The Used Car Index

2021 Forest River Cardinal problems

NHTSA lists 1 complaints for the 2021 Forest River Cardinal, 0 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as FOREST RIVER CARDINAL.

At a glance

Complaints
1
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
6
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
4,480
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
3

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
STRUCTURE1100.0%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1100.0%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
structural or corrosion1100.0%1.00
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate1100.0%0.92

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 1 tagged complaints of 1 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

6 recalls.

24V272000

Date: 2024-04-17. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Forest River Cardinal, Wildcat, 2018-2019 Cedar Creek, 2021 Columbus, 2023 Continental Cargo, 2021-2024 Dynamax DX3, Dynamax Dynaquest XL, Dynamax Isata, Forest River IBEX, 2022-2024 Dynamax Europa, Forest River NOBO, 2022-2023 Forest River Sandstorm, Shockwave, Stealth, and 2021-2023 Dynamax Force trailers. The LED backlight circui (excerpt)

Consequence: A circuit board that overheats increases the risk of a fire. (excerpt)

Remedy: Dealers will disconnect and cut the circuit powering the LED backlights and terminate the wiring, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed by May 14, 2024. Owners may contact Suburban customer service at 1-574-247-9235 option 5; Cardinal & Wildcat customer service at 1-574-296-7700; Cedar Creek customer service at 1-260-593-4000; Columbus customer service at 1-574-821-1487; Contine (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

22V004000

Date: 2022-01-07. Systems: TIRES.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Prime Time Sanibel, Crusader, Forest River Cardinal, and Continental Cargo fifth wheel trailers, equipped with certain Sailun tires, size ST235/80R16/G. Due to a manufacturing issue, the tires may experience a belt separation.

Consequence: Belt separation could lead to loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the tire DOT codes, and replace the tires as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 1, 2022. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-825-4995. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-1449.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

21V988000

Date: 2021-12-17. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Cardinal fifth wheel recreational vehicles. The generator compartment may not be sealed properly, allowing carbon monoxide to enter the vehicle.

Consequence: Carbon monoxide inside the vehicle can increase the risk of injury or death.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the generator compartment for proper sealant and apply sealant if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 5, 2022. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-296-7700. Forest River's number for this recall is 15-1444.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

21V145000

Date: 2021-03-08. Systems: EQUIPMENT, TIRES.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2021 Cardinal and Wildcat Fifth Wheels trailers. The spare tire carrier may be installed incorrectly, allowing it to detach from the vehicle.

Consequence: A detached spare tire carrier can increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will secure the spare tire carrier, free of charge. The recall began March 24, 2021. Owners may contact Forest River Customer Service at 1-574-296-7700. Forest River's number for this recall is 15-1304.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

21V141000

Date: 2021-03-05. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2021 Cardinal CAF345RLX, CAF366DVLE, CAF390FBX and 2021 Wildcat WCF336RLS, WCF368MB vehicles. The furnace flue may become misaligned due to insufficient furnace hold screws that allow movement during travel.

Consequence: A misaligned furnace flue can allow furnace exhaust to leak into the living space, increasing the risk of injury or death.

Remedy: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will secure the furnace and align the flue, free of charge. The recall began March 24, 2021. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-296-7700. Forest River's number for this recall is 15-1302.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

20V655000

Date: 2020-10-26. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2021 Cardinal fifth wheel trailers. The fresh air intake sleeve for the furnace is too short and does not have proper connection of the furnace to the exterior, allowing furnace exhaust to enter the trailer.

Consequence: If exhaust enters the trailer, it can cause carbon monoxide poisoning, which can increase the risk of injury or death.

Remedy: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install the correct intake sleeve to allow for proper connection on the furnace, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2020. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-296-7700. Forest River's number for this recall is 15-1245.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

3 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1
VISIBILITY1
WHEELS1

10197035

Date: 2021-06-11. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

The holding tank monitor panel only allows for five holding tanks. The vehicle has six holding tanks. A separate holding tank monitor panel needs to be installed.

10193872

Date: 2021-05-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: WHEELS.

It was discovered that the manufacturing plant did not cut a stress relief line in the upper deck Driver Side and in on certain models, Passenger Side under the slide room(s). The upper deck in the Impression Fifth-Wheel needs to flex, without the "stress relief cut" the sidewall filon may crack und

10189522

Date: 2021-03-26. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: VISIBILITY.

The pleated shades covering the windows may retract on their own.

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
CARDINAL1

Same model, other years

All model years | All Forest River models

Other Forest River models, 2021

Sources

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