RoadVitals

2005 Forest River Cardinal Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
6
Latest Aug 16, 2011
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jul 29, 2008

What this page shows

Our database holds 6 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2005 Forest River Cardinal. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–6 of 6

Body & structure
Filed Aug 16, 2011

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORREST RIVER CARDINAL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRAME HAD CRACKS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE VEHICLE NEAR THE WHEELS. THE CONTACT FELT THAT THE FRAME WAS POORLY DESIGNED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND STATED THAT THE FRAME WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND THERE WERE NO RECALLS ADDRESSING THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,000.

NHTSA ID
10419628
Incident
May 16, 2011
Mileage
1,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Jun 17, 2009

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL 29TS FIFTH WHEEL TRAILER. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT THE REPAIR SHOP FOR AN UNRELATED ISSUE, THE MECHANIC DECIDED TO CHECK THE FRAME OF THE VEHICLE. A TRAILER WAS PREVIOUSLY SERVICED THERE AND A MECHANIC NOTICED THAT THE FRAME WAS CRACKED. AFTER INSPECTION, THE MECHANIC DISCOVERED THAT THE FRAME WAS ALSO CRACKED ON THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE AND NOTIFIED THE MANUFACTURER ABOUT THE ISSUE. THE MANUFACTURER AGREED TO REPAIR THE FRAME. THE CONTACT FEELS THAT THE FRAME SHOULD NOT HAVE COME APART ON THE VEHICLE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 6,000. UPDATED 06/24/09. *LJ UPDATED 06/26/09*JB

NHTSA ID
10274108
Incident
Jun 10, 2009
Mileage
6,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed May 28, 2009
Fire reported

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL 36TS RV. WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 55-60 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS, SMOKE APPEARED FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. IMMEDIATELY, THE VEHICLE BEGAN PULLING TO THE LEFT WITHOUT ASSISTANCE. THE DRIVER PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER AND INSPECTED UNDERNEATH. HE OBSERVED THAT THE REAR DRIVER'S SIDE SHACKLE FAILED. A MINOR TEMPORARY REPAIR WAS PERFORMED AND THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO RESUME NORMAL OPERATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTO BODY WELDER AND ANOTHER TEMPORARY REPAIR WAS PERFORMED. THE VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY BEING REPAIRED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, WHO STATED THAT THE MAIN FRAME EXHIBITED A SEVERE CRACK. THE CONTACT HAS PICTURES OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 6,000.

NHTSA ID
10270221
Incident
Apr 8, 2007
Mileage
4,000 mi
Tires & wheels
Filed Aug 29, 2008

TIRE FAILURE OF TWO KENDA KLEVER A/P TIRES ON MY 2005 CARDINAL 5TH WHEEL ON JULY 11, AND 12, 2008. FIRST FAILURE (LEFT REAR) OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 6 MILES EAST OF NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AK ON I-40 WESTBOUND AT 4:30 PM CST. SEVERE DAMAGE TO SIDE AND UNDERSIDE OF TRAILER. SECOND FAILURE (LEFT FRONT) OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 30 MILES NORTH OF MARSHALL, TX SOUTHBOUND U.S. 59 AT ABOUT 1:00 PM CST. SEVERE DAMAGE TO SIDE AND UNDERSIDE WITH ADDITIONAL DAMAGE TO SEWAGE DISPOSAL PIPEWORK. ALL TIRE WERE PROPERLY INFLATED AND DID NOT SHOW SIGNS OF FAILURE (BULGES, CRACKS OR SPLITS) TIRES WERE NOT HOT TO THE TOUCH WHEN CHECKED AT REST AREAS AND FOR FUEL STOPS. THESE TIRES WERE MANUFACTURED IN CHINA, AND WERE RECALLED IN 2007. I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF THE RECALL, BY EITHER KENDA (COOPER TIRE) OR FOREST RIVER THE MANUFACTURER OF THE RV. NO PUBLIC NOTIFICATION WAS MADE TO MY KNOWLEDGE. THE TIRE DEALER THAT INSPECTED THE TIRES AFTER THE FAILURES STATED THESE WERE TREAD SEPARATIONS CAUSED BY BELT FAILURES. THE "TYRE GUARD" WARRANTY THAT I PURCHASED AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE OF THE RV HAS STATED THEY DON'T COVER MANUFACTURERS DEFECTS AND HAVE DENIED THE CLAIM. THE TOTAL DAMAGE EXCEEDS $ 4000.00 TO THE RV AND ALL THE TIRES (FAILED AND 3 REMAINING) WERE REPLACED WITH NEW 235-85-R16 GOODYEAR WRANGLER HTS LOAD RATED E TIRES AT A COST OF 4 @ 145.00 EACH AND ONE @ $247.00 (FIRST FAILURE) ALL THE OLD TIRES (5) ARE AVAILABLE AND IN MY POSSESSION. *TR

NHTSA ID
10240166
Incident
Jul 11, 2008
Mileage
7,500 mi
Other / unspecified
Filed Aug 12, 2008

2005 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL TRAVEL TRAILER. DOMETIC REFRIGERATOR RECALL NOTICE. CONSUMER STATES THAT DOMETIC WILL NOT REPAIR THEIR PRODUCT. *NJ THE CONSUMER STATED HIS REFRIGERATOR LEAKED AMMONIA AND STOPPED WORKING. DOMETIC INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT SINCE THE UNIT WAS INOPERATIVE AND MORE THAN 3 YEARS OLD THEY WERE NOT GOING TO HELP WITH THE REPAIRS. *JB

NHTSA ID
10238233
Incident
Jul 17, 2008
Other / unspecified
Filed Jul 29, 2008

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL PULL BEHIND TRAILER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE COOLING UNIT ON THE REFRIGERATOR LEAKED AFTER A CRACK FORMED IN THE COOLING TUBE. THE CONTACT DISCONTINUED USING THE REFRIGERATOR. SOMEONE INFORMED THE CONTACT OF THE RECALL VIA THE INTERNET. HE CALLED DOMETIC AND HAS BEEN GETTING THE RUN AROUND EVER SINCE. NO REPAIRS HAVE BEEN MADE. THE RECALL NUMBER WAS UNKNOWN. THE VEHICLE IS A PULL BEHIND; THEREFORE, NO MILEAGE OR VIN INFORMATION WAS AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID
10236238
Incident
Mar 15, 2008

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .