2021 Thor Motor Coach Motorhomes RC000197 Loose Battery Cables May Cause Fire

July 20, 2020 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V419000

Loose Battery Cables May Cause Fire

Battery cable contact with the exhaust manifold and heat shield can increase the risk of a fire.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V419

Manufacturer Thor Motor Coach

Components ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Potential Number of Units Affected 63

 

Summary

Thor Motor Coach (TMC) is recalling certain 2021 Daybreak, Four Winds, Quantum, Chateau, and Freedom Elite motorhomes built on the 2020 Ford E-Series chassis. The battery cable may not have been properly secured within the chassis rail, which can cause it to contact the exhaust manifold and heat shield.

 

Remedy

TMC will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the routing of the battery cable. If needed the cable will be re-routed and properly secured, free of charge. This recall began September 11, 2020. Owners may contact TMC customer service at 1-877-855-2867. TMC’s number for this recall is RC000197.

 

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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Thor Motor Coach

Recall Repair Instructions

Recall #	20V-419 2020-332
Description/Title:	Battery Cable Routing
Affected Product Line(s):	Certain model year 2021 Daybreak, Four Winds, Quantum, Chateau, and Freedom Elite motorhomes built on the 2020 Ford E-Series chassis
Service Campaign # :	RC000197	Released Date:	09/04/2020
Repair Code:	Inspect Only: TMCRC80492Y   Inspect with Repair: TMCRC80492V	Document Date:	09/04/2020
Time Allowed:	Inspect Only:  0.2 Inspect with Repair: 0.4	Document Revision:	A

 

Issue: 

It has been discovered that on certain model year 2021 Daybreak, Four Winds, Quantum, Chateau, and Freedom Elite motorhomes built on the 2020 Ford E-Series chassis, the battery cable may not have been properly secured within the chassis rail. If the cable was not properly secured, it may come in contact with the heat shield and exhaust manifold, which could lead to a fire. This could result in property damage, personal injury, or death.

 

Tools/Supplies Needed:

5/16” nut and socket (to remove reservoir)

UV Rated Zip Ties (if unit is needing repair)

 

Instructions:

 

Inspection:

 

1. Open hood and remove windshield washer reservoir using the 5/16” nut and socket.

 

2. Locate battery cable and inspect routing and to determine if cable is tightly secured.

 

Correct routing is against inner fender to the right of the steering knuckle and pulled tight against firewall.

Incorrect routing may go over steering rod or be too loose and allow loom to fall to the front or inner fender.

 

(Additional examples of correct and incorrect routing)

 

3. If battery cable is properly secured and in correct placement, no further steps are needed. (Be sure to reinstall windshield reservoir upon completion).

 

If battery cable is too loose or routed too close to manifold, continue to  Step 4.

 

Repair:

 

4. If needing to secure cable, use UV rated zip ties to properly secure cable to frame rail and away from manifold.

 

5. If cable will need to be re-routed:

a. Lift entry step lid to access house batteries.

b. Remove positive cable from batteries.

c. Remove ½ in. nut off battery solenoid to remove cable.

d. Re-route as needed along frame rail to ensure cable is away from heat shield and conduit is visible on top of frame rail from driver’s side front wheel well. Be sure to properly secure once re-routed.

e. Re-install cable to solenoid.

 

In the event the battery cable is damaged enough to require replacement, please contact TMC directly at (877) 500-1020 for further instruction.

 

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RECREATIONAL VEHICLE

SAFETY RECALL NOTICE

Safety Recall:     20V-419

Safety Advisory: RC000197

September 2020

 

IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL

This notice applies to your vehicle:  «VIN»

 

«Owner_name»
«Street»
«City», «State»  «Zip»

 

Dear «Owner_name»:

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Thor Motor Coach (TMC) has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain model year 2021 Daybreak, Four Winds, Quantum, Chateau, and Freedom Elite motorhomes. As a result, TMC 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

It has been discovered that on certain model year 2021 Daybreak, Four Winds, Quantum, Chateau, and Freedom Elite motorhomes built on the 2020 Ford E-Series chassis, the battery cable may not have been properly secured within the chassis rail. If the cable was not properly secured, it may come in contact with the heat shield and exhaust manifold, which could lead to a fire. This could result in property damage, personal injury, or death.

 

What we will do

TMC has contacted your selling dealer and has instructed them on how to inspect the routing of the battery cable and re-route and properly secure the cable as needed. This will be done at no cost to you the owner.  The remedy should take approximately up to 20 minutes to perform.

 

What we need you to do

At your earliest convenience, please contact your dealer and schedule an appointment to have this remedy completed. To locate the nearest authorized TMC service center, please visit https://www.thormotorcoach.com/locate–a–service–center/.  If you have questions concerning this recall or if you need any assistance, please contact the TMC Warranty/Service Department by mail at TMC, P.O. Box 1486, Elkhart, IN 46515-1486, by phone at 877-855-2867, or email at [email protected].

 

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 TMC by contacting the TMC Warranty/Service Department.

 

If after contacting TMC 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.

Thank you for your attention and cooperation in this matter.

 

Sincerely,

Thor Motor Coach

 

Hanah Klodzinski
Recall Compliance Coordinator
cc:  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

 

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IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL 

RC000197

This notice applies to vehicle:  «VIN»

 

«Dealer_name»
«Street»
«City», «State»  «Zip»

 

Dear Dealer:

 

This Safety Recall Notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the United States National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and The Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Act and is important for your safety.  

 

Thor Motor Coach (TMC) decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain models of the below listed motorhomes.

 

It has been discovered that on certain model year 2021 Daybreak, Four Winds, Quantum, Chateau, and Freedom Elite motorhomes built on the 2020 Ford E-Series chassis, the battery cable may not have been properly secured within the chassis rail. If the cable was not properly secured, it may come in contact with the heat shield and exhaust manifold, which could lead to a fire. This could result in property damage, personal injury, or death.

 

The required action is to inspect the routing of the battery cable and re-route and properly secure the cable as needed. This should take approximately up to 20 minutes to perform.

 

Dealers that have stock units impacted by this recall can access the full list of affected VINs sold to their dealership by accessing the “Service Campaign” portion of the TMC Advantage Web Portal.  If any unit on this list has been retail sold you are asked to notify the retail owner as soon as possible of this recall because their vehicle was not registered at the time the retail notice was mailed.  Please immediately register any retail sold units on this list.  As a reminder, you are required by law to complete this recall on any stock units in inventory prior to retail sale.  Any vehicle lessor receiving this notice must forward a copy to the lessee within 10 days.

 

If you have questions concerning this recall, please contact the TMC Warranty/Service Department by mail at TMC, P.O. Box 1486, Elkhart, IN 46515-1486, or by phone at (877) 500-1020. 

 

We apologize for this inconvenience; however, we have taken this action in the interest of customer safety and continued satisfaction with our products.

 

Sincerely,

 

Hanah Klodzinski

Recall Compliance Coordinator

 

Re:

NHTSA Recall No. 20V-419
Transport Canada No. 2020-332

 

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5 Affected Products

Vehicles

MAKE	MODEL	YEAR
THOR MOTOR COACH	DAYBREAK	2021
THOR	CHATEAU	2021
THOR	FOUR WINDS	2021
THOR	FREEDOM ELITE	2021
THOR	QUANTUM	2021

 

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11 Associated Documents

Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-20V419-4995.pdf 934.509KB

 

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Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-20V419-3167.pdf 933.679KB

 

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc)

RCMN-20V419-8315.pdf 341.031KB

 

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ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-20V419-8851.pdf 37.599KB

 

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V419-4986.PDF 216.79KB

 

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-20V419-4585.pdf 244.946KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2020-3

RCLQRT-20V419-9385.PDF 211.125KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #3, 2021-1

RCLQRT-20V419-6127.PDF 211.311KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #2, 2020-4

RCLQRT-20V419-6881.PDF 211.225KB

 

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc)

RCMN-20V419-6300.pdf 353.457KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #4, 2021-2

RCLQRT-20V419-5661.PDF 211.418KB

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=20V419&docType=RCL

 

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