FaultScore

FaultScore report

1997 Winnebago Adventurer problems

Owners have filed 11 complaints about the 1997 Winnebago Adventurer with NHTSA between 1998 and 2014. The largest single group is the brakes. Across this model's run it ranks 6 of 10 worst.

C

FaultScore 52/100

Higher is worse. Measured against the other years of the Winnebago Adventurer.

How this is worked out

The numbers

11

Complaints

1

Crashes reported

1

Fires reported

0

Injuries reported

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 27 vs 50 Severity 94 vs 50 Early failure not reported
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 27
Against the median year of the Winnebago Adventurer. 50 means typical for this model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 94
18.2% of these complaints involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of 9.7%.
Early failure — not reported
Too few complaints recorded a mileage to measure this.

How 1997 compares with every other Winnebago Adventurer

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 1997 Winnebago Adventurer

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

Brakes 4 36.4%

Median failure at 25,000 miles

Equipment & Accessories 2 18.2%
Other & Unspecified 1 9.1%
Fuel & Propulsion 1 9.1%
Electrical System 1 9.1%

0 crashes, 1 fires

Transmission & Drivetrain 1 9.1%

1 crashes, 0 fires

Engine & Cooling 1 9.1%

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.

Aug 1998 peak 2 Mar 2014

Recalls on the 1997 Winnebago Adventurer

A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous enough to fix for free — however old the car is.

Canada — Transport Canada

Canada runs its own recall programme, and its campaigns do not always mirror the American ones.

Recall 2010368 906 units in Canada

Accessories

Certain refrigerators used in Recreational Vehicles (RVs) contain either a sensing algorithm or a thermal switch to interrupt power when it detects high temperatures that could lead to a fire. An insufficient response time can result in the power not being shut-off in sufficient time to prevent a fire, which could result in property damage and/or personal injury. Correction: Dealers will install a thermocouple with a faster response time for all refrigerators with a sensing algorithm or a thermal switch.

Recalls cover specific build ranges, so check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or, in Canada, Transport Canada.

Complaints that involved harm

Reports where the owner recorded a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.

Cambridge, MD Crash

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCH

VEHICLE WAS PARKED, ENGINE RUNNING, WHEN IT STARTED TO ROLL BACKWARDS AND HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE. NO INJURIES, DAMAGE UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME. CONSUMER UNSURE IF EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS APPLIED.

NHTSA complaint #8011370 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Orange CIT, FL Fire

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING

FUEL PUMP FAILED TWO TIMES, SECOND FUEL PUMP FAILED DUE TO FAULTY POWER LINE WHICH RESULTED IN PUMP FIRE.

NHTSA complaint #541809 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

The most recent complaints

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

at 25,000 miles Fort Myers, FL

SERVICE BRAKES

I HAD PARKED THE VEHICLE IN AUTO PARK IN A GAS STATION IN ANCHORAGE AK. GOTTEN OUT AND WENT TO THE PUMPS, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ROLL. I RACED AROUND THE VEHICLE AND WAS ABLE TO GET INTO THE DRIVERS SEAT AND SLAMMED ON THE BRAKE; IT STOPPED, RELEASING THE BRAKE IT BEGAN TO ROLL INTO TRAFFIC. THE AUTO BRAKE WAS NOT FUNCTIONING. THE AUTO BRAKE LIGHT WAS NOW ON. I DROVE IT TO SOLDOTNA AK WHERE IT COST ME $800.00 TO REPAIR. THE AUTO BRAKE AGAIN FAILED THIS PAST SUMMER; I DID SOME RESEARCH AND LEARNED THAT THIS SYSTEM WAS DISCOVERED TO BECOME DEFECTIVE AND THAT GM HAD CHANGED THE SYSTEM BECAUSE IT FAILED. I HAVE HAD TWO MOTOR HOME SALESMEN TELL ME THAT MY VEHICLE HAD A RECALL. I CALLED GN AND THEY SAID THEY HAVE NO RECORD OF A RECALL! THE SYSTEM AS BUILT IS DOMED TO FAILURE AND IS DANGER TO DRIVERS WHO DO NOT KNOW THE AUTO PARK BRAKE CAN FAIL!!! . I HAVE CALLED GM AND RECEIVED NO HELPFUL INFORMATION.

NHTSA complaint #10574153 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 17,036 miles Bloomington, IL

PARKING BRAKE

THE VEHICLE WOULD ROLL WHETHER THE PARK BRAKE WAS USED OR NOT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES, THE EMERGENCY BRAKE GEAR WAS REPLACED 3-4 TIMES, BUT THE PROBLEM CONTINUED. THE CONSUMER RECEIVED A LETTER FROM CHEVROLET IN JANUARY 2001 ADVISING OF PARK BRAKE PROBLEMS. *AK *SCC

NHTSA complaint #10044794 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 43,500 miles Barnstable, MA

PARKING BRAKE

THE PARK BRAKE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO GEAR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO REPLACED THE PARK BRAKE UNIT. *NLM PH

NHTSA complaint #10019993 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Cambridge, MD Crash

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCH

VEHICLE WAS PARKED, ENGINE RUNNING, WHEN IT STARTED TO ROLL BACKWARDS AND HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE. NO INJURIES, DAMAGE UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME. CONSUMER UNSURE IF EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS APPLIED.

NHTSA complaint #8011370 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Williamsburg, VA

PARKING BRAKE

PARKING BRAKES DOESN'T HOLD AS GOOD AS IT SHOULD, ADVISE R&R TRANS BRAKE & INSPECTED, ADJUST TRANS BRAKE SHOES, EMERGENCY BRAKE CABLE & AUTO PARK CABLE.

NHTSA complaint #9004368 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Mechanicsville, VA

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

ENGINE SIMPLY QUIT WITHOUT WARNING, HOWEVER IT RESTARTED FAIRLY QUICKLY EACH OF THE 6 OR 7 TIMES THAT IT QUIT, ON 11/25/00 THE ENGINE WOULD NOT RESTART AND HAD TO BE TOWED TO A REPAIR FACILITY, WHICH REVEALED THAT THE FUEL PUMP WAS INOPERABLE, UNIT THE PUMP ATTACHES TO SHOWED INDICATION OF ELECTRONIC SHORTING AT THE PLUG IN AREA, FUEL PUMP REPLACED. CJ

NHTSA complaint #559205 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Grants PAS, OR

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

BUTANE TANK HANGS BELOW THE BODY OF THE VEHICLE BECAUSE IT IS NOT A CORRECT SIZE. YH

NHTSA complaint #552481 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Orange CIT, FL Fire

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING

FUEL PUMP FAILED TWO TIMES, SECOND FUEL PUMP FAILED DUE TO FAULTY POWER LINE WHICH RESULTED IN PUMP FIRE.

NHTSA complaint #541809 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Lubec, ME

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

ENGINE TURNED OVER, HOWEVER WOULD NOT START. QCAW

NHTSA complaint #542349 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Brinnon, WA

EQUIPMENT:MECHANICAL:CARRIER/RACK

SPARE TIRE , LOCATED AT EXTREME REAR OF 371/2 FOOT MOTORHOME, DROPPED DOWN 12 TO 14 INCHES BELOW THE CHASSIS BEFORE BEING DISCOVERED DUE TO SPARE TIRE CARRIER HOIST BECOMING LOOSE PRIOR TO/AFTER RECALL (97V-012).

NHTSA complaint #828177 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Brinnon, WA

EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS

BOLT AND SELF-LOCKING NUT ASSEMBLY HOLDING TAG AXEL TO FRAME BECAME LOOSE ON LEFT SIDE OF MOTORHOME.

NHTSA complaint #540431 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.