- Vehicles
- 595
- Built between
- Apr 2011 – Mar 2017
- Models
- 5
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 3 May 2017
- Repaired
- 78%
- Unrepaired
- 132
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between April 2011 and March 2017. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2017-2018 Newmar Dutch StarBuilt April 2011 to March 2017
- 2012-2018 Newmar EssexBuilt April 2011 to March 2017
- 2012-2018 Newmar King AireBuilt April 2011 to March 2017
- 2016-2018 Newmar London AireBuilt April 2011 to March 2017
- 2016-2018 Newmar Mountain AireBuilt April 2011 to March 2017
Repair progress
132 of 595 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2018.
78% repaired — 463 of 595 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
Newmar Corporation (Newmar) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Dutch Star, 2016-2018 Mountain Aire and London Aire, and 2012-2018 Essex and King Aire motorhomes built on a Spartan Motors chassis. The ball joints on the independent front suspension (IFS) modules can loosen and separate, leading to a partial loss of steering.
What could happen
A separated ball joint can cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
What gets fixed
Newmar will notify owners, and Spartan service centers will remove, clean, apply thread locker, reinstall and torqued the ball joints, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 3, 2017.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtApril 2011 to March 2017
- Recall reported to NHTSA22 March 2017
- Owners notified3 May 2017
- Latest repair reportQ4 2018 — 78% 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 22 March 2017.
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 Spartan at 1-800-543-4277 to locate a qualified service center or contact Newmar customer service at 1-574-773-7791. Newmar's number for this recall is 17004.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 17004
- Recalling manufacturer
- Newmar Corporation
- 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.