RecallRadar

Home → Forest River → Cardinal → 2009

2009 Forest River Cardinal Recalls & Complaints

1

open safety recall on record

Serious

5 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 2.00 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Serious09V148000

Equipment:Other:Labels

FAILURE TO FOLLOW PROPER VEHICLE LOADING SPECIFICATIONS OR MISPRINT LABEL COULD raises the risk of A CRASH.

Remedy & full details

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.

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.

Complaint volume

5 this model-year 10 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

1Crashes
0Fires
2Injuries
0Deaths

Across 5 complaints. Severity Index 2.00.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Tires3 · 60%Suspension1 · 20%Equipment1 · 20%
  1. Tires — 3 reports
  2. Suspension — 1 reports
  3. Equipment — 1 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1998 (1) · 1999 (1) · 2000 (1) · 2001 (2) · 2002 (2) · 2003 (3) · 2004 (2) · 2005 (2) · 2006 (1) · 2009 · 2010 · 2013 (2) · 2014 (4) · 2015 (1) · 2016 (4) · 2017 (3) · 2019 (1) · 2020 (1) · 2021 (6) · 2023

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.

From the same data desk

Independent sites, same maintainer, same open-data standards.

TireFit
Is that tyre actually right for your car?
2,808 fitment guides
FuelFacts
What that trip really costs in fuel
Live consumption data
CostCompare
What things cost, city by city
2,123 comparisons