WINNEBAGO Complaints

When I put the car in Reverse, the display screen remains blank, sometimes it flickers on and off, and sometimes it just states "no video detected". I have replaced the core and the monitor, which only leaves the camera itself. This is a hazard to not be able to see what is behind me. I have many more receipts for this repair if needed.

The Balmar alternator is going bad on my 2023 transit on my 2024 Winnebago Ekko. It is starting to whine which in the past leads to a fire in the engine compartment on others units. It is recommended to pull the 4 wire plug that goes Balmar regulator in the lithonics battery compartment, which I did to prevent any additional damage. So without the Balmar unit the batteries will only charge plugged into shore power. A Winnebago group recommended reporting this problem to NHTSA Thank you.

Balmar whine has indicate to be the first step before fire starting in the engine compartment

8 October 2024 Winnebago Ekko owners are looking for clarification on NHTSA recall 23V-234. The number of owners who have experienced Balmar alternator failure after the recall work is growing. We are among them. A post-recall fire has also been reported (October 6 2024 in Washington State) Manufacturer's response to this situation has been, so far: 1) Replace the alternator at no charge 2) Replace the alternator at no charge, with a verbal warning that no more alternators will be furnished free of charge, directing owners to instead contact the component manufacturer (Balmar) for additional relief. Both are unacceptable. The recall was ordered to prevent 1) alternator failure and 2) a potential fire. The recall does neither and the RV manufacturer must be held accountable. Our 23V-234 recall work was completed in February 2024. The alternator failed in June 2024. Yesterday, October 7, the dealer installed a manufacturer-authorized replacement alternator (our fourth, to date, since the RV purchase.) No other work was performed, to our knowledge. We asked the dealer what work the manufacturer was planning to complete to fix the root cause of the alternator failures. Answer: no additional work; only an alternator replacement. Wrong answer. If the manufacturer is planning modifications to address the root cause of multiple alternator failures (and fire risk) the owners have a right to know. To date we have received no indication that any such plan is underway. I am not suggesting they are -not- planning a fix. But we have no indication to the contrary and we have a right to information. In fact we have indications to the contrary. This is not just a major inconvenience (it is - when the alternator fails, it makes everyday life in the RV very challenging.) It's much more than that - it's a fire risk that could impact both life and property. What remedy is the manufacturer planning, and when? Thank you.

The second alternator, manufactured by Balmar and installed by Winnebago, failed. It began producing an audible whine whose pitch and volume corresponded approximately to engine RPM. The power output from the alternator began dropping, eventually reaching about 10-20% of normal. Additionally, after some time (several hours of driving), an odor of burning plastic was detected. At that time, we stopped the vehicle and disconnected this alternator, and the whine and odor has ceased since. No smoke or fire was detected, but we do suspect damage to the alternator, and have left it disconnected in the interest of safety. The primary alternator in the Ford chassis does not appear to be affected, only the secondary Balmar alternator installed by Winnebago. Note that a previous NHTSA recall applied to this vehicle model for apparently similar issues, but our unit was manufactured subsequent to and was not subject to that recall. We have service scheduled with a service center in the near future, but at this time have not yet had the system inspected or the problem confirmed by any other party.

We believe our Balmar (the second alternator that powers our Lithium batteries) failed and then created enough heat to either have a small fire or produce copious amounts of toxic smoke. This is a known problem with the Winnebago EKKOs. There has been one round of recalls for the Balmar re-wiring which we had done at the Winnebago Factory Center in Forest City, IA on November 21, 2023. We were in the parking lot at Whole Foods in Jackson, Wyoming when this happened. We opened the hood when we smelled the plastic burning smell and smoke was pouring out. People were gathering and telling us to call 911 to get the fire department out. We decided to discharge the fire extinguishers provided with our EKKO (a Kidde ABC model). If the whole thing caught fire, obviously other people and cars parked next to us would have been in danger. Yesterday, we heard a new “whine” coming from our engine and noticed that our app that measures the power coming into the lithium batteries was fluctuating way more than usual and so we suspected the system was starting to fail. We had no idea it would fail so quickly and so dangerously.

The contact owns a 2021 Winnebago Revel built on a 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 chassis. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V863000 (Structure) and 23V663000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Secondary alternator made by Balmer Failed after recall repair “failure of WGO’s remedy of NHTSA recall 23V234000”

After completion of NHTSA Campaign Number 23V-234, the Balmar alternator charging system on my EKKO has twice shutdown and gone into a locked state which also trips the 250A house breaker in the RV. This state disables all charging while the engine is running and also disables the house 12V system due to the breaker trip. The locked state is supposedly triggered by an alternator over temperature condition. The NHSTA campaign previously replaced this entire Balmar charging system and its wiring, however, there are still clearly issues with the post-recall system as it fails and shuts down. The safety issue here is that the Balmar system over temperature condition can lead to a fire. Winnebago has not been helpful and refers me to Balmar. Balmar is entirely non-responsive and does not answer any calls or emails via their support mechanisms.

I put Other, as my husband was driving the 2022 EKKO when the sound bar above him fell down...he caught it and had to drive one handed to get to a safe spot to stop. wires were hanging as was the sound bar