2009 Forest River Cardinal

Routine

Owners filed 5 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the tires. It has been recalled 1 time.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Tires3
000
Suspension1
102
Equipment1
000

1 safety recall

Part 573 reports
Equipment › Other › Labels09V148000
Filed May 1, 2009176 vehiclesForest River, Inc.

Defect. FOREST RIVER IS RECALLING 176 MY 2009 CARDINAL FIFTH WHEEL TRAILERS. THESE TRAILERS FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 120, "TIRE SELECTION AND RIMS FOR MOTOR VEHICLES OTHER THAN PASSENGER CARS." DUE TO FAULTY SCALES IN THE PRODUCTION FACILITY, THE LABEL FOR THE CARGO CARRYING CAPACITY VALUES IS INCORRECT.

Risk. FAILURE TO FOLLOW PROPER VEHICLE LOADING SPECIFICATIONS OR MISPRINT LABEL COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy. FOREST RIVER WILL BE MAILING CORRECTED LABELS TO RETAIL PURCHASERS, AND/OR TO DEALERS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 15, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FOREST RIVER AT 1-574-206-7600.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Tires
Filed Jul 27, 20123,000 milesTN

ON APRIL 6, 2012 I WAS ON MY WAY TO A CAMP GROUND WHEN ONE OF THE TIRES ON MY CAMPER BLOW OUT. THE ONLY DAMAGE WAS TO THE TIRE. ON JULY 18, 2012 I AGAIN WAS ON MY WAY TO A CAMP GROUND AND THE SECOND TIRE CAME A PART. THIS TIME THE TIRE DAMAGED THE CAMPER. THE FOLLOWING IS TIRE INFORMATION: HERITAGE TRAIL TRAC AP LT235/85R16E DOT OJ OR4JOV 5207 PRESSURE 80 LBS. *TR

Equipment
Filed Nov 29, 2010CA

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL RV EQUIPPED WITH A DOMETIC AWNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE AWNING OPENED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE ONTO THE EMERGENCY LANE. THE DEALER TORE THE AWNING FABRIC WHILE THE RV REMAINED IN THE EMERGENCY LANE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE AWNING MOTOR FAILED CAUSING THE ARMS TO RELEASE SINCE THEY WERE NOT LOCKED. THE DEALER REPLACED THE MOTOR AND ADDED A LOCK. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER WHO OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE AWNING SERIAL AND PART NUMBERS WERE UNAVAILABLE.

Tires
Filed Oct 16, 20106,000 milesMT

GOODYEAR TIRE LESS THAN ONE YEAR OLD BLEW OUT CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE TRAILER AND LOSS OF THE TIRE. *TR

Tires
Filed Oct 20, 20096,000 milesTX

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL TRAILER(NA). THE VEHICLE HAS KENDA KARRIER LOWSTAR TIRES, ST255/80/16(NA). WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS; THE TRAILER BEGAN TO SWAY. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IN THE EMERGENCY LANE, SHUT THE ENGINE OFF AND INSPECT THE TRAILER. THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER TIRES EXHIBITED EXCESSIVE TIRE SEPARATION. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE DRIVING WITH CAUTION. THE TIRES WERE REPLACED. THE CONTACT HAD CONCERNS OF THE SAFETY RISK INVOLVED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 6,000. THE DOT NUMBER WAS UNAVAILABLE.

SuspensionCrash2 injured
Filed Sep 19, 2009700 milesCA

2009 FOREST RIVER CEDAR CREEK G2 FIFTH WHEEL RV WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WHEN THE SHACKLES AND U BOLTS SECURING THE TRAILER SUSPENSION CAME OFF, AS PER THE MANUFACTURER THEY WERE NOT PROPERLY SECURED BY LOCKING BOLTS, AND THE AXLES WERE MISSING THE GUIDE PINS FOR THE LEAF SPRINGS . THE TRAILER HAD LESS THAN 700 MILES ON IT AT HE TIME. AN ACCIDENT OCCURRED, AND THE FOREST RIVER COMPANY IS TRYING TO SILENCE THE OWNER OF THE TRAILER BY TELLING HIM NOT TO REPORT IT TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY, BUT RATHER THEY WILL REBUILD THE RV! *TR

5 of 5 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2015
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20240100Routine
20231000Routine
20220500Routine
20211600Routine
20201100Routine
20191100Routine
20180300Routine
20177300Routine
20162400Routine
201511100Routine
20141400Routine
20132200Routine
20121000Routine
20103000Routine
2009 — this page5100Routine
20081000Routine
20067100Routine
20056210Routine
20042200Routine
20031300Routine
20021200Routine
20011210Routine
20002100Routine
19992110Routine
19982100Routine
19970100Routine

Compare every Cardinal year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: May 1, 2009. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.