Heartland Suspension: Non-Powered Axle Assembly

Heartland is recalling about 131 vehicles over a problem with the suspension. Improper weight distribution across the axles may result in poor handling, increasing the risk of a crash.

Campaign
15V049000
Manufacturer
Heartland Recreational Vehicles, LLC
Reported
30 January 2015
Vehicles
131
Built between
Sep 2014 – Jan 2015
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
16 February 2015
Repaired
99%
Unrepaired
1

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between September 2014 and January 2015. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2015 Heartland BIG CountryBuilt September 2014 to January 2015
  • 2015 Heartland BIG HornBuilt September 2014 to January 2015
  • 2015 Heartland Landmark 365Built December 2014 to December 2014

Repair progress

1 of 131 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2016.

99% repaired — 130 of 131 reported

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Heartland Recreational Vehicles, LLC (Heartland) is recalling certain model year 2015 Heartland Big Country 3800FL vehicles manufactured October 22, 2014, to December 16, 2014 and 2015 Heartland Big Country 3900FLP vehicles manufactured September 23, 2014, to January 12, 2015, 2015 Heartland Big Horn 3750FL vehicles manufactured September 3, 2014, to January 14, 2015, and Landmark 365 Charleston vehicles manufactured on December 24, 2014. In the affected recreational vehicles, the axles may be placed too far forward on the frame resulting in improper weight distribution across the axles.

What could happen

Improper weight distribution across the axles may result in poor handling, increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

Heartland will notify owners, and dealers will move the axles rearward to help with weight distribution on the Big Horn, and 3800 FL Big Country, and will add a ballast to the pin box to improve handling the 3900 FLP Big Country, free of charge. The recall began February 16, 2015.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtSeptember 2014 to January 2015
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA30 January 2015
  3. Owners notified16 February 2015
  4. Latest repair reportQ2 2016 — 99% repaired

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 30 January 2015.

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 Heartland customer service at 1-877-262-8032. Heartland's number for this recall is 99-01-19.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
99-01-19
Recalling manufacturer
Heartland Recreational Vehicles, LLC
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