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Old 01-12-2017, 12:40 PM   #1
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Curt Controller Recall - NHTSA # 16V465

Thought I'd start a new thread specifically about the recall.

I received my recall notice a couple of days ago. I spoke with my dealer's service department and sent them a copy of the dealer instructions .pdf file which had posted a while ago. They are now in the process of tracking down the recall kit, etc., and will (I hope) call me when they either have the kit or at least a likely schedule for getting the kit.

My recall notice included a card to be returned to Forest River. I found this card to be a bit odd - it provides boxes for just about everything except "The recall has been applied." You'd think they'd like to keep track of which units have actually gotten the recall, though perhaps that info gets to them through a different channel.

I'll add more info when (if) I hear back from the dealer.

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Old 01-12-2017, 01:22 PM   #2
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The second box indicates the RV required remedy. One would think this would be the square to mark when finished.

I called my selling dealer. The gal in service was more than happy to help me even though they hadn't heard of the recall. I set up an appointment for after a trip I'm going on so I didn't have to fight them to get my MH back in time to go. After a couple of emails, they had enough info for the factory, got it okay'd and part ordered. So far so good.
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Old 01-12-2017, 02:04 PM   #3
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I have not received the recall notice yet... did it come by regular mail?


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Old 01-12-2017, 02:24 PM   #4
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Yes
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Old 01-12-2017, 06:35 PM   #5
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I have not received the recall notice yet... did it come by regular mail?
Forest River Inc., A Berkshire Hathaway Company | RVs, Park Models Trailers, Commercial Buses, Commercial Trailers, Pontoons

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Old 01-12-2017, 08:52 PM   #6
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We got the recall notice 2 days ago. Getting ready to call dealer tomorrow for service.


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Old 01-12-2017, 09:17 PM   #7
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I have owned mine for 15 months, The Curt problem occurred during the first week of ownership, in the first rain. Same thing happened to others on here. Same thing happened to my friend who bought exact same model as me in the first rain.

I just received the recall notice on Tuesday, I was extremely annoyed at the paragraph that stsrts by sayinf your RV was built on a Mercedes drivetrain.... Forest River is trying to relay or infer the message that this is a Mercedes issue. It then went on to say overheating? What? What?

It should say, the Curt manual clearly states the controller should be placed out of the direct spray of water. We at Forest River thought mounting behind the dual rear tires was a great idea and a nice dry place. We were wrong. It is irrelevant what type of chassis the RV is built on...

I have said before and I will say again. So glad I replaced and fixed myself, I can not for the life of me figure out how it took over a year for this to be communicated and "investigated."







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Old 01-13-2017, 11:00 AM   #8
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I also got my recall notice on the controller. Spoke with my dealer and they are going to order the part and call when they get it in and schedule an app to get it fixed. Has anyone heard anything about the airbags are they good or not.?


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Old 01-13-2017, 11:19 AM   #9
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Let's hope they did some real world testing

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Originally Posted by kysunseekermbs View Post
I have owned mine for 15 months, The Curt problem occurred during the first week of ownership, in the first rain. Same thing happened to others on here. Same thing happened to my friend who bought exact same model as me in the first rain.

I just received the recall notice on Tuesday, I was extremely annoyed at the paragraph that stsrts by sayinf your RV was built on a Mercedes drivetrain.... Forest River is trying to relay or infer the message that this is a Mercedes issue. It then went on to say overheating? What? What?

It should say, the Curt manual clearly states the controller should be placed out of the direct spray of water. We at Forest River thought mounting behind the dual rear tires was a great idea and a nice dry place. We were wrong. It is irrelevant what type of chassis the RV is built on...

I have said before and I will say again. So glad I replaced and fixed myself, I can not for the life of me figure out how it took over a year for this to be communicated and "investigated."




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Of the Hopkins replacement controller. Since it appears all they've done is add an inline fuse (the circuit was unprotected before?), change out the controller from one brand to another (supposedly a bit heavier duty) and replace it in the same questionable location - I'll be curious to see how long the new controller lasts.

I've tried to purchase the recall kit from my local dealer, but I expect my name is on the FR naughty list - so I've heard nothing from the dealer.
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Old 01-13-2017, 02:15 PM   #10
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I got my recall notice in Aug 2016. While I was in the neighborhood of my Camping World dealer (60 miles away) to see what could be done, I was told I needed to bring it in to see if it needed replaced, and then they would order the part. A phone call to FR only resulted in the name of another dealer who is only 50 miles away. I have done nothing yet, and I'm well past warranty. I also have water intrusion into my tail light assemblies, with only half of my red leds working and one backup light not functional. I am beginning to think a DIY project is in order, but not too confident in this . Any recommendations? My MH is a 2015 Forester 2401 WS MBS
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Old 01-13-2017, 02:39 PM   #11
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Recall...parts ordered by dealer

Received the second recall notice (the first one (last August?) read like a "hold the date" we'll get back to you...someday;-)) Called the dealer Tuesday, 'You know when you want to bring it out of storage give us a call and we'll order the parts.'
Lucky me, the MH is less than 10 miles from dealer, 'please order the parts I'll bring it in when parts arrive. BTW, I want to take a long trip south February 14th.'
'Okay, I'll order the parts and let you know when they come in.' says dealer's service department rep..' should take about two weeks.' (forgive me doubting;-))
So it's the waiting game. I've not noticed the problem on the MH as other have, just got lucky too, cuz man-o-man we have been through some driving rainfalls in the first year, and kept on moving. So far no leaks, so far still have blinkers.
Will update when parts are in, or whine a little bit at the 3 week mark.
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Old 01-13-2017, 04:29 PM   #12
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Has anyone heard anything about the airbags are they good or not.?
I don't think there's been anything more on the airbags after the initial notification that they are a problem and that Mercedes, like half the manufacturers, is awaiting a plan from Takata.

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Old 01-14-2017, 06:44 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by llscott View Post
I got my recall notice in Aug 2016. While I was in the neighborhood of my Camping World dealer (60 miles away) to see what could be done, I was told I needed to bring it in to see if it needed replaced, and then they would order the part. A phone call to FR only resulted in the name of another dealer who is only 50 miles away. I have done nothing yet, and I'm well past warranty. I also have water intrusion into my tail light assemblies, with only half of my red leds working and one backup light not functional. I am beginning to think a DIY project is in order, but not too confident in this . Any recommendations? My MH is a 2015 Forester 2401 WS MBS
FR is on the hook for rthe recall. The leaking lens is on you. Id do it myself by changing out he entire light assembly with one with LEDs. Faster and cheaper and a better repair than going through the dealer!
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Old 01-16-2017, 10:39 AM   #14
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Curt Controller Recall - NHTSA # 16V465

Quote:
Originally Posted by llscott View Post
I got my recall notice in Aug 2016. While I was in the neighborhood of my Camping World dealer (60 miles away) to see what could be done, I was told I needed to bring it in to see if it needed replaced, and then they would order the part. A phone call to FR only resulted in the name of another dealer who is only 50 miles away. I have done nothing yet, and I'm well past warranty. I also have water intrusion into my tail light assemblies, with only half of my red leds working and one backup light not functional. I am beginning to think a DIY project is in order, but not too confident in this . Any recommendations? My MH is a 2015 Forester 2401 WS MBS

Warranty is irrelevant here. If your VIN is included in the recall, the dealer must replace it at FR's cost.

Although most of us have not had a failure, the failure is erratic and unexpected and could cause an accident. Also we learned from the recall instructions that the power feed line needs to be fused, so apparently that wasn't done originally, enhancing the risk of failure and an added reason to get the repair done.


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Old 01-21-2017, 10:55 PM   #15
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Received the second recall notice (the first one (last August?) read like a "hold the date" we'll get back to you...someday;-)) Called the dealer Tuesday, 'You know when you want to bring it out of storage give us a call and we'll order the parts.'
Lucky me, the MH is less than 10 miles from dealer, 'please order the parts I'll bring it in when parts arrive. BTW, I want to take a long trip south February 14th.'
'Okay, I'll order the parts and let you know when they come in.' says dealer's service department rep..' should take about two weeks.' (forgive me doubting;-))
So it's the waiting game. I've not noticed the problem on the MH as other have, just got lucky too, cuz man-o-man we have been through some driving rainfalls in the first year, and kept on moving. So far no leaks, so far still have blinkers.
Will update when parts are in, or whine a little bit at the 3 week mark.
Dealer called Thursday, parts are in--wow, forgive my skepticism about a more than two week part delivery! Took the MH in late Friday, if all goes well, done Monday afternoon and back to storage--IF, if the left rear blinker-brake light isn't repaired by this change, it may have to stay to have it replaced. DW following behind, noticed about half the LED's didn't come on when braking--not expected or desirable.

Here, near Minneapolis MN, we're in the midst of a January thaw--so didn't have to shovel snow or deal with ice on the roof, roads etc, that I know was there a week ago. Like others I have angst whether to cover, or not. I decided not. Anyway, the cold returns early next week and don't want to deal with traveling --even a short ride-- through and kind of winter weather just to take it to storage.
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Old 01-25-2017, 05:47 PM   #16
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My dealer called this morning to tell me the recall parts were in.

Took the Solera in at about 1pm watched...and helped about as much as I got in the way...and the recall was completed by about 2:15. All the lights seem to work.

Recall included two inline fuses - one under the seat (I knew about that one) and one pre-wired into the controller wiring (I don't think I knew about that one.)

Removing and reinstalling the seat was the hard part - especially the bolts on the right side, where the parking brake always seemed to be in the way.

All in all, not a big deal. Hope all the lights continue to work correctly.

Dave

PS - I was hoping to get the old Curt controller back for use as a spare. No such luck.
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Old 01-30-2017, 05:19 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kysunseekermbs View Post
I was extremely annoyed at the paragraph that stsrts by sayinf your RV was built on a Mercedes drivetrain.... Forest River is trying to relay or infer the message that this is a Mercedes issue. It then went on to say overheating? What? What?

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That is not it at all. The Mercedes chassis IS the only unit that we installed this on so that's the easiest identifier...as a side note it is in part due to Mercedes (although clearly not their issue). They don't want anyone tying into their system so the Curt module was required...Ford, it is not needed. Also, the Mercedes is set up for incandescent tail lights. They won't reprogram for LED's so we have to work around it. Ford, you just reprogram for LED's

In some testing I did, we could get it to fail, perfectly dry. It could overload, which overheated and cracked the housing letting water in.
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Old 01-30-2017, 08:25 PM   #18
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Thanks for clarifying. A lot of us weren't clear about the overheating since it seemed mostly to be a water issue.


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Old 01-31-2017, 09:17 AM   #19
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And I agree that it took too long. The issue was compounded by 2-3 different divisions that used the part (and installed them in different ways) and a newly created department that handles recalls company wide. The flow of communication was not as smooth as it is now, and based on the data we had, it was not a simple "water intrusion issue". So just moving the device was not going to solve it as some have suggested. So we had to do some additional testing.
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Old 01-31-2017, 05:45 PM   #20
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What all is needed for the recall because my dealer told me there is no parts needed. Only rewiring it
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