NEWMAR Complaints

The 2022 London Aire is on Spartans’ K3 chassis. The unit experiences extreme porpoising to the point it is dangerous. Any road that has undulations set up porpoising that continues on for 4-5 cycles limiting steering control. Passenger has been lifted out of her seat literally. She did not have seat belt on but we have never experienced anything like this and it was on a freeway. Made appointment with Spartan service center in March 2022 to have everything checked. Realigned coach, set tire pressures d was told “this is normal ride”. Informed some customers were putting on koni shocks but Spartan would not pay for them as not warranty item. Had them install the Konis at our expense. It was better but still not acceptable. Called Reyco-Granning who manufactures the front end suspension for this chassis. They informed me that they had been trying to get Spartan to add their sway bar for several years to no avail. Reyco resorted to developing their own specially tuned Bilstein shock as Spartan continued to deny a problem. In September I had Reyco-Granning install their recommended suspension parts and the problem has virtually disappeared. It is unfathomable to me that Spartan continues to deny there is an issue. Especially now as the 2023 chassis front end is Meritor with a sway bar and the Koni shocks they refused to pay for. There is a solution and Spartan is avoiding responsibility

I have owned the Bay Star for a month, since 9/15/2022. In that time, the “Service Advance Track” warning has come on 4 times. When this happens, the traction control, cruise control, and hill assist features do not work. They advertised these as safety features and now they are gone. Also, the info display is filled with the message above and I can’t see my trip info. It’s very frustrating at best and unsafe at the worse.

When driving at night, the dash lighting system fails to dim beyond 40%. The intensity is too much for safe driving, and I have had to cover the dash with a cloth to safely drive at night. Doing this removes the ability to monitor vital systems and speed. I contacted Spartan Chassis, and they suggested that I put a photo film or window tint over the display. The stated justification is "most RV owners don't drive at night, so we don't have that many complaints". The dash controls will adjust from 40% to 0, but no intensity changes are made. I have had it at the dealership to confirm the issue, and they documented the suggestions. I tried the window tinting, but the display was too dark to see during the daytime, creating a new issue. I have detailed service records, including the advice to use window tinting available to provide. Dealership: National Indoor RV Center Work order #68671 Date: 6/24/2022 Line #2 GLASS DOSEN'T DIM ENOUGH FOR NIGHT TIME DRIVING. CAUSE: 6/7: Dan North at Valid has stated that if screen dimmed to zero with parking/headlights on, that is the extent of dash back light intensity. CORRECTION: Correction: Needed to get info together prior to contacting Spartan. Took images of glass dash and info. The physical sticker on cluster was blocked by bracketing. Emailed Brian with images and scope of issue. Brian sent back Valid manual which showed a night setting triggered by headlights. Even on night and set to 0%, screen is still roughly twice as bright as dash switches at an estimated night setting. Contacted Valid who suggested a filter (smoked/tinted plexiglass) to darken screen more. This wouldn't be a warranty issue. Assumed window tint would work as long as it didn't damage screen. Stopped at this point

The TPMS system fails to read tires while in motion. Primarily affects the rear outer drive axle, but all wheels, including front are impacted at random intervals. When standing still, the sensors will all read and display temperature and pressure. After driving for 10 minutes, a TPMS alert will display on the dash and one or more wheels will show as missing. The frequency of these alerts has caused me to ignore the TPMS system, rendering it ineffective. I have had it in for service on 5 separate occasions. The first time was Feb 2022, and the last time was 10/4/2022. During the service visits, additional antennas where added, antennas where relocated, and adjusted. This last service visit the dealership informed me that this is a wide known problem and they directed me to call Spartan Chassis. I called Spartan Chassis on 10/5/2022 and spoke with Dave. He took my vin and said it is a widely known problem and they will let me know when they have a fix. I asked how soon, and he said he has no information. I called Newmar Corp on 10/5/2022 and spoke with Mike. He referred me to Spartan, and said they would look into it. He too was aware of the many issues, but assumed they had been fixed. I called Spartanlync, the manufacturer the TPMS and left message without a response. The 2023 Newmar London Aire has a newer product delivered by Spartan & Spartanlync (companies not related) that resolves the issue, but I was denied getting this installed to resolve my problem.

The driver's side window is a dual pane window. The glass has lost its seal letting moisture in between the panes causing a drivers visibility issue. Driver is unable to see in the rear mirror or to the left side of the vehicle. Vehicle manufacturer claims vehicle is out of warranty and denied any remedy.

This model motorhome has a steering assist function to allow the steering wheel effort to be adjusted to a very light turning input or a very hard turning input. This feature is known as Comfort Drive or Comfort Steer. As I was driving down the highway at 60 MPH, I got a warning on the dash that said “Steering Effort Control (CTRL) Disabled” and the steering wheel immediately went into the very hard steering feel. While still driveable at highway speeds, all turns, especially at slow speeds are difficult to turn the wheel into and out of the turn. On a social media page for Newmar owners, I found that several people had this same issue and a “fix” to return the steering to normal was to turn off the chassis batteries and turn them back on. This did reset the Comfort Drive initially, but as I was making a turn at an intersection, the warning came on again, and because of the slow speed in making the turn, the steering wheel was excessively hard to turn and I drifted into the lane next to me and almost ran onto the curb. Had there been another vehicle next to me or a pedestrian walking on the sidewalk, it could have been a serious accident. Supposedly, Freightliner (the motorhome is built on a Freightliner chassis) knows about this issue but has not voluntarily offered to fix the issue. I am told there is no repair possible on this system, instead it requires a complete replacement of the steering column and a software update of the Comfort Drive system. Newmar says it is not their problem and Freightliner refuses to address the issue in a timely manner. I seriously believe that if this system were to shut off on someone not as capable of turning the steering wheel in the heaviest steering mode on this 50,000 pound vehicle, , there could very easily be an accident due to loss of control of the motorhome.

The Comfort Drive system on the Kountry Star has failed 12 times in the first year (7500 miles). Eleven of the faults have been while driving and once while sitting still. Vehicle was checked by Freightliner shop who in turn spoke to Newmar. Newmar advice was the system was functioning properly! On a 1200 mile trip earlier this month the system failed 3 separate times. When faults are thrown, an error is displayed on dash staring, “Steering Effort CTRL Disabled”. Suddenly it appears to NOT have power steering. Under a stand an occasional fault however this is excessive and presents a danger.

THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM IS DEFECTIVE AND IS GIVEING FALSE / INACURATE READINGS. THIS COULD LEAD TO A TIRE BLOWOUT AND AN ACCIDENT. MANY OTHER OWNERS ARE REPORTING THIS AS A COMMON PROBLEM.

The contact owns a 2019 Newmar Dutch Star RV. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, he heard an abnormally loud sound before the steering wheel seized. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to park safely on the side of the road. Upon inspecting the RV, he noticed the steering hose had separated from the fitting. The contact towed the RV to an independent mechanic where the RV was being serviced. The RV was not yet diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 19,140.

Entry door unlatches and allows door to open at highway speed, unless secondary deadbolt lock is manually latched. This occurred twice on my recent trip. Manufacturer has worked/examined this issue on 2 previous occasions. Standard door latch does not secure door as designed.