2013 Forest River Salem problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Wheels (1) · Tires (1)
Safety recalls (2)
Equipment 2017-11-22 · campaign 17V756000 · 365,885 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2003-2018 Forest River Berkshire, Charleston, Rockport, Cedar Creek, Cherokee, Riverstone, Salem, Sandpiper, Sierra, Vengeance, Wildcat, Wildwood, XLR Boost, Cargo Mate, Continental Cargo, motorhomes, recreational trailers, toyhaulers, cargo trailers and restroom trailers and 2009-2018 Coachmen Mirada, Pursuit, Concord, Leprechaun, Freelander, Orion and Prism motorhomes, 2009-2017 Coachmen Apex and Catalina recreational trailers, and 2013-20
Risk: In the event of a fire, if the fire extinguisher does not function properly, it can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, instructing them to contact Kidde for a replacement fire extinguisher, free of charge. The recall began on December 27, 2017. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-800-348-7440, or Kidde customer service toll free at 1-855-262-3540, or online at www.kidde.com and click on "Product Safety Recall" for more information. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-0544.
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.
Service bulletins (1)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Equipment 2020-08-05 · 511213 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this is a document that describes how to take the required photos to assess the slideroom mechanism for adjustment and function.
What owners report
2016-07-26 · Tires · 900 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2013 forest river salem equipped with vail sport st lh99 tires, size: 225/75/r15 (na). while in park, the threads on all the tires were separated. the tires were not diagnosed or repaired. the tire manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that even though the tires were included in nhtsa campaign number: 14t003000 …”
2015-06-15 · Wheels · 900 mi“per other complaints i also have vail sport st lh 99 tires on my 40 ft 10,0000 lb 5th wheel camper and the manufacture is replacing the one tire showing sidewall cracks as have all other complaints but refuses to replace the remaing 3 that have the same dot date code as the one they are replacing since they show no issues. its a matter of distance …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.