Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. has announced NHTSA recall 09V175000, which includes 2009 model year Bounder Diesel, Discovery, Excursion, Expedition, and Providence motorhomes manufactured from April 29, 2008, through April 21, 2009. The potential number of vehicles involved is 311.
On certain motorhomes affected by this recall, the battery cable harness may not be adequately secured above the driveshaft. The cable may become dislodged and come in contact with the driveshaft, causing entanglement or abrasion to the cable. This could lead to an electrical short, resulting in a fire, or to uncommanded vehicle shutdown, resulting in loss of vehicle control.
A Fleetwood dealer will inspect and, if necessary, replace the damaged battery cable and secure the cable harness above the driveshaft. An estimated repair time had not been established as of press time.
For more information about this recall, contact Fleetwood at (800) 509-3418. Owner notification was expected to begin in June 2009.
Norcold Inc. has announced two separate NHTSA recalls involving RV refrigerators installed as original equipment.
The first is recall 09E026000, which affects approximately 5,900 model 1200LR and 1200LRIM refrigerators that were repaired as part of NHTSA recall 02E04500. Refrigerators in this population were manufactured from December 1, 1996, to February 28, 1999, and include cooling unit serial numbers between 700000 and 1008700.
The affected refrigerators, which had their cooling units replaced under recall 02E045000, must be retrofitted with a Thermal Switch Kit that will shut the cooling unit down in the event of sensing abnormally high temperature in the boiler area. Should a leak occur and the cooling unit is allowed to continue to operate, hydrogen gas could be expelled and ignite, resulting in a fire and possibly leading to serious injury or death.
A Norcold service center will install the Thermal Switch Kit on the replaced cooling unit. The repair is expected to take 90 minutes. However, because of service scheduling times, the service center may need the vehicle for a longer time period.
The second is recall 09E027000, which affects refrigerator models 1200LR, 1200LRIM, and 1201LRIM, manufactured from March 1, 2001, through December 31, 2002, with serial numbers between 1273701 and 1536607, nonconsecutively (this is an expansion of recall 08E03000). The potential number of refrigerators involved is 22,350.
On the affected refrigerators, a fatigue failure is possible in the section of the cooling unit that contains the refrigerant. This failure could allow the liquid solution to slowly leak from the cooling unit. Should a leak occur and the refrigerator continues to operate after solution circulation has ceased, the heat source could generate very high temperatures. At such high temperatures the cooling unit could rupture. If the refrigerant gas is still in place when the rupture occurs, hydrogen gas may be expelled and could be ignited by the high temperature, possibly causing a fire.
A Norcold dealer will retrofit the cooling unit with a Thermal Switch Kit. The repair is expected to take approximately 90 minutes. However, because of service scheduling times, the service center may need the vehicle for a longer period of time.
Owners of RVs with refrigerators affected by either of these recalls are instructed to stop operating their refrigerator until it has been inspected and repaired. For more information about these recalls, contact Norcold at (800) 767-9101. Owner notification was expected to begin in June 2009.
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