2001 Fleetwood Bounder Diesel Owner Complaints

I HAVE HAD TWO BLOWOUTS USING MICHELIN XRV TIRES ON A 2001 BOUNDER MOTORHOME. THE FIRST WAS AT 17000 MILES WHEN THE INSIDE LEFT DUAL TIRE HAD A BLOWOUT CAUSING DAMAGE TO A STORAGE COMPARTMENT. THE SECOND BLOWOUT WAS TO MY FRONT DRIVERS SIDE TIRE CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE WHEEL COVER. THE FRONT BLOWOUT IS THE MOST WORRYSOME, I WAS BARELY ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL AND GET THE VEHICLE INTO THE FAR RIGHT LANE AND STOPPED. THIS IS MY 4TH MOTORHOME AND WITHOUT EXCEPTION KEEP MY TIRE PRESSURES CHECKED AND INFLATED PRIOR TO ANY USE. I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS TYPE PROBLEM ON ANY OF MY VEHICLES....EVER.*AK

NHTSA ID

10088455

Incident

Jun 13, 2004

I HAVE MICHELIN XRV 255 80 22.5 TIRES. I HAVE 20K MILES ON THE COACH. I AM METICULOUS ABOUT CHECKING AND MAINTAINING PROPER AIR PRESSURE AND THE COACH IS NOT OVERWEIGHT. *AK A CURB SIDE INSIDE TIRE BLEW AT 17K MILES (A ZIPPER TEAR ON THE INSIDE SIDEWALL). I WAS TOLD I DON'T MAINTAIN PRESSURE AND THAT PARTICULAR TIRE ALWAYS IS THE ONE TO BLOW....OR I HIT SOMETHING. AT 19K MILES THE INSIDE TIRE ON THE STREET SIDE BLEW IN GEORGIA DOING MINOR DAMAGE TO THE INSIDE FENDER WELL (A ZIPPER TEAR ON INSIDE SIDEWALL). AGAIN, I WAS TOLD I AM OVERLOADING THE COACH AND NOT MAINTAINING TIRE PRESSURE. PLUS, THE INSIDE DUAL TIRES DON'T GET ENOUGH AIR AND RUN HOT CAUSING THEM TO WEAR OUT FASTER. I HAVE WEIGHED THE COACH AND I AM UNDER 17K POUNDS ON THE REAR AXLE AND THE TIRES ARE RATED TO 19.2K POUNDS ON THE REAR AXLE. ON THE RETURN TRIP TO PA WE STOPPED FOR DINNER AND NOTICED THAT AN OUTSIDE REAR DUAL HAD '3' BUBBLES ON THE OUTSIDE SIDEWALL INDICATING THAT BANDS HAD BROKEN. I AM NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE THE COACH, FOR FEAR THAT ANOTHER BLOW OUT (PARTICULARLY ON A STEER TIRE) MAY CAUSE ME TO CRASH. I HAVE DONE A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND NHTSA AND IT APPEARS THE MICHELIN XRV TIRE SHOULD BE RECALLED/REPLACED BECAUSE THERE ARE PRETTY MANY PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AS MYSELF. I HAVE ALSO DISCOVERED THAT NEWMAR IS REPLACING THE XRV WITH XZA1 TIRES FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS. FURTHER, MY LATEST REPLACEMENT MICHELIN TIRE WITH A DOT DATE OF 0204 HAS A DIFFERENT MAXIMUM AIR PRESSURE RECOMMENDATION (110 FROM 105) AND AN ADJUSTMENT TO THE WEIGHT CARRYING CAPACITY OF THE TIRE WHICH WOULD INDICATE TO ME THAT THERE HAVE BEEN CHANGES/PROBLEMS REGARDING THIS TIRE. DO A SEARCH OF THE MICHELIN XRV ON THE INTERNET, READ THE THREADS YOU FIND AND TELL ME HONESTLY THAT THERE IS NOT A PROBLEM WITH THIS TIRE. DO A SEARCH OF THE GOODYEAR G670....DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'LL FIND, THAT IT IS A GREAT REPLACEMENT FOR THE MICHELIN XRV (AND MORE HORROR STORIES RELATED TO THE XRV).

NHTSA ID

10062010

Incident

Mar 4, 2004

Mileage

20,000 mi

THE ENGINE SHUT OFF 44 TIMES AND THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM MELTED. SLIDE ROOM LEAKS WHEN RAINING. SCREWS PROTRUDE THROUGH JELLCOAT, ENTRANCE DOOR WON'T STAY LATCHED AND THE AIR CONDITIONER WON'T COOL. HEATER MALFUNCTIONED, SHOWER INSTALLED UPSIDE DOWN AND THE FLOOR IS SEPARATED. THE COUNTER TOPS ARE SCRATCHED. WHEEL SEALS LEAKED GREASE ONTO BRAKES. FRONT WINDSHIELD POPPED OUT. TRANSMISSION SHIPPED WITH WRONG FLUID. STEERING MECHANISM EXHIBITED LOUD GROWLING NOISE AND REAR EXIT WINDOW TOO HEAVY AND UNSAFE. *TT PH

NHTSA ID

568417

Incident

Oct 1, 2001

Mileage

4,600 mi