2021 WINNEBAGO REVEL Recalls, Complaints & Safety

The contact owns a 2021 Winnebago Revel built on a 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 chassis. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V863000 (Structure) and 23V663000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2021 Winnebago Revel RV built on a 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 chassis. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V863000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The house battery bank in the rear of this RV contains two lithium Ion 125ma Batteries. The mounting system used to hold these batteries allows them to slide around, the movement of the batteries and hold-down brackets allows contact between the sharp metal hold-down brackets and the battery cables themselves. The resulting chaffing of the battery cables causes them to short out and catch fire. I caught mine barely in time, as you can see in the pictures the cable coating is being worn through and is compromised. Others have posted on this and have had fires.

My engine’s cooling fan blade and clutch assembly became unscrewed from its belt-driven shaft. Once unscrewed, the assembly was suspended at its hub by 2 cables to the engine, one mechanical and one electrical. The suspended and swinging assembly then damaged the fan’s threaded shaft mount and the vehicle’s radiator. In other reported cases*, damage has also occurred to the radiator shroud, drive belts or other critical engine parts. Thankfully, in my case the failure occurred near my home on a quiet neighborhood street at low speed. Once I located the problem, I was able to temporarily suspend and anchor the fan and clutch assembly to the radiator shroud and drive the van home. Had the failure occurred on a busy highway at speed, much more damage could easily have occurred and potentially have led to a serious accident. * There are many cases of this occurring on Winnebago Revels which are built using a VS30 Mercedes Sprinter with a 2nd alternator. The issue affects the vans of several recent build years. See the ongoing discussion at this link: https://www.winnebagorevelforum.com/forum/revel-tech/problem-solving-owners-helping-each-other/other-revel-problems/5964-cooling-fan-self-destruct

Awning self deployed while parked (thankfully) On inspection of the motor parts found that the housing tabs had broken allowing the awning to self deploy. The motor also acts as the ‘brake’ for the awning

2021 Winnebago Revel - When starting the engine, the Carefree awning automatically deployed and the awning motor never turned off, violently extending awning arms. I had to turn the engine off to disengage the awning motor from trying to extend. I was able to manually reel in the awning and zip tie it together. After being instructed to do this by a carefree awning customer service representative, I was able to do so, and make an appointment to my local Winnebago dealer for repair.

The contact owns a 2021 Winnebago Revel built on a 2020 Mercedes- Benz Sprinter Chassis. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, a load noise was heard coming from the vehicle and suddenly the passenger’s side awning inadvertently deployed and extended out from the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 24,000.

THERE IS AN EXISTING RECALL ON THIS VEHICLE (NHTSA CAMPAIGN 20V-474) FROM AUGUST 12 2020. I TOOK DELIVERY OF MY VEHICLE AFTER THIS DATE AND WAS TOLD MY VIN WAS NOT AFFECTED. IN TWO CALLS TO WINNEBAGO CUSTOMER SERVICE THEY ALSO CLAIM MY VEHICLE IS UNAFFECTED AND WAS REPAIRED PRIOR TO SALE. HOWEVER, MY ALTERNATOR BELT IS CLEARLY MISALIGNED AND IS RESULTING IN SIGNIFICANT SQUEALING WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING. I HAVE COMPARED MY VEHICLE WITH THE POSTED PHOTOS AND INFORMATION REGARDING THE FIX PROVIDED BY THE MANUFACTURER AND POSTED ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE. MY VEHICLE DOES NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED SHIMS TO ENSURE PROPER ALIGNMENT. SEE ATTACHED PHOTOS OF THE INCORRECT CONFIGURATION (TOP) COMPARED TO MY VEHICLE (BOTTOM). AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY ARE IDENTICAL, MEANING THAT THE NEW SHIM WAS NOT INSTALLED AND THE BELT IS STILL MISALIGNED. WINNEBAGO HAS REFERRED ME TO SEVERAL 'AUTHORIZED SERVICE' LOCATIONS BUT NONE WILL ACCOMMODATE THIS ISSUE. WHEN I CONTACTED THE DEALER I PURCHASED IT FROM, THEY CANNOT ACCEPT MY VEHICLE FOR INSPECTION UNTIL MID-APRIL. THREE MONTHS AWAY IS A LONG TIME TO DRIVE A VEHICLE WITH A SAFETY DEFECT THAT WAS KNOWN PRIOR TO DELIVERY (AND WHICH SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN SOLD AFTER THE AUGUST 12 2020 NHTSA NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 49 U.S.C. 30112(A)(3)).