Forest River, Inc. is recalling certain 2016 Forest River Forester

Jul 03, 2018 — Recall Campaign #18V444000

Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2016 Forest River Forester, 2014-2016 Forest River Sunseeker and Coachmen Leprechaun, 2014 Coachmen Concord, and 2014-2017 Coachmen Freelander vehicles, built on Chevrolet chassis and equipped with power windows. Liquid may leak into the driver's power window switch and cause corrosion, resulting in high electrical resistance.

The recall was influenced by the manufacturer with about 53 units affected.

See recall notice

NHTSA Safety Recall Notice

18V444000

Manufacturer:	Forest River, Inc.
Recall date:	July 03, 2018
NHTSA Campaign #:	18V444000
Units affected:	53

Description:: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2016 Forest River Forester, 2014-2016 Forest River Sunseeker and Coachmen Leprechaun, 2014 Coachmen Concord, and 2014-2017 Coachmen Freelander vehicles, built on Chevrolet chassis and equipped with power windows. Liquid may leak into the driver's power window switch and cause corrosion, resulting in high electrical resistance.
Consequeces:: High electrical resistance can increase the risk of a fire.
Corrective action:: Forest River has notified owners, and Chevrolet dealers will replace the driver side window switch, free of charge. The recall began July 24, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Forest River Forester and Sunseeker at 1-574-206-7600, Coachmen Concord, Freelander, and Leprechaun customer service at 1-574-825-8602. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-0781.
Notes:: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Affects the following:

2016 COACHMEN LEPRECHAUN Complaints
EXIT DOOR LATCH FAILED. I AM LOCKED IN THE VEHICLE. THERE IS A YOUTUBE VIDEO SHOWING THE PROBLEM HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/T6R5C-SMXZQ NOTE I AM AN ENGINEER AND KNOW THE NHTSA SYSTEM. AS I WRITE THIS, I AM IN THE VEHICLE BUT THE EXIT DOOR WILL NOT OPEN. I HAVE LEARNED THE PART IS TRIMARK LATCH 060-0650. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS POSTED ONLINE. THIS FAILURE HAS POTENTIALLY FATAL CONSEQUENCES AS SOME MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ESCAPE IN CASE OF FIRE OR ACCIDENT. AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE ATTACHED PICTURE FROM TRIMARK ON-LINE CATALOG, THEY ALREADY KNOW OF THE PROBLEM BUT HAS NOT CONTACTED OF THE THOUSANDS OF AFFECTED VEHICLES. BASED ON THE VIDEO AND MY BACKGROUND AS AN ENGINEER I FULLY EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO OPEN THE EXIT DOOR SOMETIME LATER TODAY. I AM CONCERNED THAT NOT EVERYONE MAY HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE, TOOLS OR PHYSICAL CAPABILITY NEEDED TO OPEN THE EXIT DOOW AS SEEN IN THE VIDEO. I WOULD REQUEST YOU HAVE TRIMARK TAKE ACTION BEFORE SOMEONE DIES. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO WITHDRAW THE COMPLAINT AS THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO A LOOSE SCREW INSTALLED BY COACHMAN AND NOT CAUSED BY LATCH FAILURE. *JS;
2016 FOREST RIVER FORESTER Complaints
The Maxxair fan is a component that sits on the roof of the RV. Looking at the install instructions, the unit is installed by attaching the flange to the roof. What failed was that the 'top' portion of the fan, where the motor and and the cover attachments are, flew off at speed, on the highway. Fortunately, I pulled over right away, and found the unit still attached by the power wires. The safety issue would be if a 15"x15"x8" unit weighing about 20 lbs went airborne in traffic, causing an incident for whoever was behind the RV where this happened. IMHO this is a manufacturing defect by Maxxair. These 4 screws should never have worked out, causing the issue. These fans are commonly installed by most major RV mfgrs. We're OK. We have to replace the fan. No one was hurt this time.;
2016 FOREST RIVER SUNSEEKER Complaints
CURT CONTROLLER IS FAILING IN WET CONDITIONS. CURT CONTROLLER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BRAKE LIGHTS, TURN SIGNALS, REVERSE LIGHTS, BASICALLY ANY EXTERNAL SAFETY LIGHTING ON THE RV THAT INDICATES YOU'RE STOPPING OR TURNING. FOREST RIVER PLACED THE CURT CONTROLLER ON THE REAR BUMPER, DIRECTLY BEHIND THE WHEELS WHERE ROAD SPRAY WILL GET DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE ELECTRICAL. THE MANUFACTURER OF THE CURT CONTROLLER SPECIFICALLY STATES ON THEIR WEBSITE THAT IT SHOULD BE PLACED IN A DRY INTERNAL AREA OF THE VEHICLE. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AS ALL THE LIGHTS JUST COME ON AT ONCE AND DON'T TURN OFF UNLESS YOU PULL OUT THE FUSE. THEN YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE CURT CONTROLLER TO DRY OUT BEFORE IT WORKS NORMALLY AGAIN. WE'VE ASKED FOREST RIVER TO FIX THE DESIGN AND TO DATE THEY HAVE DECLINED.;
2017 COACHMEN FREELANDER Complaints
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 COACHMEN FREELANDER. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING IN HOT TEMPERATURES AND DRIVING UP-HILL AT 65 MPH, THE POWER REDUCED MODE WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT PARKED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROADWAY. THE CONTACT RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND CONTINUED DRIVING TO HIS DESTINATION. THE CONTACT STATED HE HAD EXPERIENCED THE SAME FAILURE TWENTY-FIVE TIMES WITHIN A MONTH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SALINAS VALLEY TRUCK CENTER LOCATED AT 795 ELVEE DR, SALINAS, CA 93901, (831) 444-4485 HOWEVER, THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 10,000.;