COUGAR PRODUCTS THAT INCORPORATED THAT EXACT SAME ASSEMBLY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 KEYSTONE RAPTOR TRAILER EQUIPPED WITH TRAILER KING (NA) TIRES, SIZE ST235/80/R16 (NA). WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE REAR DRIVER SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT AND THE TREAD SEPARATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT ALL SIX TIRES WERE SEPARATING AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER OF THE TIRES WAS NOTIFIED. THE TIRES WERE REPLACED. THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 600.

MY DOMETIC REFRIGERATOR RM2852, SERIAL NO.13505075 UNDER RECALL 06E-076. CRACK IN BURNER.THIS RECALL STATES THAT THE COOLING UNIT IS DEFECTIVE AS A CRACK WILL OCCUR IN THE BURNER AREA CAUSING THE LOSS OF REFRIGERANT AND LOSS OF COOLING AND THE POSSIBILITY OF FIRE EXISTS IF LEFT IN OPERATION. YET THEY ADVISE NOT TO OPERATE THE UNIT IF AMMONIA ODOR OR YELLOW RESIDUE FROM LEAKAGE EXISTS. THIS HAS OCCURRED WITH MY UNIT. AFTER TALKING TO DOMETIC DIRECTLY, TODAY, THEY ADVISED ME THAT THEY WILL INSTALL A KIT TO DETER A FIRE FROM SPREADING SHOULD ONE OCCUR AFTER THE KIT HAS BEEN INSTALLED. THEY SAY THEY WILL NOT REPAIR OR REPLACE MY FAILED COOLING UNIT, AFTER WHICH THEIR IMPLIED RECALL REMEDY IS OF NO VALUE AT ALL BECAUSE THE REFRIGERATOR WILL NO LONGER OPERATE. THE WOMAN I SPOKE WITH AT DOMETIC TOLD ME, WHEN I ASKED WHY THEY WERE NOT REPLACING THE COOLING UNIT ITSELF, IT WAS BECAUSE MY UNIT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THIS ANSWER WAS SIMPLY A DIVERSION BECAUSE THIS PARTICULAR UNIT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY LONG BEFORE THE RECALL CAMPAIGN WAS EVER DEVELOPED. WARRANTY DOES NOT APPLY. SHE THEN SAID THAT ONCE "I COVER THE COST" TO HAVE THE COOLING UNIT REPLACED THEN THEY WILL INSTALL THE RECALL KIT AT NO COST TO ME. OF COURSE, ONCE AGAIN, AT THAT POINT THE RECALL KIT WILL NO LONGER BE NECESSARY UNLESS THEY ARE ADMITTING THAT THEY ARE STILL SHIPPING DEFECTIVE COOLING UNITS. EVERY EFFORT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MADE BY DOMETIC TO PASS ON THE COSTS OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO THEIR CUSTOMERS, BE IT CAUSED BY DAMAGE FROM FIRES, OR ASSUREDLY THE EVENTUAL REPLACEMENT OF THE DEFECTIVE COOLING UNIT. RESEARCH TELLS ME THAT MANY TIMES CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN TOLD TO JUST REPLACE THE REFRIGERATOR EVEN WHEN REPAIRABLE. THESE EXPENSES, IF THE CUSTOMER PAYS, CAN REACH MULTI-THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS EACH IN SOME CASES. DOMESTIC'S COSTS FOR THEIR KIT, AS OFFERED, IS LESS THAN 100 DOLLARS PER UNIT PARTS AND LABOR.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 KEYSTONE SPRINGDALE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE CONTACT WAS NOTIFIED BY A FOLLOWING MOTORIST THAT THE VEHICLES REAR WHEELS WERE WOBBLING AND LOOKED AS THOUGH IT WAS GOING TO DETACH FROM THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT FRONT AND REAR AXLES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO THE RETAINING NUT THAT HOLDS THE WHEEL BEARING ON THE AXLE WAS CROSS THREADING DURING MANUFACTURING. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,000.

MY 5TH WHEEL CAMPER MODEL 252 FWRLS HAS A GVWR 8200 AND THE TIRES (ST205/75R15C) HAVE A 1820 RATING @ 50 PSI (MAX) WITH TWO AXLES EQUALING A TOTAL OF 4 TIRES THE MAX LOAD IS 7280. THEREFORE, THE CAMPER IS OVERLOADED 920 LBS BASED ON THE TIRE/WHEEL MAXIMUM LOAD CAPACITY. ISN'T THIS ILLEGAL. I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE TIRES LOOKED OVERLOADED OR LOW BUT THEY WERE AT MAX PRESSURE.

DASH HAS HEATED WHILE SITTING IN BRIGHT SUN LIGHT AND NOW THE DASH HAS A REFLECTIVE SHEEN THAT IS SEEN CLEARLY ON THE SURFACE OF THE WINDSHIELD. THE REFLECTION IS EXTREMELY DISTRACTING IN ALL TYPES OF WEATHER CONDITIONS MAKING DRIVING THIS VEHICLE A SAFETY CONCERN. NORMALLY A SUBARU OF THIS AGE IN OUR FAMILY WOULD HAVE WELL OVER 150,000 MILES ON IT, HOWEVER DUE TO OUR SAFETY CONCERNS THIS VEHICLE ABSOLUTELY HAS BEEN DRIVEN ONLY 35,000 MILES. DEALERS WILL NOT REPLACE THE DASH SO CAR NOW SITS INSIDE A BARN.

2013 KEYSTONE COUGAR TRAILER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TIRE FAILURE. *SMD THE CONSUMER NOTICED AS HE WAS DRIVING, HE NOTICED THAT ONE OF THE RIGHT SIDE TRAILER TIRES WERE SHREDDING. WHEN HE WAS FINALLY ABLE TO STOP, HE DISCOVERED THE TIRE WAS LOOSING AIR AND THE TREAD HAS COMPLETELY SEPARATED FROM THE CASING AND THE SIDEWALL WAS STILL INTACT. THERE WAS EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE SHEET METAL AND DUAL AXLES. *JB

CARLISLE RADIAL TRAIL RH ST205/75R15 107B (LRD) TRAILER TIRE BLOW OUT. MANUFACTURE DATE '1914'. 7,684 MILES ON SET OF TIRES, 7/32 TREAD DEPTH REMAINING. MAX SPEED OF 65 MPH OBSERVED. TIRE PRESSURES MAINTAINED AND MONITORED WITH TST 507 TPMS. NO EXTERNAL SIGNS OF PENDING FAILURE. HUB OF AXLE REPACKED 1 1/2 YEARS PRIOR, NOT HOT TO TOUCH WHEN CHANGING TIRE. TRAILER WEIGHT 75% OF CARRYING CAPACITY OF TIRES BASED ON CAT SCALE. DAMAGE TO TRAILER AND WIRING WHEN TREAD EJECTED FROM CASING. TIRE BEING RETURNED TO CARLISLE FOR EVALUATION TO DETERMINE CAUSE OF FAILURE.

BLEW 3 TIRES IN LESS THAN 3000 MILES. FIRST WAS ON DELIVERY OF VEHICLE FROM MANUFACTURER, NEXT 2 WERE ON SAME DAY LESS THAN 200 MILES APART (ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF VEHICLE). 2ND ONE LITERALLY EXPLODED NEARLY CAUSING A CRASH. DYNAMIC TIRE SAYS NOTHING WRONG WITH TIRES.