What Forest River FR3 owners have reported to NHTSA, the service bulletins the manufacturer sent dealers, and any federal defect investigations, by model year. See Forest River FR3 safety recalls or check your VIN.
Complaints owners filed with NHTSA, by the model year of the vehicle. A high count can also mean a popular year, so compare it with how many were sold.
| Year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires | Injured | Deaths | TSBs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The vehicle systems named most often in Forest River FR3 complaints (one complaint can name several).
In the owners’ own words, as filed with NHTSA. Unverified reports; NHTSA removes personal details before publishing.
On [XXX], while traveling in our FR3 RV to a funeral in Ohio, we experienced a serious safety failure. As we drove through heavy traffic in Cincinnati, the refrigerator detached from the wall and fell into the cabin, forcing my husband to swerve suddenly and nearly causing an accident. It fell right into the dinette seating where our grandchildren often sit to color or I sit to work. This incident resulted in significant damage to the surrounding interior and could have resulted in death or injury. The following day, while returning from the funeral, we were contacted by the RV park where our vehicle was parked. Other campers reported seeing flames coming from one of the RVâs AC units. Up…
The contact owns a 2021 Forest River FR3 built on a 2020 Ford F-53 Chassis. The contact stated while driving and exceeding 45 MPH, the contact noticed that the dashboard was bouncing. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the bottom of the dashboard fractured and separated along with the parts attached to the dashboard. The RV was taken to the dealer, where the cause of the failure could not be determined. The dealer provided an estimate for the repair. The dealer notified the manufacturer of the failure, but the manufacturer informed the dealer that the repair could not be covered because the RV was not covered under warranty. The RV was not repaired. The f…
UNKNOWN Reading Facebook message boards for FR3 and Georgetown motorhomes became aware of possible propane mount cracking and possibility of propane tank falling out while driving. Upon looking at propane tank mounts, rear mount is cracked. Failure could result in propane tank falling out while driving and cause fire.
Due to faulty welding of the supports for the onboard propane tank, the tank fell out the bottom of the rig on I-70 outside Kansas City on June 6 2023. The tank bounced around, knocking out one one of the drive shafts before bursting into flames. There was no warning before this happened as there are no sensors for that. With the rig being a total loss, there is no way to reproduce the problem. My insurance company hired a fire investigator, but findings were inconclusive due to the extent of the fire damage. I have since found others that have had this issue, but mine is the first that led to a fire that I am aware of. [XXX] . Forest River has been contacted, but they deny a problem exists.…
Power Front Sun/Privacy Shade completely unrolled while driving on a 4-lane interstate going approximately 65 mph, completely blinding the driver from seeing the road, with truck traffic constantantly passing me. Unable to see where I was going at 65 mpg. Took the motorhome to the dealer. Manufacturer was notified. There was no warning prior to the shade unrolling while the vehicle was moving.
Our 2021 Forest River FR3 34DS is built on the 2020 Ford F53 V8 chassis. When bringing the RV in for other service, the Ford dealer noticed that one of the bolts was missing from the rear sway bar. Further inspection showed that the coupling used to attach the sway bar was seriously deformed. This had a negative impact on the steering/handling of the RV in windy weather and when being passed by semis, RVs, and local delivery box trucks. We had to wait about a month for the parts to come in and be installed. A quick google will show this is a wide-spread problem across multiple brands of RVs that are built on the F53 chassis. This seems like either a design issue or a need to torque th…
Our 2021 Forest River FR3 34DS is built on the 2020 Ford F53 Chassis with the V8 engine. Our unit was recalled for potentially insufficient axle lubricant. After Ford replaced the bearings, our anti-skid, ABS, and cruise-control stopped working with indicators showing that on the dash. The Ford dealer believes the problem is with the tone ring. It has been several months and the Ford dealer is unable to obtain a tone-ring. Meanwhile, the RV continues not to have these important safety features.
The vehicle sidewall has separated from the frame. Approx 4 feet of the passenger frontside, from the front to the door. This has caused a gap between the floorboard and sidewall. It has also caused the entrance steps to move out of alignment. While driving down a highway, we heard two loud pops. Upon arriving at our campsite, we noticed the damage to the motorhome. An online search revealed this to be a common problem with Forest River motorhomes as they use self tapping screws to attach the sidewall to the frame.
Repair instructions and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about known issues. A TSB is not a recall, and the repair is usually free only while the car is under warranty; ask your dealer for the bulletin number.
This is a product service bulletin from Global Link concerning counterfeit keys for entry doors being sold on certain websites. Forest River is reporting as we are sharing with the dealer body.
GENERIC COVER PAGE, CONTACT INFORMATION AND REPAIR CODE ALLOWANCE TO INSTALL AN AIR CONDITIONER SOFT START COMPONENT.
The manufacturing plant installed a Mergeman which monitors and charges the house battery from the chassis battery or vice versa, depending on real-time voltage readings. The plant also installs a DC to DC Charger, which only allows electrical flow one way, from the chassis battery to the house battery and also monitors and charges the house batteries. So under certain circumstances, the Mergeman may not allow a charge to the house batteries, as it tries to signal for a charge, which the DC-DC Charger blocks. In these cases, the manufacturing plant is handling the removal of the Mergeman compo
According to Ford Recall 23V510: "Affected vehicles have Smart Data Link Connector modules that may have been exposed to moisture, potentially leading to corrosion in the module, connector, and wire harness. The resulting corrosion may interfere with the vehicleâÃÂÃÂs Controller Area Network (CAN) communication. As a result, the Instrument Panel Cluster may be inoperative." This is the final notice.
According to a Furrion TSB "TB-220919": Irregular cooling performance has been reported on the identified refrigerators. The refrigerator compressor has been found to stop working and requires a ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂhard resetÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàby disconnecting power to reset cooling operation. On occasion, disconnecting power does not reset operation and the refrigerator requires service replacement of the control boards. This TSB may not be applicable for some vehicles.
According to Ford Recall 23V510: "Affected vehicles have Smart Data Link Connector modules that may have been exposed to moisture, potentially leading to corrosion in the module, connector, and wire harness. The resulting corrosion may interfere with the vehicleÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Controller Area Network (CAN) communication. As a result, the Instrument Panel Cluster may be inoperative."
As per Lippert's TSB 85-001-2022 There is a potential for some of the Gen1 jack legs on motorized units to bend or deform under extreme side loads. Note: The notification letter did not change. There is a revision to the remedy by Lippert Components. Forest River previously filed this TSB as "511576".
According to Ford's Final Notice of Recall 22V731: "In some of the affected vehicles, the rear stabilizer bar attachment bracket(s) weld-nuts may not be capable of supporting the required joint torque for this application and may have been damaged during the assembly process. During vehicle usage, the weld nuts attaching the rear stabilizer bracket may loosen, and the attachment bracket may break and/or the attachment bolts and the bracket may separate from the vehicle. It is possible that this may result in a road debris hazard."
As per Lippert's TSB 85-001-2022: There is a potential for some of the Gen1 jack legs on motorized units to bend or deform under extreme side loads.
Defect: Damaged PCB Via. How the defect present itself: Slide Motor will only operate in one direction and/or operate erratically.
According to the notice from Ford 22S62: In some of the affected vehicles, the rear stabilizer bar attachment bracket(s) weld-nuts may not be capable of supporting the required joint torque for this application and may have been damaged during the assembly process. During vehicle usage, the weld nuts attaching the rear stabilizer bracket may loosen, and the attachment bracket may break and/or the attachment bolts and the bracket may separate from the vehicle. It is possible that this may result in a road debris hazard.
The rear axle may contain an inadequate volume of lubricating oil. An inadequate volume of rear axle lubricant may result in rear wheel bearing damage potentially leading to bearing seizure. Bearing seizure may lead to rear axle or driveshaft failure. A rear axle or driveshaft failure may result in loss of vehicle motive power, loss of transmission park function, and loss of parking brake function, increasing the risk of a crash.
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opens these when complaints point to a possible safety defect. Many end in a recall.
On November 23, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE20021 to investigate allegations of inoperative Trimark THP 060-1650 door lock/latches originally equipped on model years (MY) 2015-2017 Class A and Class C motorhomes.ODI received forty-six Vehicle Owner’s Questionnaires (VOQs) describing consumers being locked in or out of their vehicles. The door latch, containing a die-cast zinc plunger, was produced by Equality during calendar years 2014-2016. The die-cast may become
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation public data (complaints, manufacturer communications, investigations), model years 2010 and later. Had a safety problem? Report it to NHTSA.
In complaints filed with NHTSA for model years 2014–2025, owners most often name: unknown or other, exterior lighting, equipment. 20 complaints are on record.
No. A complaint is an unverified report from an owner. A technical service bulletin (TSB) is the manufacturer telling dealers how to fix a known issue; it is not a safety recall and is usually covered only under warranty. A recall is a formal safety action, and its repair is free.
File a vehicle safety complaint at NHTSA.gov. NHTSA reads every report, and patterns of complaints are what open defect investigations and, eventually, recalls.