1996 Fleetwood Southwind Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Southwind years
- Far more complaints than other years 5th of 28 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 1 recall: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 11 complaints with NHTSA about the 1996 Fleetwood Southwind. That ranks 5th out of 28 Southwind model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is visibility (3 complaints, 27%), typically at around 20,500 miles. There is 1 safety recall covering this model year.
- 11owner complaints
- 1safety recalls
- 0NHTSA investigations
- 0complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 1996 Fleetwood Southwind problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visibility | 3 | 27% | 20,500 | — | — |
| Steering | 2 | 18% | — | — | — |
| Electrical System | 1 | 9% | — | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 1 | 9% | — | — | — |
| Equipment | 1 | 9% | 66,160 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 1 | 9% | — | — | — |
| Parking Brake | 1 | 9% | 40,690 | — | — |
| Power Train | 1 | 9% | 66,160 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | 9% | — | — | — |
| Structure | 1 | 9% | — | — | — |
| Suspension | 1 | 9% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
1996 Fleetwood Southwind recalls (1)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Electrical system:wiring:fuses and circuit breakers
Problem: The electric wire used to power the expandable room hydraulic pump motor was not equipped with a circuit breaker. Overheating of the wire can occur with incorrect expandable room operation.
Risk: This condition can cause the wire insulation to melt, causing smoke and possible fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a circuit breaker to the expandable room system pump motor wire. Fleetwood will also provide a vehicle label to identify the location of the circuit breaker, and will provide owner's manual literature to identify the circuit breaker location.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
My father and his friend both died from carbon monoxide poisoning while sleeping in a fleetwood southwind motorhome in november of 1999. Carbon monoxide from the onan generator filled the motor home with the deadly fumes. We are currently in litigation with fleetwood, onan and the dealership…
Failure of the automatic park brake on a chevy p30 chassis. *ak
Purchased a 1996 fleetwood southwind 34' motorhome (gm chassis) from giant rv in upland and after only 100 miles of driving, both driver side rear wheels separated from the axle. I believe the axle shaft broke but giant rv will not talk to me about it. *la
Windshield falling out
Windshield has started to separate from seal at top on both sides. Dealer will be notified. *ak consumer adds passenger side exterior rubber gasket is not staying attached to fiberglass body of motorhome, causing windshield to tip out at top corner. Dealer took glass out and reset. Consumer noticed…
Other Fleetwood Southwind years
← 1995 Southwind · 1997 Southwind →
See all Fleetwood Southwind problems by year, every Fleetwood model, or the VIN decoder.
Similar Fleetwood models
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 1996 Fleetwood Southwind?
Owners most often report visibility, steering, electrical system problems. The top one, visibility, accounts for 3 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 1996 Fleetwood Southwind?
Yes, 1 safety recall. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 1996 Fleetwood Southwind a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Southwind model years, the 1996 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.