NHTSA vehicle safety data

1997 Winnebago Brave Recalls & Complaints

The 1997 Winnebago Brave has 1 NHTSA recall campaign and 3 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Winnebago dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 1997 Winnebago Brave. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

1997 Winnebago Brave owner complaints

Owners have filed 3 complaints with NHTSA about the 1997 Winnebago Brave, describing incidents dated August 15, 2017.

Most-cited components

Parking Brake 1 complaint
Power Train 1 complaint
Unknown or Other 1 complaint

Newest complaints

ODI #11102190 · Filed June 15, 2018
THE SPARE TIRE HOIST MALFUNCTIONED AND ALLOWED THE SPARE TIRE TO LOWER ITSELF DOWN TO THE ROAD. FORTUNATELY, NOTICED THE SPARE TIRE DANGLING BY THE WIRE ALMOST ON THE ROAD WHEN I WAS STOPPED GETTING GAS. WAS ABLE TO UNHOOK THE SPARE FROM THE WIRE AND STORE THE SPARE INSIDE THE MOTOR HOME. SEEMS TO…
ODI #749799 · Filed August 4, 2001
JULY 16, 2001 RECEIVED LETTER FROM CHEVROLET DIVISION-GENERAL MOTORS REGARDING CRASHES CAUSED BY AUTO BRAKE/PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM NOT HOLDING WHEN VEHICLES PARKED. MY AUTO BRAKE/PARKING BRAKE INEFFECTIVE SINCE VEHICLE FIRST DELIVERED, DEALER EXPLAINED AS SLOP/LAG IN TRANSMISSION PARK POSITION…
ODI #562290 · Filed May 15, 2002
CONSUMER REQUESTS RECALL REPAIRS ON HIS P-30 CHASSIS MOTOR HOME WHICH IS ROLLING FORWARD WITH PARKING BRAKES APPLIED, CONSUMER WAS TOLD BY DEALER NOT TO PARK ON HILLS. *TT THE LOCAL CHEVY DEALER FOUND THAT THE TRANSMISSION SEALS WERE DEFECTIVE AND THAT THE AUTO BRAKE SYSTEM NEVER WORKED. THEY…

Read all 3 complaints

REFRIGERATORS/POSSIBLE FIRE/NORCOLD

NHTSA #10V525000 · Equipment · NHTSA notice

Reported October 26, 2010 · WINNEBAGO INDUSTRIES, INC.

Potentially affected: 18,461 vehicles

Owners notified December 15, 2010

Defect description

WINNEBAGO IS RECALLING CERTAIN RECREATIONAL VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 1200-SERIES NORCOLD REFRIGERATORS. THE POPULATION OF REFRIGERATORS BEING ADDRESSED CONTAINS EITHER A SENSING ALGORITHM OR THERMAL SWITCH TO SHUT OFF POWER TO THE REFRIGERATOR WHEN HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE DETECTED IN ORDER TO PREVENT A POTENTIAL FIRE. THE RESPONSE TIMES OF THE SENSOR ALGORITHM AND THERMAL SWITCH DEVICES TO STOP POWER ARE NOT SUFFICIENT.

Safety consequence

THE SENSING ALGORITHM OR THERMAL SWITCH INSTALLED TO SHUT OFF POWER TO THE REFRIGERATOR WHEN HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE DETECTED DUE TO A POSSIBLE HYDROGEN GAS LEAK MAY NOT SHUT OFF IN SUFFICIENT TIME TO PREVENT A FIRE.

Manufacturer remedy

WINNEBAGO IS WORKING WITH NORCOLD TO IDENTIFY AND NOTIFY ANY AFFECTED OWNERS. OWNERS WILL BE INSTRUCTED TO CONTACT NORCOLD DEALERS TO RECEIVE THE REMEDY FREE OF CHARGE. PLEASE SEE NORCOLD'S DEFECT REPORT 10E-049 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. THE RECALL BEGAN DURING DECEMBER 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NORCOLD AT 1-800-767-9101 OR WINNEBAGO AT 1-641-585-3535.

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 1997 Winnebago Brave. NHTSA rates some vehicles by body style — pickups by cab, vans by roof height — so check nhtsa.gov/ratings.

3 owner complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 1997 Winnebago Brave.

Unknown or Other

ODI #11102190

Incident: August 15, 2017 · Filed: June 15, 2018

THE SPARE TIRE HOIST MALFUNCTIONED AND ALLOWED THE SPARE TIRE TO LOWER ITSELF DOWN TO THE ROAD. FORTUNATELY, NOTICED THE SPARE TIRE DANGLING BY THE WIRE ALMOST ON THE ROAD WHEN I WAS STOPPED GETTING GAS. WAS ABLE TO UNHOOK THE SPARE FROM THE WIRE AND STORE THE SPARE INSIDE THE MOTOR HOME. SEEMS TO BE SIMILAR TO PROBLEM ON 1995 WINNEBAGOS FOR WHICH A RECALL WAS ISSUED. COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC FOR CAR FOLLOWING IF SPARE HAD RELEASED BY ITSELF WHILE I WAS TRAVELLING TRIED TO GET WINNEBAGO TO FIX IT BUT THEY SAID IT WAS MY PROBLEM.

Parking Brake

ODI #749799

Filed: August 4, 2001

JULY 16, 2001 RECEIVED LETTER FROM CHEVROLET DIVISION-GENERAL MOTORS REGARDING CRASHES CAUSED BY AUTO BRAKE/PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM NOT HOLDING WHEN VEHICLES PARKED. MY AUTO BRAKE/PARKING BRAKE INEFFECTIVE SINCE VEHICLE FIRST DELIVERED, DEALER EXPLAINED AS SLOP/LAG IN TRANSMISSION PARK POSITION. RECENTLY I DISCOVERED VEHICLE DOES NOT ACTUALLY HAVE A PARKING PAWL IN TRANSMISSION, IT WAS REMOVED AT SOME TIME BY CHEVROLET. HAVE CALLED CHEVROLET CUSTOMER SEVICE, THEN HAVE BEEN NO HELP AND PEOPLE ARE NOT TRAINED TO FIELD CALLS FROM CUSTOMERS REGARDING MOTOR HOMES. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION. ONE OF THEIR SUGGESTIONS IN THEIR LETTER WAS TO AVOID PARKING ON HILLS. THIS HARD TO DO IN MAJORITY OF CAMPGROUNDS. CHEVROLET CUSTOMER SERVICE ALSO REFUSES TO PROVIDE PHONE NUMBER FOR PEOPLE WITH EXPERIENCE ON MOTORHOMES, AND PER THEM THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CALL.*AK

Power Train

ODI #562290

Filed: May 15, 2002

CONSUMER REQUESTS RECALL REPAIRS ON HIS P-30 CHASSIS MOTOR HOME WHICH IS ROLLING FORWARD WITH PARKING BRAKES APPLIED, CONSUMER WAS TOLD BY DEALER NOT TO PARK ON HILLS. *TT THE LOCAL CHEVY DEALER FOUND THAT THE TRANSMISSION SEALS WERE DEFECTIVE AND THAT THE AUTO BRAKE SYSTEM NEVER WORKED. THEY REPLACED THE DEFECTIVE SEALS, THE BRAKE SHOES AND ADJUSTED THE SYSTEM. FOR THE FIRST TIME, CONSUMER EXPLAINS, THE PARKING SYSTEM HOLDS. *JG

Other Winnebago Brave model years

Check your 1997 Winnebago Brave VIN

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

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