Thor Motor Coach Equipment

Thor Motor Coach is recalling about 427 vehicles over a problem with the equipment. If motor damage occurs, it is possible that the awning can unfurl unexpectedly, either while the motorhome is at rest or while in transit, increasing the risk of personal injury or a vehicle crash.

Campaign
13V164000
Manufacturer
Thor Motor Coach
Reported
25 April 2013
Vehicles
427
Built between
Feb 2013 – Apr 2013
Models
9
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
9 May 2013
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between February 2013 and April 2013. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2013-2014 Thor Motor Coach ChallengerBuilt February 2013 to April 2013
  • 2013-2014 Thor Motor Coach ChateauBuilt February 2013 to April 2013
  • 2013-2014 Thor Motor Coach Chateau SportBuilt February 2013 to April 2013
  • 2013-2014 Thor Motor Coach Four Winds 5000Built February 2013 to April 2013
  • 2013 Thor Motor Coach Four Winds SiestaBuilt February 2013 to April 2013
  • 2013-2014 Thor Motor Coach HurricaneBuilt February 2013 to April 2013
  • 2014 Thor Motor Coach MajesticBuilt February 2013 to April 2013
  • 2013 Thor Motor Coach PalazzoBuilt February 2013 to April 2013
  • 2013-2014 Thor Motor Coach WindsportBuilt February 2013 to April 2013

What the defect is

Thor Motor Coach is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Challenger, Four Winds 5000, Hurricane, Chateau, Chateau Sport, and Windsport; model year 2013 Palazzo and Four Winds Siesta and model year 2014 Majestic motorhomes manufactured February 13, 2013, through April 09, 2013. If the awning installation sequence was not completely followed, the awning motor may unknowningly become damaged. A damaged motor may lead to an unfurling of the awning.

What could happen

If motor damage occurs, it is possible that the awning can unfurl unexpectedly, either while the motorhome is at rest or while in transit, increasing the risk of personal injury or a vehicle crash.

What gets fixed

Thor Motor Coach will notify owners and Dometic staff will replace the affected motors with a design that is not subject to an out-of-sequence installation error. The recall began during May 2013.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtFebruary 2013 to April 2013
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA25 April 2013
  3. Owners notified9 May 2013

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 25 April 2013.

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 Thor at 1-877-855-2867 or Dometic at 1-888-447-0003 for more information. Owners are being instructed not to drive their vehicle until repairs can be performed.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
Thor Motor Coach
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

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to 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