68-1178 – Leveling Jacks May Deploy Unexpectedly – 2021 Forest River FR3 Recreational Vehicles

June 19, 2020 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V361000

Leveling Jacks May Deploy Unexpectedly

If the leveling jacks deploy while the vehicle is in motion, it can cause loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V361

Manufacturer Forest River, Inc.

Components ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Potential Number of Units Affected 62

 

Summary

Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2021 FR3 recreational vehicles built on a Ford chassis with a V8 engine. The wiring harness may have an incorrect wire connected to the parking brake, allowing the leveling jacks to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is in motion.

 

Remedy

Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will correct the wiring harness, free of charge. This recall began June 26, 2020. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-206-7600. Forest River’s number for this recall is 68-1178.

 

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.

 

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IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL

NHTSA RECALL: 20V361
CANADA RECALL: 2020-277
FR ID: 68-1178

<<VIN>>
<<OWNER NAME/DEALERNAME>>
<<ADDRESS>>
<<CITY>>, <<ST>> <<ZIP-XXX>>

 

06/19/2020

 

This Notice applies to your vehicle VIN listed above.

 

Dear Forest River Customer:

 

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. This notice is also sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Forest River – Office of Corporate Compliance (“OCC”) has decided that a defect, which relates to the motor vehicle safety, exists in certain 2021 Forest River FR3 motorhome recreational vehicles. This is to inform you that your vehicle may contain a defect that could affect the safety of a person.

 

WHAT IS THE DEFECT/NONCOMPLIANCE? 

The hydraulic leveling jacks may potentially deploy while the vehicle is in operation.

 

EVALUATION OF THE RISK TO THE VEHICLE AND OPERATOR(S) RELATED TO THE RECALL.

If the leveling jacks deploy while the vehicle is in motion, this condition may lead to loss of vehicle control, property damage and a crash.

 

WHAT IS FOREST RIVER AND OUR DEALERSHIPS GOING TO DO?

Forest River is notifying dealerships of the recall. You may have the recall corrected at any Forest River dealership. However, it is preferable if you have your selling dealership perform the remedy. Forest River completely covers your cost for the remedy; you will not receive any bill of sale for anything covered under the above recall number.

 

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Please contact your dealer immediately and request a service appointment to schedule the free remedy to correct the wiring.  The vehicle Owner is responsible for arranging to have the work completed.  Please state you received notification by Forest River of having a recall in process for your vehicle and provide the recall number for the dealership.  It is also helpful to the dealership to have a copy of this letter when you take your vehicle in for the recall remedy.

 

You may also visit www.forestriverinc.com for dealer locations.

 

HOW LONG WILL THE REMEDY PROCESS TAKE?

The estimated time of repair is .40 hours.  However, the dealership may need to keep your vehicle or schedule an appointment with you for a later date to fit into their regular service schedule.

 

WHAT IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY PAID FOR REPAIRS TO YOUR VEHICLE FOR THIS PARTICULAR CONDITION?

If you have already paid for a repair that is within the scope of this defect under recall, you still need to have this recall inspected and/or performed to ensure the correct parts and procedures were utilized.

 

Additionally, you may be eligible for a refund of previously paid repairs. Refunds will be provided for vehicles within the scope of this defect under recall.

 

Please send the service invoice to the following address:

FR3
Forest River, Inc.
Attn: WARRANTY MANAGER
55135 CR 1
Elkhart, IN 46514

 

What if you no longer own this vehicle?

If you no longer own this vehicle and have the address for the current owner, please forward this letter to the new owner within 10 working days after the day in which the notice is received. You have received this letter because government regulations require that a notification is sent to the last known owner of record. Our records indicate that you are the current owner.

 

PLEASE NOTE: FEDERAL LAW REQUIRES THAT ANY VEHICLE LESSOR RECEIVING THIS RECALL NOTICE MUST FORWARD A COPY OF THIS NOTICE TO THE LESSEE WITHIN TEN DAYS.

 

MAY FOREST RIVER ASSIST YOU FURTHER?

If you have difficulties getting your vehicle repaired, please contact your Forest River Representative listed below:

CONTACT	PHONE
CUSTOMER SERVICE	(574) 206-7600

 

If you are still having difficulty getting your vehicle/towable repaired in a reasonable amount of time or without change, you may write to the following address:

For US Owners Please Contact:	For Canadian Owners Please Contact:
Administrator National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20590 Or you may call the toll free Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or (TTY: 1-800-424-9153). Or visit www.safercar.gov and search; Recall ID: 20V361	Head of Recalls Motor Vehicle Safety Investigations Laboratory Transport Canada 80 Noël street, Gatineau, Quebec, J8Z 0A1 Telephone (800) 333-0510 Facsimile (819) 420-4292 Recall ID: 2020-277

 

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IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL

DEPARTMENT OF COMPLIANCE
VEHICLE SAFETY AND RECALL MANAGEMENT
BUILDING 11
423 N MAIN ST
MIDDLEBURY, INDIANA 46540-9218

NHTSA RECALL: 20V361
CANADA RECALL: 2020-277
FR ID: 68-1178

<<DEALERNAME>>
<<ADDRESS>>
<<CITY>>, <<ST>> <<ZIP-XXX>>

06/19/2020

 

Pursuant to USC49CFR §577.13 – Notification to Dealerships and Distributors – Paragraph B

“It is a violation of Federal Law for a dealer to deliver a new motor vehicle or any new or used item of motor vehicle equipment (including a tire) covered by the notification under a sale or lease until the defect or noncompliance is remedied. Substantial civil penalties apply to violations of this law.”

–Forest River motorized and towable products are contained in this section-

 

CANADA: Pursuant to the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Act, section 5

Companies who sell new non-complying vehicles may be in violation of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Substantial penalties apply to violations of this law. This notice is being sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. This is to inform you that your vehicle may contain a defect that could affect the safety of a person.

Forest River – Office of Corporate Compliance (“OCC”) has decided that a safety defect exists in certain 2021 Forest River FR3 motorhome recreational vehicles. Forest River is recalling the defect model(s) to ensure the safety of our future retail consumers and your dealership. Forest River apologizes for any inconvenience this action may cause your dealership; however, safety continued satisfaction and our commitment to building great products are of the utmost importance to Forest River.

The identified VIN referenced in the attached document(s).

The designated Date range of production is 3/12/2020 through 06/05/2020

 

DEFECT/NONCOMPLIANCE:

The hydraulic leveling jacks may potentially deploy while the vehicle is in operation.

 

EVALUATION OF RISK:

If the leveling jacks deploy while the vehicle is in motion, this condition may lead to loss of vehicle control, propertydamage and a crash.

 

SERVICE PROCEDURE:

Dealership Service Department Service procedures for addressing the incorrect wiring is located Dealer Connect.

 

DEALER REPAIR CODES: Dealer Connect

UNITED STATES	CANADA	REPAIR CODE	DESCRIPTION	ALLOWABLE HOUR(S)
20V361	2020-277	RC-007-09-00-003482	Perform wiring repair	.40

 

 

HELPFUL CONTACT INFORMATION:

CONTACT	PHONE
CUSTOMER SERVICE	(574) 206-7600

 

The Recall shall be considered the utmost priority to remedy the 2021 Forest River FR3 motorhome recreational vehicles in question. The retail consumer shall not be charged any amount of monies for remedy to their 2021 Forest River FR3 motorhome recreational vehicles listed under this Recall.

If your dealership has already performed the remedy to 2021 Forest River FR3 motorhome recreational vehicles, your dealership is entitled to the reimbursement as stated above by filing a claim using the indicated repair code(s).  If the remedy needs to be performed on an out of warranty 2021 Forest River FR3 motorhome recreational vehicles in which the VIN falls under as stated in the identified VIN listing, your dealership is entitled to the reimbursement as stated above by filing a claim using the indicated repair code(s).

 

Notice:

In no manner shall a Forest River Product Owner or Coachmen Product Owner be charged any fee(s) for scheduling, conduction or completion of the recall.  Additionally, all dealership(s) that are Forest River and/or Coachmen dealership(s) are Federally Mandated to perform the recall once presented with this recall whether by the Owner or Dealership receipt of this letter, without denial of service to the Owner.  Lastly, denial of a remedy for this recall is a Federal Violation punishable by law resulting substantial fines and/or civil penalties.

Federal Regulation requires that any lessor receiving this Recall must forward a copy of this notice to the lessee within ten days.  If your dealership no longer owns this vehicle, please inform the Warranty Manager of the product listed above of the change of ownership.

 

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1 Affected Product

Vehicle

MAKE	MODEL	YEAR
FOREST RIVER	FR3	2021

 

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9 Associated Documents

Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2020-2

RCLQRT-20V361-9343.PDF 211.132KB

 

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-20V361-3324.pdf 244.767KB

 

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc)

RCMN-20V361-0839.pdf 217.24KB

 

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V361-5621.PDF 213.702KB

 

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ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-20V361-5236.pdf 210.681KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #2, 2020-3

RCLQRT-20V361-0571.PDF 211.232KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #3, 2020-4

RCLQRT-20V361-2111.PDF 211.317KB

 

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Recall 573 Report – Amendment 1

RCLRPT-20V361-6140.PDF 213.76KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #4, 2021-1

RCLQRT-20V361-0009.PDF 211.422KB

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

For the Latest and Most Recent Recalls Information Visit the link below…

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=20V361&docType=RCL

 

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