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Forest River · NHTSA safety record

2020 Forest River Flagstaff

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 11 safety complaints about the 2020 Forest River Flagstaff with the US government. Of those, 1 person was injured and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the tires and the trailer hitch.

The most complained-about system is the tires, named in 5 complaints, 45% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers April 2021 to October 2024 · How this is counted

What is on file

11 complaints on file

11

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

1

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
TIRES 5 · 45%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4 · 36%
POWER TRAIN 2 · 18%
EQUIPMENT 1 · 9%
SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 9%
STRUCTURE 1 · 9%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 11.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2022 at 4.

8 6 4 2
21 22 23 24

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2021 to 2024.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2020 Forest River Flagstaff. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

TIRES

19V827000 · November 19, 2019

The defect
Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2020 Rockwood RLF8298KS and Flagstaff FLF8529RLS recreational trailers. Due to improper tire clearance, the tire may contact the steel chassis outrigger, possibly resulting in tire failure.
The risk
Tire failure can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a new outrigger to achieve the proper tire clearance, and damaged tires will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began December 10, 2019. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-642-8954. Forest River's number for this recall is 10C-1116.

Forest River, Inc. · up to 9 vehicles across all model years covered

TRAILER HITCHES:FIFTH WHEEL ASSEMBLY

19V570000 · August 2, 2019

The defect
Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Flagstaff and Cherokee Arctic Wolf recreational trailers equipped with MORyde Orbital or You Turn Rubber Pin Box Wedge Kits. The pin boxes may have been equipped with bolts 1-3/4" in length when they should be equipped with 2" long bolts.
The risk
The incorrect bolts may allow the rotating pin box to rotate in two places, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the bolts and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began August 27, 2019. Owners may contact MORyde customer service at 1-574-293-1581 or Forest River customer service at 1-574-642-8954 (Flagstaff) or 1-260-499-2100 (Cherokee). Forest River's number for this recall is 51-1065.

Forest River, Inc. · up to 1,809 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

STRUCTURE

1 injured

The fabric side wall failed to keep my daughter safe as she slept in the camper. She fell out of the camper onto the hard, cold ground while she was sound asleep. She could have been seriously injured. The Velcro on the fabric was secured to the camper frame.

NHTSA complaint 11528037. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
When forced to drive over a canvas tent bag, Due to traffic and road conditions. The tent bag wrapped around the drive shaft, ripped out the brake lines and the emergency brake lines damaged the master cylinder and damage the emergency brake mechanism in the cab of the RV. There should be protection under the vehicle so that does not happen! The loss of both types of brake systems could be catastrophic.

NHTSA complaint 11621165. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
3500# axles added to a trailer with a gross weight of 3920#. Tires are severely worn on the inside from an undersized axel. Possible tire blow out if not corrected.

NHTSA complaint 11584515. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The structure supporting the fresh water tank is insufficient to carry the weight when full of water. The 36 inch long support bars sag ~2 inches when the tank is full, and the tank itself sags another 1.5 inches between the bars. There have been numerous accounts of these tanks detaching and falling out while travelling on the highway, posing a risk to other drivers.

NHTSA complaint 11582862. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES
Subject Castle Rock Radial ST 205/75/R14 tire was running 10 degrees F. hotter (around 110 F) than the three sibling tires after about 30 minutes of travel. This had been the case for an earlier trip of approximately 275 interstate miles. All of these tires are original equipment and similarly used and maintained. The tire eventually exploded (see uploaded pics). Subsequent inspection shows a bubble had formed between layers of the tread portion of the tire. The failed tire is available for inspection. Tire pressure before traveling in the morning was 65 p.s.i. (this is consistently maintained when in use). The load/speed ratings of these tires are D105/101L or 2039 lbs/75 m.p.h. Our

NHTSA complaint 11526187, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The RV came with a heated mattress which I would often used to pre-heat the mattress before going to bed. On 11/23/2022, I turned the mattress heater on level 4 & went out of the camper. After about an hour, the smoke alarm went off & I came into the camper to find a very strong toxic odor. I found the smell was coming from the mattress & immediately turned off the heater. Upon further investigation, I saw a burn hole in the bedding & discovered the mattress smoldering. I feel fortunate that I was not sleeping with the mattress heater on when this occurred & fear the various alternative situations this may have caused. I have notified the RV dealer, as well as the RV, mattress & heating

NHTSA complaint 11499571, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other 2020 Forest River models

Cherokee 14 Rockwood 13 Salem 12 Georgetown 10 R-POD 8

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Forest River on this site — 30 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst