2018-2022 KZRV Recreational Vehicles Propane Regulator

August 27, 2021 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 21V670000

Propane Regulator May Fail and Cause Fire

Increased propane pressure can enlarge the flames in gas appliances, increasing the risk of a fire.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V670

Manufacturer KZRV, L.P.

Components EQUIPMENT

Potential Number of Units Affected 34,345

 

Summary

KZRV, L.P. (KZRV) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Camplite, Confluence, Connect, Connect SE, Connect Lite, Durango, Durango Gold, Durango Half Ton, Durango Sport, Durango 1500, Quicksilver, Sonic, Sonic X, Sportsmen, Sportsmen FW, Sportsmen LE, Sportsmen SE, Sportsmen Sportster, Sportster, SportTrek, SportTrek Touring, Spree, Stratus, Venom, and Venom V Series recreational vehicles, equipped with Winntec model 6020 two-stage propane regulators. The regulator may fail, causing an increase in propane pressure.

 

Remedy

Dealers will replace the regulator and pigtail hoses, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 3, 2022. Owners may contact KZRV customer service at 1-800-768-4016 ext. 154 or 153. KZRV’s number for this recall is KZ-2021-05.

 

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.nhtsa.gov.

 

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This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. KZRV has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 2018 2022 Camplite, Confluence, Connect, Connect SE, Connect Lite, Durango, Durango Gold, Durango Half Ton, Durango Sport, Durango 1500, Quicksilver, Sonic, Sonic X, Sportsmen, Sportsmen FW, Sportsmen LE, Sportsmen SE, Sportsmen Sportster, Sportster, SportTrek, SportTrek Touring, Spree, Stratus, Venom, and Venom V Series. As a result, KZRV is conducting a safety recall.  We apologize for any inconvenience this action may cause you; however, your safety and continued satisfaction are of the utmost importance to us.

 

Reason for this recall

The vehicles subject to this recall were built with a Winntec model 6020 propane regulator that may have a faulty secondary rubber seal.  This malfunction may result in propane pressures that exceed the propane appliances design limits and/or may be venting propane to the atmosphere which and could result in a fire that results in personal injury or death.

 

What we will do

The remedy is to replace the existing regulator with a new regulator. The repair should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.  This repair will be done at no cost to you.

 

What we need you to do

You should contact your selling dealer immediately to schedule a service appointment to have the defect repaired in your vehicle.  If you have questions concerning this recall or if you need any assistance, please contact the KZRV Warranty/Service Department by mail at KZRV, L.P., 0985 N 900 W, Shipshewana, IN 46565, or by phone at (800)768-4016 ext. 154 or 153.

If you had appropriate repairs completed prior to receipt of this recall notice, and if you incurred any direct cost in connection with obtaining such repair, you may be eligible to receive reimbursement from KZRV by contacting the KZRV Warranty/Service Department.

 

If after contacting KZRV Customer Service you are still not satisfied we have done our best to remedy this situation, you may also submit a written complaint to: Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590. You may call the toll‐free Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1‐888‐327‐4236 (TTY:  1‐800‐424‐9153; or go to https://www.safercar.gov.) Federal regulations require that any vehicle lessor receiving this recall notice must forward a copy of this notice to the lessee within ten days.

 

We apologize for any inconvenience this action may cause you; however, your safety and continued satisfaction are of the utmost importance to us.

 

Thank you for your attention and cooperation in this matter.

 

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11/4/20–Grand Design RV informs THOR Ind. of three incidents involving Winntec Model 6020 regulators, where the regulators were suspected as the cause of fires. The Thor companies reviewed the issue internally and found no issues with these regulators at that time.

 

12/4/20–KZ RV informs THOR Ind. of two issues under investigation with the same suspect regulators.

 

12/22/20–Grand Design performs lab analysis on two failed regulators and finds they contain an oily substance inside. There is a belief that the oily substance is machining oil from a manufacturing process.

 

2/24/21–Grand Design informs THOR Ind. they are investigating several more fires, and will be sending regulators from those incidents for lab inspection.

 

3/16/21–Lab analysis performed on six regulators from Grand Design, including one exemplar and one from KZ RV. In the lab setting, the KZ RV regulator operated within allowable parameters, although it contained the same oily residue seen on the field samples.

 

4/19/21–THOR Ind. engages Exponent Engineering to conduct analysis of regulators to determine source of oily substance.

 

5/10/21–Safety Committee Meetings conducted at KZ RV, Keystone RV and Jayco RV, to update them on regulator investigation. All committees request further investigation of specific claims and confirmation of Exponent findings.

 

5/12/21–Exponent provides written report/presentation on regulator analysis.

 

5/14/21–Meeting held with Grand Design, Dehco, Winnspec International, and Chen Fong to discuss regulator issue. Winnspec given until May 18, to return information regarding issues with their regulators.

 

5/19/21–Safety Committee Meetings conducted at KZ RV, Keystone RV and Jayco RV to update them on the regulator investigation.

 

5/21/21–THOR Ind. Discussed regulator issue with the Medium Heavy Duty ODI office.

 

5/24/21 & 5/25/21 – Meeting with Grand Design, Dehco, Winnspec International, and Chen Fong at Livonia, MI testing facility, to discuss regulator investigation. Chen Fong agrees the regulator is allowing higher pressure than expected with a compromised second stage seal.

 

5/27/21–Safety Committee Meetings conducted at KZ RV, Keystone RV and Jayco RV.  All safety committees decide to move forward with a recall for safety for units built with a defective Winntec Model 6020 regulator.

 

6/16/21 – Video Meeting was held with Thor Industries and NHTSA ODI and Recalls Management Divisions to update them on the progress of gathering the required populations of all regulator recalls submitted by the Thor Companies. NHTSA was informed that more confirmation testing was required to definitively establish a population.

 

7/7/21 – Exponent provided Thor Industries draft testing results of the interaction of the second stage seal with various plasticizers found in hoses used on the regulators from the last five years of manufacturing. Only one sample per year was available to test. This testing confirmed similarities in several years.

 

7/8/21 – Exponent’s draft testing results reviewed with Thor Industries companies. Due to small sample size, it was requested to see if more samples could be secured for confirmation testing.

 

7/16/21 – Thor Industries conducts meeting with Dehco, UFP and Winnspec to discuss the regulator recalls.  Winnspec agrees to provide further second stage seal discs to confirm earlier testing.

 

8/2/21 – Testing samples from Winnspec received from China at Exponent.

 

8/18/21 – Exponent provides draft testing results to Thor Industries on confirmation Samples.

 

8/20/21 – Thor Industries conducts meeting with affected companies to discuss testing results.  Companies are instructed to review the results with their Safety Committees and adjust recall populations accordingly.

 

8/23/21 – KZ RV Safety Committee meets and decides to issue the recall.

 

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125 Affected Products

Vehicles

MAKE	MODEL	YEAR
KZRV	CAMPLITE	2018-2022
KZRV	CONFLUENCE	2018-2022
KZRV	CONNECT	2018-2022
KZRV	CONNECT LITE	2018-2022
KZRV	CONNECT SE	2018-2022
KZRV	DURANGO	2018-2022
KZRV	DURANGO 1500	2018-2022
KZRV	DURANGO GOLD	2018-2022
KZRV	DURANGO HALF TON	2018-2022
KZRV	DURANGO SPORT	2018-2022
KZRV	QUICKSILVER	2018-2022
KZRV	SONIC	2018-2022
KZRV	SONIC X	2018-2022
KZRV	SPORTSMEN	2018-2022
KZRV	SPORTSMEN FW	2018-2022
KZRV	SPORTSMEN LE	2018-2022
KZRV	SPORTSMEN SE	2018-2022
KZRV	SPORTSMEN SPORTSTER	2018-2022
KZRV	SPORTSTER	2018-2022
KZRV	SPORTTREK	2018-2022
KZRV	SPORTTREK TOURING	2018-2022
KZRV	SPREE	2018-2022
KZRV	STRATUS	2018-2022
KZRV	VENOM	2018-2022
KZRV	VENOM V SERIES	2018-2022

 

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6 Associated Documents

Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-21V670-9159.pdf 652.831KB

RCAK-21V670-9159

 

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-21V670-5141.PDF 223.319KB

RCLRPT-21V670-5141

 

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Miscellaneous Document – Chronology

RMISC-21V670-6106.pdf 56.54KB

RMISC-21V670-6106

 

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ISSUED Interim Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RIONL-21V670-4224.pdf 229.748KB

RIONL-21V670-4224

 

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Recall 573 Report – Amendment 1

RCLRPT-21V670-7529.PDF 223.372KB

RCLRPT-21V670-7529

 

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ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-21V670-3251.pdf 234.547KB

RCONL-21V670-3251

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=21V670&docType=RCL

 

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