RoadVitals

1997 Newmar Dutch Star 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.
3
Latest Mar 9, 2010
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.
0
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 Apr 19, 2004

What this page shows

Our database holds 3 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1997 Newmar Dutch Star. 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 1–3 of 3

Driver assistance
Filed Mar 9, 2010

RUNAWAY MOTORHOME ON A 1997 FORD CHASSIS IN 2009 ON INTERSTATE 85. WHEN I REALIZED THE VEHICLE WAS ACCELERATING I TRIED TO BRAKE BUT TO NO AVAIL. I TOOK AN APPROACHING EXIT AND TURNED THE ENGINE OFF. THE MOTORHOME WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR FACILITY WHERE THE MECHANIC LUBRICATED THE LINKAGE. WHEN THE PROBLEM CONTINUED I CALLED FORD AND THEY AUTHORIZED A FIX FOR A RECALL PROBLEM INVOLVING THE BRAKE IN WHICH A FIRE COULD START. THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION OCCURRED AT LEAST 2 MORE TIMES IN THE SAME YEAR ON A TRIP FROM SOUTH CAROLINA TO CALIFORNIA. I REALIZED THAT THE ACCELERATION SEEMED TO OCCUR IF THE CRUISE CONTROL CAUSED THE GEAR TO DOWNSHIFT DUE TO HIGHWAY INCLINE. AFTER RESEARCHING ON THE INTERNET IT APPEARS FORD HAS HAD OTHER UNINTENDED ACCELERATION PROBLEM. SOME DATES AND FIGURES ARE ONLY ESTIMATES. *TR

NHTSA ID
10318048
Incident
Feb 15, 2009
Mileage
22,000 mi
BrakesPowertrain (other)
Filed Aug 13, 2009

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 NEWMAR DUTCH STAR RV. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH ON A STEEP MOUNTAIN, THERE WAS NO RESPONSE WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE TRANSMISSION FAILED TO LOCK INTO GEAR WHILE DRIVING DOWNHILL. AFTER THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED MULTIPLE TIMES, THE RV SLOWED DOWN. THE BRAKES WERE FUNCTIONAL UNTIL HE REACHED HIS DESTINATION. THE RV WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR INSPECTION AND THEY STATED THAT THE BRAKE SYSTEM WAS BURNING. THE TECHNICIAN REPLACED THE REAR BRAKE SYSTEM AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 57,000. UPDATED 9/17/09 *CN THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD SHUT OFF BY ITSELF AFTER DRIVING FOR AN HOUR. THE CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO RE-SET THE CRUISE CONTROL, HE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT FOR A HALF HOUR. THE CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THE TRANSMISSION THAT WAS USED IN HIS RV WAS NO LONGER BEING USED FOR HIS PARTICULAR RV DUE TO ITS SHORTCOMINGS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT THERE WAS NO REMEDY.

NHTSA ID
10280374
Incident
Aug 4, 2009
Mileage
57,000 mi
Powertrain (other)
Filed Apr 19, 2004

ON 2 SEPARATE OCCASIONS REAR AXLE BOLT BROKE WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 4-5 MPH. THIS OCCURRED WITHIN 20,000 MILES. DEALERSHIP WILL BE NOTIFIED. *AK

NHTSA ID
10067351
Mileage
20,000 mi

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 .