The defect
Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Elkhart ECE3 and ECE4 buses, equipped with Freedman GO-ES Foldaway Seats. When the back seat cushion is rotated from the stowed position to the upright position, the seat cushion may not remain locked into place when under load, such as in a crash or a sudden stop. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 207, "Seating Systems," and 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."
The risk
In the event of a crash, if the seat back moves, the seat occupant has an increased risk of injury.
The remedy
Forest River has notified owners, and Freedman will repair the foldaway seat, free of charge. The recall begin March 8, 2019. Owners may contact Forest River Customer Service at 1-(574) 327-2700 or Freedman customer service at 1-800-443-4540. Forest River's number for this recall is 42-0975.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Elkhart ECE3 | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Elkhart ECE4 | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
Components: SEATS
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elkhart ECE3 | 2016 | 0 | 2 |
| Elkhart ECE3 | 2017 | 0 | 1 |
| Elkhart ECE3 | 2018 | 0 | 1 |
| Elkhart ECE3 | 2019 | 0 | 1 |
| Elkhart ECE4 | 2016 | 0 | 3 |
| Elkhart ECE4 | 2017 | 0 | 1 |
| Elkhart ECE4 | 2018 | 0 | 2 |
| Elkhart ECE4 | 2019 | 0 | 1 |
Other seats recalls in 2019
38 of the 880 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2019 concerned the seats; Forest River, Inc. filed 592 campaigns in all.
| 19V867000 6 Dec 2019 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 19V800000 6 Nov 2019 | Daimler Vans USA, LLC |
| 19V786000 1 Nov 2019 | Thor Motor Coach |
| 19V762000 24 Oct 2019 | General Motors LLC |
| 19V759000 24 Oct 2019 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
| 19V712000 4 Oct 2019 | Daimler Trucks North America LLC |
| 19V666000 18 Sept 2019 | Daimler Vans USA, LLC |
| 19V651000 11 Sept 2019 | Ford Motor Company |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2019