2016 Forest River Forester

Routine

Owners filed 7 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the structure › body. It has been recalled 3 times.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Structure › Body3
000
Service Brakes2
000
Electrical System2
000

3 safety recalls

Part 573 reports
Visibility › Power Window Devices and Controls18V444000
Filed Jul 3, 201853 vehiclesForest River, Inc.

Defect. Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2016 Forest River Forester, 2014-2016 Forest River Sunseeker and Coachmen Leprechaun, 2014 Coachmen Concord, and 2014-2017 Coachmen Freelander vehicles, built on Chevrolet chassis and equipped with power windows. Liquid may leak into the driver's power window switch and cause corrosion, resulting in high electrical resistance.

Risk. High electrical resistance can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy. Forest River has notified owners, and Chevrolet dealers will replace the driver side window switch, free of charge. The recall began July 24, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Forest River Forester and Sunseeker at 1-574-206-7600, Coachmen Concord, Freelander, and Leprechaun customer service at 1-574-825-8602. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-0781.

Exterior Lighting › Brake Lights16V465000
Filed Jun 27, 20161,999 vehiclesForest River, Inc.

Defect. Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Forester motorhomes manufactured June 10, 2014, to May 25, 2016, Sunseeker motorhomes manufactured April 4, 2014, to May 25, 2016, 2015-2016 Solera motorhomes manufactured February 28, 2014, to September 17, 2015, and 2016 Isata motorhomes manufactured October 30, 2015, to May 26, 2016. Water may leak into the electrical module that controls the vehicle taillights, brake lights, turn signal lights, clearance lights and marker lights, making the lights inoperative. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Risk. If the rear brake lights fail to illuminate, following motorists may not realize that the vehicle in front of them is stopping. Inoperative taillights, clearance lights and marker lights will make the vehicle less visible to others. Either condition can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy. Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles, free of charge. An interim notice was sent to owners on August 16, 2016. The recall began on December 8, 2016. Forester, Solera, and Sunseeker owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-206-7600. Isata customers should call 1-574-262-3474. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-06012016-0206.

Equipment › Recreational Vehicle/Trailer16V336000
Filed May 23, 201613 vehiclesForest River, Inc.

Defect. Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Forester and Sunseeker recreational vehicles manufactured from February 29, 2016, through April 20, 2016. These vehicles are equipped with a shower door that may not meet the flammability standards. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 302, "Flammability of Interior Materials."

Risk. Failure to meet the flammability standard of FMVSS 302 could enhance the spread of a flame in the event of a fire, increasing the risk serious injury.

Remedy. Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shower doors, free of charge. The recall began on July 11, 2016. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-206-7600. Forest River's number for this recall is 34-05052016-0184.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Structure › Body
Filed May 12, 2022CA

The Maxxair fan is a component that sits on the roof of the RV. Looking at the install instructions, the unit is installed by attaching the flange to the roof. What failed was that the 'top' portion of the fan, where the motor and and the cover attachments are, flew off at speed, on the highway. Fortunately, I pulled over right away, and found the unit still attached by the power wires. The safety issue would be if a 15"x15"x8" unit weighing about 20 lbs went airborne in traffic, causing an incident for whoever was behind the RV where this happened. IMHO this is a manufacturing defect by Maxxair. These 4 screws should never have worked out, causing the issue. These fans are commonly installed by most major RV mfgrs. We're OK. We have to replace the fan. No one was hurt this time.

Service Brakes
Filed Apr 17, 202131,000 milesFL

THE BRAKES ARE NOT GOOD. YOU HAVE TO PUMP THE BRAKE PEDAL TO GET THEM TO WORK. I JUST HAD TO STOP TO PREVENT HITTING SOMEONE IN THE REAR. I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO PUMP BRAKE. I LITERALLY HAD TO TAKE IT TO THE FLOOR TO STOP. THIS WAS REPORTED TO YOU PREVIOUSLY AND WE NEVER HEARD A THING!,

Electrical System
Filed Mar 18, 202160,000 milesMN

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FOREST RIVER FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE REAR CAMPER SLIDE OUT STRUCTURE SLID OUT ERRONEOUSLY ON THE DRIVER SIDE CAUSING THE CAMPING STRUCTURE TO EXTEND FROM THE RV WHILE IN MOTION. THE RV WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER RV WORLD LOCATED AT 14025 W FREEWAY DR, HUGO, MN 55038 WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE CAMPING SLIDE OUT MOTOR WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MOTOR WAS REPLACED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE RV HAD BEEN SERVICED FOR THE SAME FAILURE ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

Service Brakes
Filed Apr 17, 201922,000 milesFL

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FOREST RIVER FORESTER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH AND ATTEMPTING TO STOP, THE BRAKE PEDAL TRAVELED TO THE FLOORBOARD WHEN IT WAS DEPRESSED. THE CONTACT HAD TO PUMP THE BRAKE PEDAL UNTIL THE VEHICLE STOPPED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE RV PRESENTED THE FAILURE FOR APPROXIMATELY ONE YEAR AND FOUR MONTHS. THE RV WAS TAKEN TO FIELDS MOTORCARS (4141 N FLORIDA AVE, LAKELAND, FL 33805) WHERE THEY CHANGED THE BRAKE FLUID AND BLED THE BRAKE LINES; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 22,000.

Electrical System
Filed Jun 8, 2018NV

LOST ALL TAIL LIGHTS 4 HAS BEEN FIX OR AND RECALL DONE 2 TIMES. NOW RIGHT SIDE TAIL LIGHT DOES NOT WORK FOR TURN OR BRAKE AND IT BEEN IN A SHOP FOR A MONTH NO ONE KNOWS WHY

Structure › Body
Filed Oct 17, 201713,000 milesMN

WHITE PLASTIC COMPONENT FELL OUT OF THE RV COACH ENTRY DOOR LOCK MECHANISM CAUSING DOOR LOCK TO JAM. MOST OF THE LOCK MECHANISMS ARE METAL BUT THIS SMALL PIECE IS PLASTIC AND THERE IS NO MECHANISM TO KEEP IT FROM FALLING OUT. AFTER I RE-INSERTED IT AND OPERATED THE MECHANISM A FEW MORE TIMES, IT FELL OUT AGAIN. I WAS REQUIRED TO REPLACE THE LOCK MECHANISM AT COST OF $125.

Structure › Body
Filed Oct 24, 20163,000 milesPA

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FOREST RIVER FORESTER. WHILE DRIVING THE MOTOR HOME AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO BEEP WHICH INDICATED THAT THE JACKS ON THE MOTORHOME WERE LOWERING DOWN. THE CONTACT HAD TO PULL OVER AND LIFT THE JACKS BACK UP. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE JACKS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,000.

7 of 7 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2016
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20260100Routine
20251200Routine
20241200Routine
20231400Routine
20222300Routine
20212500Routine
20200300Routine
20191200Routine
20181300Routine
20172200Routine
2016 — this page7300Routine
20156110Routine
20143300Routine
20130400Routine
20121100Routine
20110100Routine
20100100Routine
20061100Routine
20051100Routine
20043200Routine
20030200Routine
20020100Routine
20011100Routine
20000100Routine
19990100Routine
19980100Routine
19970100Routine

Compare every Forester 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: Jul 3, 2018. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.