2013 Forest River Cardinal problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Structure:body (1) · Electrical System:wiring (1)
Safety recalls (2)
Equipment:recreational Vehicle/Trailer 2014-07-23 · campaign 14V449000 · 1,041 vehicles
Defect: Forest River Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Georgetown, Sunseeker, Forester, Cross Country, Pathfinder, Cardinal, Blue Ridge, Cedar Creek, and Brookstone recreational vehicles manufactured March 11, 2013, through April 26, 2013 and equipped with certain Frigidaire Convection Microwave models CFMV152CLB and CFMV154CLS. The microwave may start on it's own and begin heating when unattended.
Risk: If the microwave starts on its own and there are contents inside, a fire could result.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will repair the membrane/keypad component, free of charge. The recall began in February 2015. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-800-353-7383.
Equipment 2013-05-17 · campaign 13V203000 · 9,526 vehicles
Defect: Forest River is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Forest River models Blue Ridge, Cardinal, Cherokee, Columbus, EVO, Georgetown, Flagstaff, Forester, Lexington, Puma, Rockwood, Sabre, Salem, Sandpiper, Sandstorm, Sierra, Stealth, Sunseeker, Wildcat, Wildwood, Work and Play and XLR; Coachmen models Brookstone, Catalina, Chaparral, Concord, Encounter, Freedom Express, Freelander, Leprechaun, Mirada, Pursuit, and Sportcoach; Prime Time models Avenger, Crusader, Lacrosse, Saniber, and Tracer; P
Risk: If the motor assembly screws shear, it is possible that the awning can unfurl unexpectedly, either while the vehicle is at rest or while in transit, increasing the risk of personal injury or a vehicle crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners and Dometic staff will replace the affected motors with motors of a different design. The safety recall began on July 29, 2013. Owners may contact Forest River at 1-574-389-4600 or Dometic at 1-888-447-0003 for more information. Owners are being instructed not to drive their vehicle until repairs can be performed.
What owners report
2017-03-01 · Structure:body“tl* the contact owns a 2013 forest river cardinal. the contact stated that the seals on the top and side of the camper detached due to water. the contact mentioned that water was entering the camper and damaged the interior. the camper was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the seals needed to be replaced. the camper was not repaired. th…”
2015-07-25 · Electrical System:wiring · 15,000 mi“prior to leaving for a trip i plugged our cardinal 3550rl in to an ac outlet to run the fridge. the morning of our departure i found that the 2 rear slide rooms had deployed overnight on their own and would not retract. the slide room pump had run all night and burned the pump out so badly that we could not manually retract the rooms or the landing…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.