51-1149 – Shifter Cable May Disconnect from Transmission – 2016 Coachmen Orion, 2019-2020 Lone Star Handicap Vans, & 2016-2018 Dynamax Rev

March 19, 2020 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V158000

Shifter Cable May Disconnect from Transmission

The driver may be unaware of the actual gear position and unintended vehicle movement can occur, increasing the risk of a crash.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V158

Manufacturer Forest River, Inc.

Components POWER TRAIN

Potential Number of Units Affected 59

 

Summary

Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2016 Coachmen Orion, 2019-2020 Lone Star Handicap Vans, and 2016-2018 Dynamax Rev vehicles. The transmission shifter cable may separate and disconnect from the transmission, causing the vehicle to not perform shifts intended by the driver and the gear shift lever position not matching the actual transmission gear.

 

Remedy

Forest River will notify owners, and Fiat Chrysler USA dealers will replace the transmission shift cable, free of charge. The recall began April 20, 2020. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-800-348-7440 or Chrysler (FCA) Ram Trucks at 1-866-726-4636. Forest River’s number for this recall is 51-1149.

 

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

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

 

NHTSA RECALL: 20V158
CANADA RECALL: 2020-109
FR ID: 51-1149

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

03/26/2020

 

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

2016 – 2018 Dynamax REV RVC24RB and REV RVC24TL, 2019-2020 Forest River Vans L1-PRO-1500 and L1-PRO3500, 2016 Coachmen Orion ORP24RB Class C 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? 

Per FCA’s Recall Notice 20V036 – The transmission shifter cable could separate, disconnecting the transmission shifter from the transmission, which could result in the inability of the driver to shift the transmission potentially resulting in the gear shift lever position not matching the transmission gear.

 

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

If the transmission shifter becomes disconnected from the transmission, the vehicle may not perform the shifts intended by the driver (including a shift to PARK), although the actual transmission gear position will be displayed on the instrument cluster. In addition, the “Vehicle Not in PARK” and the “Door Ajar” messages will display on the instrument cluster and audible chimes will sound if the driver’s door is opened while the transmission is not in PARK. If these warnings are not heeded, unintended vehicle movement may occur which can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning and/or injury to others outside the vehicle.

 

Identify any warning which can precede or occur:

There will not be any prior warning of the transmission shifter cable disconnection from the transmission. However, after the cable detachment and prior to a driver attempting to exit a vehicle, the driver may notice significantly reduced effort required to move the shift lever, the gear position indicators in the vehicle will all show the actual gear of the transmission regardless of the shift lever position, and the door ajar warning will also function which alerts the driver via instrument cluster messages and audible chime if the driver’s door is opened while the transmission is not in PARK.

 

WHAT IS FCA GOING TO DO:

FCA US will conduct a Voluntary Safety Recall to replace the transmission shift cable (part number 68166623AC) on all affected vehicles. FCA US has a longstanding policy and practice of reimbursing owners who have incurred the cost of repairing a problem that subsequently becomes the subject of a field action. To ensure consistency, FCA US, as part of the owner letter, will request that customers send the original receipt and/or other adequate proof of payment to the company for confirmation of the expense.

 

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Please contact your dealer without delay and request a service appointment to schedule the free remedy.  The vehicle Owner is responsible for making arrangements to have the work completed.  Please state you have been notified 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.

 

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.

 

HELPFUL CONTACT INFORMATION

CONTACT	PHONE
FCA CUSTOMER SERVICE	(866) 726-4636
FOREST RIVER VANS	(903) 592-8366
DYNAMAX CUSTOMER SERVICE	(574) 262-3474
COACHMEN ORION CUSTOMER SERVICE	(574) 825-8602

 

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: 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: 20V158

For Canadian Owners Please Contact: 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: 2020-109

 

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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: 20V158
CANADA RECALL: 2020-109
FR ID: 51-1149

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

<<DATE>>

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 2016 – 2018 Dynamax REV RVC24RB and REV RVC24TL, 2019-2020 Forest River Vans L1-PRO-1500 and L1-PRO-3500, 2016 Coachmen Orion ORP24RB Class C 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:
Dynamax REV 5/6/2016 through 8/18/2017
Forest River Van 11/8/2019 through 3/9/2020
Coachmen Orion 4/30/2015 through 10/9/2015

 

DEFECT/NONCOMPLIANCE:

Per FCA’s Recall Notice 20V036 – The transmission shifter cable could separate, disconnecting the transmission shifter from the transmission, which could result in the inability of the driver to shift the transmission potentially resulting in the gear shift lever position not matching the transmission gear.

 

EVALUATION OF RISK:

If the transmission shifter becomes disconnected from the transmission, the vehicle may not perform the shifts intended by the driver (including a shift to PARK), although the actual transmission gear position will be displayed on the instrument cluster. In addition, the “Vehicle Not in PARK” and the “Door Ajar” messages will display on the instrument cluster and audible chimes will sound if the driver’s door is opened while the transmission is not in PARK. If these warnings are not heeded, unintended vehicle movement may occur which can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning and/or injury to others outside the vehicle.

 

WHAT IS FCA GOING TO DO:

FCA US will conduct a Voluntary Safety Recall to replace the transmission shift cable (part number 68166623AC) on all affected vehicles. FCA US has a longstanding policy and practice of reimbursing owners who have incurred the cost of repairing a problem that subsequently becomes the subject of a field action. To ensure consistency, FCA US, as part of the owner letter, will request that customers send the original receipt and/or other adequate proof of payment to the company for confirmation of the expense.

 

HELPFUL CONTACT INFORMATION:

CONTACT	PHONE
FCA	(866) 726-4636
FOREST RIVER VANS	(903) 592-8366
DYNAMAX CUSTOMER SERVICE	(574) 262-3474
COACHMEN ORION CUSTOMER SERVICE	(574) 825-8602

 

The Recall shall be considered the utmost priority to remedy the 2016 – 2018 Dynamax REV RVC24RB and REV RVC24TL, 2019-2020 Forest River Vans L1-PRO-1500 and L1-PRO-3500, 2016 Coachmen Orion ORP24RB Class C Motorhome recreational vehicles in question. The retail consumer shall not be charged any amount of monies for remedy to their 2016 – 2018 Dynamax REV RVC24RB and REV RVC24TL, 2019-2020 Forest River Vans L1-PRO-1500 and L1-PRO-3500, 2016 Coachmen Orion ORP24RB Class C Motorhome recreational vehicles. listed under this Recall.

If your dealership has already performed the remedy to 2016 – 2018 Dynamax REV RVC24RB and REV RVC24TL, 20192020 Forest River Vans L1-PRO-1500 and L1-PRO-3500, 2016 Coachmen Orion ORP24RB Class C 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 2016 – 2018 Dynamax REV RVC24RB and REV RVC24TL, 2019-2020 Forest River Vans L1-PRO-1500 and L1-PRO-3500, or 2016 Coachmen Orion ORP24RB Class C 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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5 Affected Products

Vehicles

MAKE	MODEL	YEAR
COACHMEN	ORION	2016
FOREST RIVER	REV	2016-2017
LONE STAR HANDICAP VANS	L1 VAN	2019-2020

 

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6 Associated Documents

ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-20V158-4825.pdf 210.958KB

 

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc)

RCMN-20V158-9202.pdf 219.143KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2020-2

RCLQRT-20V158-8979.PDF 211.135KB

 

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V158-4798.PDF 214.569KB

 

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-20V158-4021.pdf 304.206KB

 

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Recall 573 Report – Amendment 1

RCLRPT-20V158-5018.PDF 215.349KB

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=20V158&docType=RCL

 

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Last update on 2026-05-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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