2015 Forest River Cardinal

Defect. Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Coachmen Cross Country, 2015 Coachmen Encore, 2016-2020 Coachmen Mirada, 2018-2021 Coachmen Sportscoach, 2019-2021 Forest River Berkshire, 2011-2016 Forest River Blue Ridge, 2014-2019 Forest River Cardinal, 2014-2020 Forest River Cedar Creek, 2014-2021 Forest River Georgetown, 2019 Forest River Legacy, and 2017-2018 Forest River Riverstone recreational vehicles equipped with Hehr 6400 Series windows. The adhesive that bonds the vented portion of the window may fail.

Risk. Adhesive failure may cause the vent portion of the window to detach, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy. Dealers will inspect the windows, and replace the vent if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 2, 2021. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-825-8600. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-1380.

OUR 2015 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL MODEL NO. 3850RL (BOUGHT NEW IN 2015) CAME EQUIPPED WITH GOODYEAR MARATHON TIRES 235/80R16. WITH LESS THAN 10,000 MILES ON THE TIRES, WE EXPERIENCED 3 BLOWOUTS ON ONE TRIP IN 2017. TIRE PRESSURE WAS CHECKED PRIOR TO BEGINNING THE TRIP AND WERE ALL SET AT 80 PSI. THE FIRST FAILURE WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO NOTICE THE TIRE HAD LOST AIR WHILE STOPPED AT A REST AREA. THE SECOND THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONT TIRE BLEW OUT WHILE TRAVELING ON THE NY STATE THRUWAY (I90) WITHIN 150 MILES OF THE FIRST FAILURE. THE THIRD HAPPENED A WEEK LATER WHILE TRAVELING ON NY STATE THRUWAY (I87) 180 MILES INTO OUR TRIP. THE FACT THAT WE HAD 3 FAILURES IN ONE TRIP IS HIGHLY SUSPECT. TIRES WERE ALL INFLATED TO THE MFG SPECIFICATION OF 80 PSI PRIOR TO TRAVELING.

2015 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL 3 OF THE 4 TIRES HAVE FAILED GOODYEAR MARATHON ONE TIRE HAD ALREADY BEEN REPLACED WHEN I GOT TRAILER THE OTHER 2 BLEW AT HIGHWAY SPEED OF ABOUT 60 MPH I AM SURE THIS HAPPENS MORE THAN IS REPORTED

WHILE TRAVELING EAST ON INTERSTATE I80 THE RIGHT REAR TIRE ON MY FIFTH WHEEL BLEW OUT, I CHANGED TIRE AND CONTINUED TO NORTH PLATT NEBRASKA, I PURCHASED A NEW TIRE AND CONTINUED OUR JOURNEY BACK TO PA. I DROVE APPROXIMATELY 50 MILES WHEN BOTH TIRES ON THE LEFT SIDE BLEW OUT AT THE SAME TIME. AFTER ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE CHANGED BOTH TIRES I CONTINUED TO KEARNEY NEBRASKA AND HAD A TIRE SHOP REPLACE THE LAST REMAINING ORIGINAL TIRE ON THE RIG. MY RIG IS A 2015 CARDNIAL WITH GOODYEAR MARATHON ST 235/80R16 TIRES

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL EQUIPPED WITH GOODYEAR MARATHON ST TIRES, SIZE: ST235/80R16. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE REAR DRIVER SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT. THE DEALER REPLACED THE TIRE WITH THE SPARE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE AND TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 15,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL EQUIPPED WITH GOODYEAR MARATHON TIRES, SIZE: ST235/80/R16 (NA). WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE REAR DRIVER SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT AND DAMAGED THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE CAMPER. THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE TIRE HAD BUBBLES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC WHERE THE TIRES WERE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE TIRE AND VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,000.

ON NOV. 30, 2015 WHILE TRAVELING AT 55 MPH AN ORIGINAL PURCHASED, GOODYEAR MARATHON TRAILER TIRE, ST235/80R16, FAILED CATASTROPHICALLY WITH APPROXIMATELY 7500 MILES OF TRAVEL ON THE RV. THE BLOWOUT CAUSED MODERATE DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT WHEEL WELL AREA. ON DEC. 3, 2015 WHILE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES PER HOUR DURING A NORMAL TURN RADIUS, A SECOND ORIGINAL PURCHASE GOODYEAR MARATHON, ST235/80R16 TIRE FAILED CATASTROPHICALLY, CAUSING EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO TH THE LEFT WHEEL WELL AREA ON THE RV, TRAVEL MILEAGE ON THE RV AT THIS TIME WAS APPROXIMATELY 7700 MILES. PREVIOUSLY, IN JUNE 2015, ANOTHER ORIGINAL PURCHASE GOODYEAR MARATHON ST235/80R16 TIRE WAS OBSERVED, WHILE STATIONARY WITH AN APPROXIMATE 4 " DIA DELAMINATION BLISTER ON THE LEFT FRONT WHEEL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATED RV. THE TRAVEL MILEAGE ON THE NOTED RV WAS APPROXIMATELY 5000 MILES AT THE TIME. ALL TIRES NOTED ABOVE WERE AT PROPER INFLATION PRESSURES AND THE THE RV IS NOT OVERLOADED. AS AN OWNER AND OPERATOR OF RV'S FOR OVER 25 YEARS, IN MY EXPERIENCE, THE NOTED TIRES ARE EITHER DEFECTIVE OR NOT THE CORRECT LOAD RATING FOR THIS WEIGHT OF RV (APPROX. 14,000 LBS,) THE TIRE RATING IS LOAD RATING "E" , WITH 10 PLY RATING FOR THE NOTED TIRES. THE FACT OF CATASTROPHIC, SUDDEN BLOWOUTS AT LOW TRAVEL MILEAGE AND LOW TO MODERATE SPEEDS, AS NOTED ABOVE, IS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS TO THE OWNERS AND TO ADJACENT TRAFFIC IF THE RV GETS OUT OF CONTROL. PRUDENT FOLLOWUP WITH GOODYEAR ON CAUSE, TRENDS AND CORRECTIVE ACTION (RECALLS) IS

L GOODYEAR TIRES. ALL FOUR MARATHON ST235/80R16 LOAD RANGE E, DOT NUMBER 2VUN 1KGE 3213 TIRES WITH 80 PSI COLD ON OUR CARDINAL 3880 FIFTH WHEEL VIN NUMBER [XXX] MADE BY FOREST RIVER, PURCHASED NEW ON MAY 16 2015 FAILED WITHIN HOURS OF EACH OTHER ON AUGUST 7, 2015. THE TIRES HAD 7515 MILES ON THEM WHEN THE FRONT DRIVER?S SIDE FIFTH WHEEL TIRE THREAD SEPARATED AND THE TIRE WENT FLAT. I PUT ON THE SPARE AND WE CONTINUED ON TO WESTCLIFF COLORADO WHERE I PURCHASED A NEW REPLACEMENT TIRE. WE CONTINUED ABOUT 10 MILES ON I25 WHEN THE REAR DRIVER?S SIDE TIRE THREAD SEPARATED AND BLEW OUT. THIS WAS WITHIN AN HOUR OF THE FIRST TIRE FAILURE. WE WERE TRAVELING AT 60 MPH AND WERE ABLE TO PULL ONTO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD AND CALL FOREST RIVER CURBSIDE SERVICE ASSISTANCE. THEY SENT JM TIRE OUT TO REPLACE THE BLOWN OUT TIRE WITH THE SPARE. WE LIMPED INTO TRINIDAD COLORADO TO JM TIRE WHERE, AFTER INSPECTION, THE REMAINING TWO PASSENGER SIDE TIRES WERE ALSO FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE; ONE HAVING A BULGE IN IT, AND ONE WITH ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE OF THREAD SEPARATION. I WAS ADVISED THAT THEY COULD FAIL AT ANY TIME. THE BLOWN OUT DRIVER?S SIDE REAR TIRE TORE UP THE DRIVER?S SIDE SLIDE HYDRAULICS OF THE FIFTH WHEEL CAUSING THE SLIDE TO OPEN OUT INTO I25 AND THE LOWER OUTER PANEL OF THE SLIDE TO BE DESTROYED. ALL FOUR GOODYEAR MARATHON TIRES WERE DEFECTIVE WITH THREAD SEPARATIONS. I HAVE WRITTEN STATEMENTS FROM BOTH JM TIRE (WHERE WE BOUGHT 4 NEW LOAD RANGE G TIRES NOT MANUFACTURED BY GOODYEAR) AND DISCO

THIS RV BOUNCES AS IT TRAVELS, BOTTOMING OUT ON THE ROAD AND CAUSING MAJOR ISSUES WITH THE RV. IT HAD 2013 TIRES THAT BUBBLED FROM FATIGUE OF THE BOUNCE AND THE SPRING LEAFS WERE FLAT, REPLACED AND FLAT AGAIN. THE BOUNCE CAUSES ELECTRICAL ISSUES WITH THE TAIL LIGHTS SOMETIMES NOT WORKING. FOREST RIVER HAS REFUSED TO FIX THE PROBLEM IN THE 6 MONTHS THAT I HAVE HAD IT AND THEY SAY IT'S SAFE TO OPERATE ON THE ROAD.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL. WHILE DRIVING AT 20 MPH AND MAKING A TURN, THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE AXLE FRACTURED AND THE WHEEL SEPARATED FROM THE RV. THE RV WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE WHEEL HUB AXLE ASSEMBLY FAILED. THE RV WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 FOREST RIVER AIRFLYTE (NA) TRAVEL TRAILER. DUE TO INSUFFICIENT WHEEL CLEARANCE, THE TIRES ON EACH SIDE OF THE TRAILER MADE CONTACT WITH THE INTERIOR WHEEL WELL. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. ALSO, THE CONTACT INDICATED THAT THE FRONT JALOUSIE WINDOW AND THE REAR GAUCHO WINDOW BECAME UNSECURED AND FELL OUT DUE TO A FAULTY ADHESIVE USED TO SECURE THE WINDOWS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THREE SLIDERS LEAKED. AS A RESULT, THERE WAS MOLD GROWING FROM THE SLIDERS THAT WERE LEAKING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE SLIDER LEAKAGE WAS A RESULT OF CONDENSATION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20. UPDATED 7/9/15*CN UPDATED 10/12/2017*CN