67A-1230 – Breakaway Switch Wired Incorrectly – 2018-2021 Forest River Wildwood, Salem, & 2020 Sonoma Travel Trailers

September 18, 2020 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V563000

Breakaway Switch Wired Incorrectly

If the brakes of the trailer do not engage, it can result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V563

Manufacturer Forest River, Inc.

Components TRAILER HITCHES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Potential Number of Units Affected 4,397

 

Summary

Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Wildwood, Salem, and 2020 Sonoma travel trailers. The break-away safety switch may not be wired to constant power, which can cause the trailer brakes to not activate in the event of a trailer separation from the tow vehicle.

 

Remedy

Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will rewire the breakaway switch, free of charge. The recall began October 13, 2020. Owners may contact Forest customer service at 1-909-873-3777. Forest River’s number for this recall is 67A-1230.

 

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: 20V563
CANADA RECALL: N/A
FR ID: 67A-1230

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

 

10/13/2020

 

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 20182021 Forest River Wildwood, Salem and Sonoma travel trailer 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 breakaway safety switch may not be wired to constant power; therefore, if the battery disconnect switch is in the “off” position, the breakaway switch will not activate when needed and consequently the trailer brakes will not engage.

 

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

If the breakaway switch is not wired to constant power, the brakes of the trailer will not engage, increasing the risk of loss of vehicle control 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.  The vehicle Owner is responsible for arranging 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.

 

HOW LONG WILL THE REMEDY PROCESS TAKE?

The estimated time of repair is .3 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 only be provided for vehicles within the scope of this defect under recall.

 

Please send the service invoice to the following address:

Forest River, Inc.
Attn: WARRANTY MANAGER
255 South Pepper Ave
Rialto, CA 92376

 

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	(909) 873-3777

 

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: 20V563

 

Sincerely,

 

Forest River, Inc.
Office Manager
Office of Corporate Compliance

 

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IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL

 

NHTSA RECALL: 20V563
CANADA RECALL: N/A
FR ID: 67A-1230

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

 

10/13/2020

 

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 2018-2021 Forest River Wildwood, Salem and Sonoma travel trailer 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 07/14/2017 through 08/24/2020.

 

DEFECT/NONCOMPLIANCE:

The breakaway safety switch may not be wired to constant power; therefore, if the battery disconnect switch is in the “off” position, the breakaway switch will not activate when needed and consequently the trailer brakes will not engage.

 

EVALUATION OF RISK:

If the breakaway switch is not wired to constant power, the brakes of the trailer will not engage, increasing the risk of loss of vehicle control and a crash.

 

SERVICE PROCEDURE:

Dealership Service Department Service procedures for addressing the incorrectly wired breakaway switch are located on Dealer Connect.

 

PARTS AND RETURN:

Pictures are required for the remedy and/or inspection after installation. Pictures of the remedy are a condition of payment in which must be provided with a claim against the repair code(s).

 

DEALER REPAIR CODES: Dealer Connect

UNITED STATES	CANADA	REPAIR CODE	DESCRIPTION	ALLOWABLE HOUR(S)
20V563	N/A	RC-036-22-00-003749	REWIRE BREAKAWAY SWITCH	.30

 

HELPFUL CONTACT INFORMATION:

CONTACT	PHONE
CUSTOMER SERVICE	(909) 873-3777

 

The Recall shall be considered the utmost priority to remedy the 2018-2021 Forest River Wildwood, Salem and Sonoma travel trailer recreational vehicles in question. The retail consumer shall not be charged any amount of monies for remedy to their 2018-2021 Forest River Wildwood, Salem and Sonoma travel trailer recreational vehicles listed under this Recall.

 

If your dealership has already performed the remedy to 2018-2021 Forest River Wildwood, Salem and Sonoma travel trailer 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 2018-2021 Forest River Wildwood, Salem and Sonoma travel trailer 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.

 

Sincerely,

 

Forest River, Inc.
Office Manager
Office of Corporate Compliance

 

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9 Affected Products

Vehicles

MAKE	MODEL	YEAR
FOREST RIVER	SALEM	2018-2021
FOREST RIVER	SONOMA	2020
FOREST RIVER	WILDWOOD	2018-2021

 

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8 Associated Documents

Recall Quarterly Report #3, 2021-2

RCLQRT-20V563-3641.PDF 211.32KB

 

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc)

RCMN-20V563-8543.pdf 217.817KB

 

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ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-20V563-4604.pdf 207.832KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2020-4

RCLQRT-20V563-1541.PDF 211.131KB

 

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-20V563-8210.pdf 245.446KB

 

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V563-7383.PDF 218.116KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #2, 2021-1

RCLQRT-20V563-4499.PDF 211.235KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #4, 2021-3

RCLQRT-20V563-7919.PDF 211.422KB

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=20V563&docType=RCL

 

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