The defect
Forest River is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Berkshire and Charleston diesel motorhomes. The chassis are equipped with connectors for diode jumpers that may come loose, resulting in an open circuit. Two circuits are affected: The one that disengages the cruise control with brake pedal use, and the one that illuminates the brake lights with brake pedal use.
The risk
Failure of the cruise control to disengage when the brakes are applied may increase the risk of a vehicle crash. Without the brake lights illuminating when the brakes are applied, the driver's intent is not communicated, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) is performing this recall on behalf of Forest River. DTNA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the diode jumpers to make sure they are fully locked in place and will correct the vehicles as needed. The recall began in January 2013. Owners should contact Daimler Trucks Warranty Campaigns Department at (800) 547-0712, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time Monday through Friday, e-mail address DTNA.Warranty.Campaigns@Daimler.com, or the Customer Assistance Center at (800) FTL-HELP after normal business hours.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Forest River Berkshire | 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Forest River Charleston | 2010, 2011, 2012 |
Components: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest River Berkshire | 2010 | 1 | 2 |
| Forest River Berkshire | 2011 | 3 | 3 |
| Forest River Berkshire | 2012 | 0 | 3 |
| Forest River Charleston | 2010 | 0 | 2 |
| Forest River Charleston | 2011 | 0 | 2 |
| Forest River Charleston | 2012 | 0 | 4 |
Other vehicle speed control recalls in 2013
7 of the 627 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2013 concerned the vehicle speed control; Forest River, Inc. filed 592 campaigns in all.
| 13V532000 29 Oct 2013 | Prevost Cars, Inc. |
| 13V430000 26 Sept 2013 | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| 13V228000 29 May 2013 | Aston Martin Lagonda of North America |
| 13V215000 21 May 2013 | Triumph Motorcycles America, LTD |
| 13V039000 7 Feb 2013 | Prevost Cars, Inc. |
| 13V012000 11 Jan 2013 | Braun Corporation |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2013