Four Winds Electrical System

Four Winds is recalling about 503 vehicles over a problem with the electrical system. As the transfer switch fails, it may overheat, increasing the risk of a fire.

Campaign
15V698000
Manufacturer
Thor Motor Coach
Reported
23 October 2015
Vehicles
503
Built between
May 2009 – Sep 2010
Models
5
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
23 November 2015
Repaired
10%
Unrepaired
399

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between May 2009 and September 2010. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2009-2011 Four Winds HurricaneBuilt May 2009 to September 2010
  • 2010 Four Winds MagellanBuilt May 2009 to September 2010
  • 2009-2010 Four Winds MandalayBuilt May 2009 to September 2010
  • 2010-2011 Four Winds SerranoBuilt May 2009 to September 2010
  • 2009-2011 Four Winds WindsportBuilt May 2009 to September 2010

Repair progress

399 of 503 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2017.

10% repaired — 51 of 503 reported

Scrapped or exported
53

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

Thor Motor Coach (TMC) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 Four Winds Hurricane and Windsport, 2009-2010 Four Winds Mandalay, 2010 Four Winds Magellan, and 2010-2011 Four Winds Serrano motorhomes manufactured May 2, 2009, to September 1, 2010. The affected vehicles are wired to be powered by a generator and are equipped with an Iota ITS-50R transfer switch that may fail when exposed to elevated electrical loads and used in higher ambient temperatures.

What could happen

As the transfer switch fails, it may overheat, increasing the risk of a fire.

What gets fixed

TMC will notify owners, and dealers will replace the Iota ITS-50R transfer switch with a transfer switch from another manufacturer, free of charge. The recall began on November 23, 2015.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMay 2009 to September 2010
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA23 October 2015
  3. Owners notified23 November 2015
  4. Latest repair reportQ1 2017 — 10% 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 23 October 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 Thor customer service at 1-877-855-2867. Thor's number for this recall is RC000106.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
RC000106
Recalling manufacturer
Thor Motor Coach
Recall initiated by
ODI

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