The 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."
The 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.
The 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.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Forest River Forester | 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Forest River Isata | 2016 |
| Forest River Solera | 2015, 2016 |
| Forest River Sunseeker | 2015, 2016, 2017 |
Components: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TAIL LIGHTS | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BACK UP LIGHTS | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS
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 Forester | 2015 | 6 | 1 |
| Forest River Forester | 2016 | 7 | 3 |
| Forest River Forester | 2017 | 2 | 2 |
| Forest River Isata | 2016 | 0 | 1 |
| Forest River Solera | 2015 | 3 | 1 |
| Forest River Solera | 2016 | 1 | 1 |
| Forest River Sunseeker | 2015 | 0 | 2 |
| Forest River Sunseeker | 2016 | 1 | 3 |
| Forest River Sunseeker | 2017 | 4 | 2 |
Other exterior lighting recalls in 2016
38 of the 919 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2016 concerned the exterior lighting; Forest River, Inc. filed 592 campaigns in all.
| 16V924000 22 Dec 2016 | C & M Trailers Inc. |
| 16V912000 20 Dec 2016 | C & M Trailers Inc. |
| 16V872000 5 Dec 2016 | PACCAR Incorporated |
| 16V869000 2 Dec 2016 | Thor Motor Coach |
| 16V808000 7 Nov 2016 | Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. |
| 16V759000 20 Oct 2016 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 16V760000 20 Oct 2016 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 16V753000 18 Oct 2016 | Mazda North American Operations |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2016