2017 Forest River Cardinal Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Cardinal years
- Not enough data 2nd of 26 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 3 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 7 complaints with NHTSA about the 2017 Forest River Cardinal. That ranks 2nd out of 26 Cardinal model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is tires (3 complaints, 43%), typically at around 3,900 miles. There are 3 safety recalls covering this model year.
- 7owner complaints
- 3safety recalls
- 0NHTSA investigations
- 0complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2017 Forest River Cardinal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tires | 3 | 43% | 3,900 | — | — |
| Structure | 2 | 29% | 3,900 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 2 | 29% | — | — | — |
| Wheels | 2 | 29% | 3,900 | — | — |
| Equipment | 1 | 14% | — | — | — |
| Suspension | 1 | 14% | 4,000 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2017 Forest River Cardinal recalls (3)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Equipment:recreational vehicle/trailer; structure
Problem: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Coachmen Cross Country, 2015 Coachmen Encore, 2016-2020 Coachmen Mirada, 2018-2021 Coachmen Sportscoach, 2019-2021 Forest River Berkshire, 2011-2016 Forest River Blue Ridge, 2014-2019 Forest River Cardinal, 2014-2020 Forest River Cedar Creek, 2014-2021 Forest River Georgetown, 2019 Forest River Legacy, and 2017-2018 Forest River Riverstone recreational vehicles equipped with Hehr 6400 Series windows. The adhesive that bonds the vented portion of the window may fail.
Risk: Adhesive failure may cause the vent portion of the window to detach, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the windows, and replace the vent if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 2, 2021. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-825-8600. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-1380.
Equipment:other:labels
Problem: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Cardinal recreational trailers, model CAF3250RL. The Federal Placard on these vehicles overstates the Gross Axle Weight Rating capacity (GAWR) by 840lbs. for each axle. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of 49 CFR Part 567, "Certification."
Risk: The incorrect GAWR makes the Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) label incorrect and may result in the vehicle being overloaded, affecting the vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will provide a new Federal Placard with the correct GAWR and a new CCC label, free of charge. The recall began on June 6, 2017. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-206-7600. Forest River's number for this recall is 15-05192017-0412.
Equipment:other:labels; tires
Problem: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Cardinal recreational vehicles, models CAF3455RL, CAF3825FL and CAF3850RL, manufactured from November 20, 2015, through April 1, 2016. These vehicles may be equipped with a Federal Placard that indicates an incorrect tire and rim combination. The placard states the tire and rim combination is ST235/80R16 LRE Tires with 80 PSI and a rim designation of 16X6.00JJ, when the actual combination on the vehicle is LT235/85T16 LRG Tires with 110 PSI and a rim designation of 16X6.00HD. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Risk: If the operator inflates the tires to the PSI indicated on the label, the tires will be operated while being under-inflated causing pre-mature wear and a possible tire blow out, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, and provide a new corrected Federal Placard, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on, or about, June 23, 2016. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-206-7600. Forest River's number for this recall is 15-04172016-0179.
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.
The contact owns a 2017 Forest River Cardinal. The contact stated that while her husband was hauling the fifth wheel at approximately 60-65 MPH, the two front emergency exit windows detached. While driving at undisclosed speeds, the rear window detached from the RV. The contact stated that the…
The slide out system cause the frame to separate from the wall of the travel trailer. This allowed water to get into the wall which rotted the support. When traveling, the slide out would separate on its own. Fortunately, I was made aware by a friend and was able to take the RV to the dealership…
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 forest river cardinal. The contact stated that since owning the trailer, he has had to replace all four tires a total of 11 times due to tire blowouts. While driving 55 mph, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the trailer. The contact pulled over and upon…
We have a 2017 forest river cardinal. We have only taken our trailer out five times for approximately 3900 miles. The last trip to arizona on interstate 40 toward flagstaff. The temperature was around 80 degrees with light rain. The psi was 80 lbs in this tire when it blew out on july 12th, 2019…
Purchased new 5th wheel trailer in december of 2017 with goodyear marathon st235/80r16, load range e tires installed. While driving at 55 mph on a somewhat curvy and hilly state highway with 4800 miles on rv, the left rear tire tread came completely off the tire damaging the rv in the process. I…
Other Forest River Cardinal years
← 2016 Cardinal · 2018 Cardinal →
See all Forest River Cardinal problems by year, every Forest River model, or the VIN decoder.
Similar Forest River models
Embed this 2017 Forest River Cardinal badge on your site
Copy this code into your blog or forum post. It shows live complaint and recall counts and links back here.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2017 Forest River Cardinal?
Owners most often report tires, structure, unknown or other problems. The top one, tires, accounts for 3 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2017 Forest River Cardinal?
Yes, 3 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2017 Forest River Cardinal a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Cardinal model years, the 2017 has too little data to compare. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.