WINNEBAGO Complaints

We experienced the collapse of the overhead storage compartment on a drive home from the West Coast on 27 August 2023 while driving 75 MPH. It was extremely fortunate that the shelf fell backwards dumping the contents on our sleeping dog. Had the shelf fell forward, it would have totally blocked the driver's vision in heavy, high speed traffic. It is also fortunate that the brunt of the collapse did not hit the drivers head, but was caught by her headrest and the passengers head, again allowing for control of the vehicle at the time of the failure. We learned afterward that there was a recall on this storage compartment due to similar failures. As second owners, we were unaware of any recalls. We should have been notified of this recall and 2 other existing recalls, when our vehicle went in for service to Roberson RV, of Salem, OR on 22 July 2022. The vehicle was in for minor cabin repairs, but even thought the vehicle was entered by VIN number into Roberson’s system, no mention of any Recalls was made. Had we been properly made aware of the recall, the shelf would have been reinforced and the ensuing failure would not have happened. All of the screws in cbinet were stripped out of the laminated panel, when the bottom of the cabinet collapsed. The forward edge of the cabinet was supported by only 2 ea 1/4" diameter bolts (approx 8" between them) attached to the preformed soft cabin ceiling. They were not fixed to anything solid. The recall calls for strengthening the back edge, but does nothing to bolster the 2 ea 1/4" screws. The flexing of the ceiling in trafic has to flex the joint the back side of the cabinet adding to the chance of a fatigue failure, like the one we experienced Finally, this is one of three outstanding recalls, yet your recall search shows no outstanding recalls. I assume Winnebago should be responsible for the repair and NHTSA should issue a further recall for the forward edge support.

The contact owns a 2022 Winnebago Micro Minnie. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V311000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2018 Winnebago View RV built on a 2017 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 chassis. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at 60 MPH, the retractable awning inadvertently extended during transit. No warning lights were illuminated. The RV was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The RV was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V696000 (Structure, Equipment) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but was unable to assist. The failure mileage was 35,000.

This complaint is about broken welds on the Superstructure (The framing that runs the length of the Motor Home (RV). It is attached to the chassis frame rails and supports the entire Motor Home including any cargo and equipment like the Fresh Water tanks (100 gallons) Black and Grey waste tanks. It is the backbone of the construction process and supports several thousand pounds and is under incredible stress especially when this 40 foot Motor Home with a dry weight of in in motion. This vehicle has a GVWR of 29,410 lbs. I took the vehicle down to McClain's RV center located in Corinth, TX (DFW Metroplex) to repair 2 slide-outs that were not functioning correctly on August 7th, 2023. I arrived that evening and set the vehicle up on one of the dealerships RV pads that has both water and electric hook-ups. Before going to sleep, I attempted to put some water into the onboard 100 gallon water tank as I normally do not travel with much due to decreased MPG and weight of water. I was unable to get any water into the tank, so I just switched the valve to open and just had the water running straight from the City hook up into the coach via a "City water" hook-up and went to bed. Next morning, I attempted to fill the onboard tank again with what appeared to be no results. I then took a shower. The service manager & I went to lunch before checking my unit in. We were notified during lunch that my vehicle was overflowing onto the ground. We returned and the water had dissolved from the concrete. Further inspection by myself and the Shop Manager reveled that the fresh water tank had collapsed the floor and superstructure steel flat and angle iron bars and was nearly on the ground. If this had happened in motion, someone could have been killed. The broken welds had complete surface rust indicating the welds had been broke and other welds broke in route causing the Superstructure failure. I suspect other welds are bad and fear for our safety and the safety of the public!!!!

Lack of a functioning blind spot monitoring (BSM) system nearly resulted in a rollover crash at freeway speed. At night, attempting to change lanes to the right, the driver was surprised by a car passing on the right. Driver's evasive action was too extreme resulting in violently veering across the freeway several times before control was regained. The BSM system on this RV did not work upon on delivery when new. This is a widespread problem with Winnebago EKKOs. Three repair attempts by the dealer have failed to fix the system on our EKKO. The original manufacturer Winnebago has refused to supply the dealer with a complete replacement system, requiring us to make repeated service appointments. Each repair attempt halted after a new part was installed leading to the discovery of yet another failed component and more time without a functioning BSM. We have not had a functioning BSM for 14 months.

BSM stopped working at 5,600 miles. No buzzer, no lights. No warning. Requested an appointment at La Mesa Rv Dealer for warranty repair.

In August 2023 while driving at highway speed - without warning - a loud screeching suddenly began from the left front wheel of our 2023 Winnebago EKKO RV (built on a 2022 Ford Transit 3500 AWD chassis) - fearing a potential brake failure I took the vehicle to a mechanic who discovered a bolt from the brake heat shield had detached and was lodged between the brake caliper and rotor, the bolt had scored the rotor - the mechanic dislodged the bolt and stated he had to bend the heat shield slightly to prevent it rubbing. Approximately 2 weeks later the exact same scenario occurred with the right front wheel - this occurrence was verified & remedied by a Ford dealership. I saved this bolt as evidence. Both shops stated that this situation, if not corrected, could damage the front brakes.

The travel trailer comes with the FLX package, which consists of a lithium battery from Lithionics, and utilize an inverter and a solar panel system to charge this battery. On April 27th, the trailer was removed from indoor storage, during storage the trailer was stored per Winnebago's instruction, when the trailer is turned on as per instruction, the inverter caught on fire while I was inside. After repair that I had shelled out as Winnebago did not reimburse or respond to the problem, the trailer battery again failed on May 27th. August 7th, the trailer had been at repair facility for almost 3 months, and with new battery and inverter and various components, the inverter system caught on fire AGAIN when the power system was turned on. The repair facility had reported that the system is not adequately designed, as there's no breaker between the battery and the inverter, and there's also lack of breaker between the solar panel system and the batter and inverter, so any faulty components would cause the system catch on fire. To this date, Winnebago has yet to respond to any of the complaint, this system poses a serious fire risk.

This vehicle has a known fire safety hazard since 2022 as established in public information and documented at NHTSA as of March 31 2023, Overloaded electrical circuits that damage components increase the risk of a fire; NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V234000. We have made numerous attempts to contact the manufacturer regarding this matter but have been ignored. Winnebago has no remedial action plan for this as of this writing and do not seemed to be concerned despite the known fire hazard therein. We are hesitant to use/sleep in this vehicle without a resolution. 5 supporting NHTSA files attached. This serious enough to cause an NHTSA Stop Sale Notification. Winnebago should be compelled to take affirmative action.

The contact owns a 2021 Winnebago Revel RV built on a 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 chassis. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V863000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.