1998 Winnebago Adventurer

Defect. WINNEBAGO IS RECALLING CERTAIN RECREATIONAL VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 1200-SERIES NORCOLD REFRIGERATORS. THE POPULATION OF REFRIGERATORS BEING ADDRESSED CONTAINS EITHER A SENSING ALGORITHM OR THERMAL SWITCH TO SHUT OFF POWER TO THE REFRIGERATOR WHEN HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE DETECTED IN ORDER TO PREVENT A POTENTIAL FIRE. THE RESPONSE TIMES OF THE SENSOR ALGORITHM AND THERMAL SWITCH DEVICES TO STOP POWER ARE NOT SUFFICIENT.

Risk. THE SENSING ALGORITHM OR THERMAL SWITCH INSTALLED TO SHUT OFF POWER TO THE REFRIGERATOR WHEN HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE DETECTED DUE TO A POSSIBLE HYDROGEN GAS LEAK MAY NOT SHUT OFF IN SUFFICIENT TIME TO PREVENT A FIRE.

Remedy. WINNEBAGO IS WORKING WITH NORCOLD TO IDENTIFY AND NOTIFY ANY AFFECTED OWNERS. OWNERS WILL BE INSTRUCTED TO CONTACT NORCOLD DEALERS TO RECEIVE THE REMEDY FREE OF CHARGE. PLEASE SEE NORCOLD'S DEFECT REPORT 10E-049 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. THE RECALL BEGAN DURING DECEMBER 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NORCOLD AT 1-800-767-9101 OR WINNEBAGO AT 1-641-585-3535.

Defect. VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: MOTOR HOMES. A LIQUID PROPANE (LP) HOSE WAS INSTALLED IN THE RANGE BURNER BOX. THE ELEVATED TEMPERATURE THE HOSE IS EXPOSED TO INSIDE THIS BOX CAN PREMATURELY AGE THE HOSE CAUSING A POSSIBLE LP LEAK.

Risk. LP GAS LEAKAGE COULD IGNITE AND RESULT IN BODILY INJURY AND/OR PROPERTY DAMAGE.

Remedy. DEALERS WILL RELOCATE THE FLEXIBLE HOSE OUTSIDE OF THE RANGE BOX.

DT: GOODYEAR TIRES BLEW OUT ON THE FRONT RIGHT DRIVER'S SIDE AND 6 MONTHS LATER THE FRONT PASSENGER'S SIDE TIRE ALSO BLEWOUT. GOODYEAR, 1998, RADIAL TIRES, 245/70R19.5. THE TIRES HAD ABOUT 40,000 MILES ON THEM WHEN THEY BLEWOUT. THESE WERE THE RECOMMENDED SIZE TIRE FOR THE WINNEBAGO. CONSUMER NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS BEFORE WITH THE TIRES. THE TIRES BLEW A HOLE ON THE SIDEWALL ABOUT 3 TO 4 INCHES WIDE. THE TIRES WERE REPLACED WITH THE SAME BRAND OF TIRE FROM GOODYEAR. CONSUMER DID NOT CONTACT MANUFACTURER. CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING AT 55-60 MPH WHEN THE TIRES BLEW OUT. *AK *NM

THE LAMINATION ON EACH SIDE NEAR THE REAR OF VEHICLE WAS PEELING OFF. CONSUMER FEARS THAT IF THE PEELING CONTINUES THE END CAPS THAT HOLD THE TWO CORNERS DOWN WILL EVENTUALLY SNAP OFF WHILE IN TRAFFIC. MANUFACTURER HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM.*AK

PARKING BRAKE ENGAGED WHILE IN MOTION. SWITCH FAILED ON AUTO PARK BRAKE SYSTEM, CAUSING LOSS OF HYDRAULIC FLUID AND LOCKUP. LUCKILY WAS MOVING SLOWLY TO PARKING AREA, COULD HAVE BEEN A REAL PROBLEM BECAUSE WE HAD BEEN TRAVELING ON A NARROW TWO LANE HIGHWAY WITH ZERO SHOULDER. *JB

ON A FORD CHASSIS, V10 TRITON ENGINE; IN A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF RAIN STORM, AIR FILTER GETS SATURATED WITH RAIN WHICH CAUSES FILTER TO GET CLOGGED UP, AND VEHICLE WILL STALL UNEXPECTEDLY WHICH MAY CAUSE A CRASH. MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT HAS NO SOLUTION OTHER THAN DON'T DRIVE VEHICLE IN THE RAIN.*AK THE PROBLEM STILL CONTINUES BECAUSE PARTS ARE NOT YET AVAILABLE. *YH

PLEASE NOTE THE WINNEBAGO MOTORHOME IS ON A 1999 FORD SUPER DUTY F CHASSIS WITH A 6.8L V-10 ENGINE. IN A MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN THE AIR FILTER BECOMES SATURATED WITH WATER CAUSING THE ENGINE TO RUN ROUGH OR STALL. I HAVE HAD THE ENGINE STALL ON A BUSY INTERSTATE HIGHWAY GOING 60 MPH. ON SEVERAL OTHER OCCASSIONS, I HAVE HAD THE ENGINE START TO RUN ROUGH AND CUT OUT BUT WAS ABLE TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY BEFORE IT STALLED. FORD ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM TO ME IN THE FALL OF 1998 AND SAID A FIX WOULD BE AVAILABLE BEFORE THE END OF 1998. AS OF SEPT, 2000, NO FIX IS AVAILABLE. IN REVIEWING VARIOUS MOTORHOME MAGAZINES, BASED ON READERS COMMENTS, THE PROBLEM IS WIDE SPREAD. I EVEN HAD A FORD TECHNICAL REP TELL ME IF HE OWNED A MOTORHOME WITH THE PROBLEM, HE WOULDN'T DRIVE IT IN A HEAVY RAIN.

WHILE DRIVING ELECTRICAL SYSTEM SUDDENLY SHUTDOWN. THERE WERE NO POWER STEERING OR POWER BRAKES WHEN THIS HAPPENED. ADVENTURER STARTED AGAIN AFTER PULLING SOME OF THE FUSES WHICH WERE NOT BLOWN OUT. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED ABOUT THE PROBLEM. VEHICLE TAKEN TO DEALER BUT THE PROBLEM COULD NOT BE FIXED AND STILL EXISTS. *AK *ML