FaultScore
See all results →
All makes Worst years, ranked Problems by part Problems by model year Recalls in Canada Compare two cars How we grade

FaultScore report

2005 Western Alpine Coach problems

Owners have filed 17 complaints about the 2005 Western Alpine Coach with NHTSA between 2006 and 2009. The largest single group is the steering. Across this model's run it ranks 1 of 3 worst.

Read the complaints What breaks Worst years for the Western Alpine Coach All 2005 cars
C

FaultScore 54/100

Higher is worse. Measured against the other years of the Western Alpine Coach.

How this is worked out

The numbers

17

Complaints

0

Crashes reported

0

Fires reported

0

Injuries reported

26,020 mi

Median mileage at failure

Half of reported failures happened before this

70%

Failed under 36,000 miles

Inside a typical bumper-to-bumper warranty

What kind of bad

The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.

Complaint volume 67 vs 50 Severity 0 vs 50 Early failure 100 vs 50
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 67
Against the median year of the Western Alpine Coach. 50 means typical for this model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 0
0% of these complaints involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of 9.7%.
Early failure — 100
70% of failures with a mileage on record happened under 36,000 miles, against a national rate of 29%.

How 2005 compares with every other Western Alpine Coach

Click any bar to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks on a 2005 Western Alpine Coach

Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.

Steering 15 88.2%

Median failure at 26,258 miles

Body & Structure 1 5.9%

Median failure at 25,782 miles

Electrical System 1 5.9%

When owners complained

A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single owner can see from inside their own car.

Dec 2006 peak 14 Aug 2009

The most recent complaints

In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.

at 26,258 miles Lake Havasu City, AZ

STEERING

I WAS MADE AWARE OF MY PROBLEM @ IRV2.COM FORUM (CAUTION LATE ALPINE OWNERS!!! STEERING BOX MOUNT ISSUE) WHEN I LOOKED UNDER MY COACH I FOUND THE SAME PROBLEM WITH MY STEERING MOUNT AS MOST OF THE OTHERS AT THE FORUM. I FOUND SMALL STRESS CRACKS AND PAINT FLAKING FROM STRESS ON THE BRACKET. HOPE SOMETHING CAN BE DONE BEFORE THEIR ARE SERIOUS PROBLEMS DOWN THE ROAD. THANKS.

NHTSA complaint #10280898 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 36,000 miles Anthem, AZ

STEERING

DEFECTIVE STEERING BRACKET ON ALPINE MOTORHOME.

NHTSA complaint #10272776 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Gallipolis, OH

STEERING

STEEL BRACKET CONNECTING THE POWER STEERING GEAR UNIT TO THE FRAME BENDS EXCESSIVELY WHENEVER OPERATING THE STEERING.

NHTSA complaint #10269490 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 25,782 miles Livingston, TX

STEERING

FAILURE: STEEL BRACKET CONNECTING POWER STEERING GEAR TO THE VEHICLE'S FRAME BENDS EXCESSIVELY WHENEVER OPERATING THE STEERING OCCURRENCE: WHENEVER VEHICLE IS OPERATED CORRECTION: NONE AT THIS TIME.

NHTSA complaint #10268936 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 25,782 miles Livingston, TX

STRUCTURE

FAILURE: STEEL BRACKET CONNECTING POWER STEERING GEAR TO THE VEHICLE'S FRAME BENDS EXCESSIVELY WHENEVER OPERATING THE STEERING OCCURRENCE: WHENEVER VEHICLE IS OPERATED CORRECTION: NONE AT THIS TIME.

NHTSA complaint #10268936 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Fremont, CA

STEERING

DEFLECTION OF WEAK STEERING GEAR BRACKET. POSSIBLE STEERING FAILURE.

NHTSA complaint #10268851 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 49,648 miles Justin, TX

STEERING

STEERING BOX MOUNTING BRACKET IS WEAK AND ALLOWS MOVEMENT AND CRACKING OF THE MOUNTING BOX.

NHTSA complaint #10268878 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Hemet, CA

STEERING

WE HAVE A 2005 ALPINE MOTORCOACH, BUILT BY WESTERN RV, WE HAVE A STEERING BOX THAT IS FLEXING AND HAVE BEEN TOLD THIS COULD LEAD TO A PROBLEM. WE NEED TO MAKE YOU AWARE THAT THERE ARE QUITE A FEW ALPINE COACHES THAT APPEAR TO HAVE THIS SAME PROBLEM. THE DATE BELOW IS THE DATE WE PICKED UP OUR NEW COACH FROM THE DEALER.

NHTSA complaint #10268579 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 30,000 miles Chelan, WA

STEERING

THE STEEL BRACKET CONNECTING THE POWER STEERING GEAR TO THE MOTORHOME'S FRAME IS BENDING EXCESSIVELY WHENEVER THE WHEELS ARE TURNED. THIS WAS FIRST NOTED AFTER REPORTS FROM OTHER OWNERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM IN JAN. 2009. IT OCCURS WHENEVER THE MH IS USED.

NHTSA complaint #10268661 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Portland, OR

STEERING

OTHER ALPINE COACHES OF LIKE VINTAGE HAVE FOUND WHAT APPEARS TO BE A SERIOUS DEFECT IN THE STEERING BRACKET, AND THAT THIS IS A MATTER OF CONCERN TO ME.

NHTSA complaint #10268691 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 20,000 miles Livingston, TX

STEERING

FAILURE: STEEL BRACKET CONNECTING POWER STEERING GEAR TO THE VEHICLE'S FRAME BENDS EXCESSIVELY WHENEVER OPERATING THE STEERING OCCURRENCE: WHENEVER VEHICLE IS OPERATED.

NHTSA complaint #10268553 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 15,000 miles Sunnyvale, CA

STEERING

THE STEEL BRACKET HOLDING THE STEERING GEAR TO THE MAIN FRAME OF THE MOTORHOME BENDS EXCESSIVELY ON TWO AXIS WHENEVER THE STEERING WHEEL IS TURNED.

NHTSA complaint #10268563 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Sioux Falls, SD

STEERING

STEEL BRACKET CONNECTING POWER STEERING GEAR TO THE VEHICLE'S FRAME BENDS EXCESSIVELY WHENEVER OPERATING THE STEERING.

NHTSA complaint #10268573 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Huntington Beach, CA

STEERING

I'M CONCERNED ABOUT MY STEERING BRACKET BEING TO LIGHT WEIGHT BECAUSE OF OTHER ALPINES WITH THIS PROBLEM. MY COACH IS A 2005 AND FALLS WITHIN THE CONCERNED YEARS. MY BRACKET HAS NOT BROKEN, HOWEVER WHILE TURNING THE TIRES IN A PARKED POSITION, THE BRACKET DOES TWIST AND WILL EVENTUALLY FATIGUE. I'M VERY CONCERN AND WOULD LIKE AN ENGINEERED REINFORCED ADDITIONAL BRACKET. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A DANGEROUS CONDITION.

NHTSA complaint #10268578 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 20,000 miles Ellensburg, WA

STEERING

I AM AWARE OF THE FACT THAT OTHER ALPINE COACHES OF LIKE VINTAGE HAVE FOUND WHAT APPEARS TO BE A SERIOUS DEFECT IN THE STEERING BRACKET, AND THIS IS A MATTER OF CONCERN TO ME.

NHTSA complaint #10268410 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 42,300 miles Sioux Falls, SD

STEERING

STEERING BRACKET FLEXES DURING STEERING INPUT.

NHTSA complaint #10268435 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Coulee City, WA

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT A SAFETY RECALL THAT AFFECTS MY ALPINE COACH MOTOR HOME BUILT BY WESTER RECREATIONAL VEHICLES OF YAKIMA, WASHINGTON. THE RECALL NBR IS 04V372000, WRV CSAR NBR 1053 AND HAS TO DO WITH THE VANSCO MULTIPLEX MODULE. I CALLED WRV CUSTOMER SERVICE ON MONDAY, 12-18-2006 AND WAS REFERRED TO A VOICE MESSAGE BOX TO LEAVE A MESSAGE. MY MESSAGE WAS REAL SIMPLE. I WANTED SOMEONE TO CALL ME BACK AND TELL ME IF THE RECALL HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED ON MY COACH OR NOT. I TOOK DELIVERY ON 6-17-2004 AND HAVE YET TO HEAR FROM ANYONE CONCERNING THIS RECALL THAT DEFINITELY APPLIES TO MY COACH. ONE WOULD THINK WRV, INC WOULD BE MORE RESPONSIBLE AND RESPONSIVE WHEN IT COMES TO A SAFETY RECALL ISSUE. I'M NOT GOING TO PLAY THEIR USUAL GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE WHEN IT COMES TO THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY.

NHTSA complaint #10176831 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.