Recall Corner — October 2004

Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. has announced NHTSA recall 04V352000, which affects some 2002, 2003, and 2004 Bounder, Fiesta, Flair, Jamboree, Jamboree GT, Pace Arrow, Southwind, Storm, Terra, Tioga, and Tioga SL motorhomes made between November 1, 2002, and March 23, 2004. The potential number of coaches involved is 8,219.

On certain motorhomes equipped with Draw-Tite-brand hitch receivers, one or more welds may be missing between the hitch receiver box and the bottom support plate. During use, forces may be applied that could cause the existing welds to break, allowing the hitch receiver box and towed load to separate from the motorhome, increasing the risk of a crash.

A dealer or authorized service center will inspect and, if necessary, replace the hitch receiver. The repair is expected to take approximately three hours to complete. However, because of service scheduling times, the service center may need the vehicle for a longer time period. Fleetwood urges owners of motorhomes affected by this recall not to tow or otherwise use the hitch receiver before it is inspected and/or repaired.

For more information about this recall, contact Fleetwood at (800) 322-8216. Owner notification was expected to begin in August 2004.

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Monaco Coach Corporation has announced three separate recalls.

The first is NHTSA recall 04V322000, which affects some 2003 Beaver Marquis and Beaver Patriot motorhomes made between January 21, 2002, and February 12, 2002. The potential number of coaches involved is 19.

The affected motorhomes fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 104, “Windshield Wiping and Washing Systems.” The windshield wiper assembly was installed without proper support, allowing the wiper assembly to bind and/or break. This failure could result in inadequate visibility in adverse weather conditions, which could lead to a crash and injury.

A dealer or authorized service center will install a new style of wiper assembly and add support for the assembly. The repair is expected to take approximately 8 hours. However, because of service scheduling times, the service center may need the vehicle for a longer time period.

The second is NHTSA recall 04V325000, which affects some 2005 Monaco Executive motorhomes made between January 14, 2004, and June 2, 2004. The potential number of coaches involved is 29.

The affected motorhomes fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 135, “Brake Systems.” The antilock brake system (ABS) lights may not illuminate on the instrument cluster of the dash. In addition, the ABS lights in the dash are red in color, whereas the safety standard requires that the color be amber. Without the ABS indicator lights to warn the driver that there is a fault in the ABS system, the driver may not be prepared to react properly to current road conditions and/or traffic flow, possibly resulting in a crash and injury.

A dealer or authorized service center will rewire plugs to correct the signal from the ABS module and install amber-colored lights to the instrument cluster of the dashboard. The repair is expected to take approximately 45 minutes. However, because of service scheduling times, the service center may need the vehicle for a longer time period.

The third is NHTSA recall 04V355000, which affects some 2005 Holiday Rambler Imperial motorhomes made between November 26, 2003, and March 5, 2004. The potential number of coaches involved is 22.

On affected motorhomes, the incorrect gauge and type of wiring was used when installing the patio awning motor. The incorrect wiring may allow overloading of the wire, creating the potential for a fire.

A dealer or authorized service center will relocate the control box to the slideout overhead and rewire the patio awning motor. The repair is expected to take approximately 3 1/2 hours. However, because of service scheduling times, the service center may need the vehicle for a longer time period.

For more information about these recalls, contact Monaco Coach Corporation at (800) 685-6545. Owner notification for all three recalls was expected to begin in August 2004.

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