The Used Car Index

2016 Forest River Salem problems

NHTSA lists 9 complaints for the 2016 Forest River Salem, 0 of them mention a crash and 1 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 SALEM.

At a glance

Complaints
9
With crash
0
With fire
1
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
8
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
365,885
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
1

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
UNKNOWN OR OTHER444.4%
WHEELS333.3%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM222.2%
EQUIPMENT222.2%
STRUCTURE222.2%
SUSPENSION111.1%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
STRUCTUREBODY2
EQUIPMENTRECREATIONAL VEHICLE/TRAILER1

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
mechanical failure555.6%0.83
fire or overheating111.1%0.92
fluid or fuel leak111.1%0.92
loss of control111.1%0.78
unclear111.1%0.98
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate666.7%0.77
low222.2%0.75
high111.1%0.99

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 9 tagged complaints of 9 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.

8 recalls.

25V682000

Date: 2025-10-10. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Forest River Aurora, Coachmen Catalina, 2026 Coachmen Viking, Coachmen Clipper, 2016-2026 Wildwood, and Salem recreational trailers. The distribution panel wire may be connected to the battery without over current protection.

Consequence: Unprotected wiring can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Dealers will relocate the distribution panel wire to the correct side of the breaker, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2025. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-825-4995. Forest River's number for this recall is 205-1987.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

18V550000

Date: 2018-08-21. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2014-2019 Forest River Salem, Wildcat Maxx, Wildwood, Vibe, and Rainier recreational trailers. The break-away safety switch may not have been wired to a constant power source, and, as a result, the switch may be inadvertently disconnected from the trailer house battery causing the brakes to not engage if the trailer detaches from the tow vehi (excerpt)

Consequence: If the trailer brakes cannot engage if the trailer detaches from tow vehicle, there would be an increased risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a new wiring harness to reroute the wiring, free of charge. The recall began September 25, 2018. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-503-831-5410. Forest River's number for this recall is 22/30-0824. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

18V436000

Date: 2018-06-27. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forest River Wildwood, and 2016-2019 Forest River Salem recreational trailers. The outside auxiliary shower faucet cover may cover the water heater exhaust panel when opened.

Consequence: The covered water heater exhaust panel could increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Forest River has notified owners, and dealers will install a replacement outside shower, free of charge. The recall began on July 24, 2018. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-534-3167. Forest River's number for this recall is 44-0762.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

17V756000

Date: 2017-11-22. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2003-2018 Forest River Berkshire, Charleston, Rockport, Cedar Creek, Cherokee, Riverstone, Salem, Sandpiper, Sierra, Vengeance, Wildcat, Wildwood, XLR Boost, Cargo Mate, Continental Cargo, motorhomes, recreational trailers, toyhaulers, cargo trailers and restroom trailers and 2009-2018 Coachmen Mirada, Pursuit, Concord, Leprechaun, Freelander, (excerpt)

Consequence: In the event of a fire, if the fire extinguisher does not function properly, it can increase the risk of injury. (excerpt)

Remedy: Forest River will notify owners, instructing them to contact Kidde for a replacement fire extinguisher, free of charge. The recall began on December 27, 2017. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-800-348-7440, or Kidde customer service toll free at 1-855-262-3540, or online at www.kidde.com and click on "Product Safety Recall" for more information. Forest River's number for thi (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V831000

Date: 2015-12-10. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain model year 2016 Evo, Salem, Sandstorm, Shockwave, Stealth, and Wildwood recreational trailers. The affected vehicles were mistakenly not equipped with a carbon monoxide detector to warn occupants of elevated levels of carbon monoxide.

Consequence: If occupants are not warned elevated carbon monoxide levels, they are at an increased risk of injury.

Remedy: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will remove the existing Liquid Propane (L.P.) Detector and install a combination L.P./carbon monoxide detector, free of charge. The recall began on January 27, 2016. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-909-873-3777, extension 53. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-12072015-0119.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V645000

Date: 2015-10-13. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain model year 2016 Salem recreational trailers manufactured June 2, 2015, to October 6, 2015 and 2015 Wildwood recreational trailers manufactured June 3, 2015, to October 1, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the tire and wheel placard incorrectly states the wheel rim and tire size. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of 4 (excerpt)

Consequence: If the incorrect tire and rim is installed, there may be instability of the vehicle when towing, increasing the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Forest River will notify owners and will provide a corrected tire placard, free of charge. The recall began on October 26, 2015. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-800-453-6064. Forest River's recall number is 19-10082015-0093. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V359000

Date: 2015-06-09. Systems: SUSPENSION.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain model year 2016 Evo, Salem, Sandstorm, Shockwave, Stealth, Wildwood, Cherokee Grey Wolf, Wildcat Maxx, Vibe, R-Pod, and Surveyor trailers. In the affected trailers, the studs that are used to attach the wheels to the axle hubs may break.

Consequence: If the wheel studs break, the wheel could detach from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace any affected wheel hub, free of charge. The recall began on June 25, 2015. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-909-873-3777. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-05142015-0037.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V231000

Date: 2015-04-20. Systems: SUSPENSION.

Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain model year 2016 Amera-Lite ATTX and WATTX, Forest River Cherokee, Cherokee Grey Wolf, Cherokee Wolf Pup, Salem, Salem Laminated, Salem Limited Edition, Vengeance, Wildwood, Wildwood Laminated, and Wildwood Limited Edition, Cargo Mate Blazer, E Series, E Series Wedge, Eliminator, and Qualifier, Continental Cargo Auto Master, Elite Series, Tailw (excerpt)

Consequence: If the wheel studs break, the wheel could detach from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will replace any affected wheel hub, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2015. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-800-453-6064. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-03312015-0025. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

1 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT1

10178433

Date: 2020-08-05. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

This is a document that describes how to take the required photos to assess the slideroom mechanism for adjustment and function.

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
SALEM9

Same model, other years

All model years | All Forest River models

Other Forest River models, 2016

Sources

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