Four Winds Trailer Hitches

Four Winds is recalling about 221 vehicles over a problem with the trailer hitches. This causes the fasteners to be corner loaded when tightened which could cause the hitch to fail during usage causing a crash which could result in death and injury.

Campaign
05V465000
Manufacturer
FOUR WINDS INTERNATIONAL
Reported
6 October 2005
Vehicles
221
Built between
Jul 2005 – Sep 2005
Models
6
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
11 November 2005
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between July 2005 and September 2005. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2006 Four Winds Chateau CitationBuilt July 2005 to September 2005
  • 2006 Four Winds Dutchmen DoradoBuilt July 2005 to September 2005
  • 2006 Four Winds HurricaneBuilt July 2005 to September 2005
  • 2006 Four Winds MagellanBuilt July 2005 to September 2005
  • 2006 Four Winds SiestaBuilt July 2005 to September 2005
  • 2006 Four Winds WindsportBuilt July 2005 to September 2005

What the defect is

On certain class a and class b motor homes, the hitch may have been manufactured with a spacer plate that does not fit flush to the rear extension.

What could happen

This causes the fasteners to be corner loaded when tightened which could cause the hitch to fail during usage causing a crash which could result in death and injury.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW SPACER PLATE AND ADD SIX NEW BOLTS, WASHERS AND NUTS TO SECURE THE SPACER PLATE IN PLACE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 11, 2005.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJuly 2005 to September 2005
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA6 October 2005
  3. Owners notified11 November 2005

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 6 October 2005.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact four winds at 574-266-1111.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
FOUR WINDS INTERNATIONAL
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Customers may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand