NHTSA vehicle safety data

2009 Forest River Cardinal Recalls & Complaints

The 2009 Forest River Cardinal has 1 NHTSA recall campaign and 5 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Forest River dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2009 Forest River Cardinal. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

2009 Forest River Cardinal owner complaints

Owners have filed 5 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Forest River Cardinal, describing incidents dated August 26, 2009 to April 6, 2012.

Most-cited components

Tires 3 complaints
Equipment 1 complaint
Suspension 1 complaint

Of the 5 complaints on file, 1 reports a crash; across all 5 complaints, owners report 2 injuries (owner-reported, not verified by NHTSA).

Newest complaints

ODI #10467964 · Filed July 27, 2012
ON APRIL 6, 2012 I WAS ON MY WAY TO A CAMP GROUND WHEN ONE OF THE TIRES ON MY CAMPER BLOW OUT. THE ONLY DAMAGE WAS TO THE TIRE. ON JULY 18, 2012 I AGAIN WAS ON MY WAY TO A CAMP GROUND AND THE SECOND TIRE CAME A PART. THIS TIME THE TIRE DAMAGED THE CAMPER. THE FOLLOWING IS TIRE INFORMATION: HERITAGE…
ODI #10368172 · Filed November 29, 2010
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL RV EQUIPPED WITH A DOMETIC AWNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE AWNING OPENED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE ONTO THE EMERGENCY LANE. THE DEALER TORE THE AWNING FABRIC WHILE THE RV REMAINED IN THE EMERGENCY LANE. THE DEALER STATED…
ODI #10360764 · Filed October 16, 2010
GOODYEAR TIRE LESS THAN ONE YEAR OLD BLEW OUT CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE TRAILER AND LOSS OF THE TIRE. *TR

Read all 5 complaints

MISLABELED CARGO CARRYING CAPACITY/FMVSS 120

NHTSA #09V148000 · Equipment — Other — Labels · NHTSA notice

Reported May 1, 2009 · FOREST RIVER, INC.

Potentially affected: 176 vehicles

Owners notified April 15, 2009 · Vehicles built June 11, 2008 – November 21, 2008 (per NHTSA)

Defect description

FOREST RIVER IS RECALLING 176 MY 2009 CARDINAL FIFTH WHEEL TRAILERS. THESE TRAILERS FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 120, "TIRE SELECTION AND RIMS FOR MOTOR VEHICLES OTHER THAN PASSENGER CARS." DUE TO FAULTY SCALES IN THE PRODUCTION FACILITY, THE LABEL FOR THE CARGO CARRYING CAPACITY VALUES IS INCORRECT.

Safety consequence

FAILURE TO FOLLOW PROPER VEHICLE LOADING SPECIFICATIONS OR MISPRINT LABEL COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Manufacturer remedy

FOREST RIVER WILL BE MAILING CORRECTED LABELS TO RETAIL PURCHASERS, AND/OR TO DEALERS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 15, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FOREST RIVER AT 1-574-206-7600.

Notes

OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO <A HREF=HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV>HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV</A> .

try.vin has no NCAP crash-test rating on file for the 2009 Forest River Cardinal. NHTSA rates some vehicles by body style — pickups by cab, vans by roof height — so check nhtsa.gov/ratings.

5 owner complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2009 Forest River Cardinal.

Tires

ODI #10467964

Incident: April 6, 2012 · Filed: July 27, 2012

ON APRIL 6, 2012 I WAS ON MY WAY TO A CAMP GROUND WHEN ONE OF THE TIRES ON MY CAMPER BLOW OUT. THE ONLY DAMAGE WAS TO THE TIRE. ON JULY 18, 2012 I AGAIN WAS ON MY WAY TO A CAMP GROUND AND THE SECOND TIRE CAME A PART. THIS TIME THE TIRE DAMAGED THE CAMPER. THE FOLLOWING IS TIRE INFORMATION: HERITAGE TRAIL TRAC AP LT235/85R16E DOT OJ OR4JOV 5207 PRESSURE 80 LBS. *TR

Equipment

ODI #10368172

Incident: November 13, 2010 · Filed: November 29, 2010

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL RV EQUIPPED WITH A DOMETIC AWNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE AWNING OPENED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE ONTO THE EMERGENCY LANE. THE DEALER TORE THE AWNING FABRIC WHILE THE RV REMAINED IN THE EMERGENCY LANE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE AWNING MOTOR FAILED CAUSING THE ARMS TO RELEASE SINCE THEY WERE NOT LOCKED. THE DEALER REPLACED THE MOTOR AND ADDED A LOCK. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER WHO OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE AWNING SERIAL AND PART NUMBERS WERE UNAVAILABLE.

Tires

ODI #10360764

Incident: September 10, 2010 · Filed: October 16, 2010

GOODYEAR TIRE LESS THAN ONE YEAR OLD BLEW OUT CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE TRAILER AND LOSS OF THE TIRE. *TR

Tires

ODI #10289174

Incident: August 26, 2009 · Filed: October 20, 2009

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL TRAILER(NA). THE VEHICLE HAS KENDA KARRIER LOWSTAR TIRES, ST255/80/16(NA). WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS; THE TRAILER BEGAN TO SWAY. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IN THE EMERGENCY LANE, SHUT THE ENGINE OFF AND INSPECT THE TRAILER. THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER TIRES EXHIBITED EXCESSIVE TIRE SEPARATION. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE DRIVING WITH CAUTION. THE TIRES WERE REPLACED. THE CONTACT HAD CONCERNS OF THE SAFETY RISK INVOLVED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 6,000. THE DOT NUMBER WAS UNAVAILABLE.

Suspension

ODI #10284602

Crash 2 injuries

Incident: September 6, 2009 · Filed: September 19, 2009

2009 FOREST RIVER CEDAR CREEK G2 FIFTH WHEEL RV WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WHEN THE SHACKLES AND U BOLTS SECURING THE TRAILER SUSPENSION CAME OFF, AS PER THE MANUFACTURER THEY WERE NOT PROPERLY SECURED BY LOCKING BOLTS, AND THE AXLES WERE MISSING THE GUIDE PINS FOR THE LEAF SPRINGS . THE TRAILER HAD LESS THAN 700 MILES ON IT AT HE TIME. AN ACCIDENT OCCURRED, AND THE FOREST RIVER COMPANY IS TRYING TO SILENCE THE OWNER OF THE TRAILER BY TELLING HIM NOT TO REPORT IT TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY, BUT RATHER THEY WILL REBUILD THE RV! *TR

Other Forest River Cardinal model years

Check your 2009 Forest River Cardinal VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your Forest River Cardinal at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

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