NHTSA lists 1 complaints for the 2002 Winnebago Chieftain, 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 WINNEBAGO CHIEFTAIN.
At a glance
Complaints
1
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
2
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
18,461
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
7
Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.
Where the complaints are
Top systems
System
Complaints
Share of this vehicle's complaints
STRUCTURE
1
100.0%
Top subsystems
System
Subsystem
Complaints
STRUCTURE
FRAME AND MEMBERS
1
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
Model-generated complaint tags: This model year has not been tagged.
Defect: WINNEBAGO IS RECALLING CERTAIN RECREATIONAL VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 1200-SERIES NORCOLD REFRIGERATORS. THE POPULATION OF REFRIGERATORS BEING ADDRESSED CONTAINS EITHER A SENSING ALGORITHM OR THERMAL SWITCH TO SHUT OFF POWER TO THE REFRIGERATOR WHEN HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE DETECTED IN ORDER TO PREVENT A POTENTIAL FIRE. THE RESPONSE TIMES OF THE SENSOR ALGORITHM AND THERMAL SWITCH DEVICES TO STOP POWE (excerpt)
Consequence: THE SENSING ALGORITHM OR THERMAL SWITCH INSTALLED TO SHUT OFF POWER TO THE REFRIGERATOR WHEN HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE DETECTED DUE TO A POSSIBLE HYDROGEN GAS LEAK MAY NOT SHUT OFF IN SUFFICIENT TIME TO PREVENT A FIRE. (excerpt)
Remedy: WINNEBAGO IS WORKING WITH NORCOLD TO IDENTIFY AND NOTIFY ANY AFFECTED OWNERS. OWNERS WILL BE INSTRUCTED TO CONTACT NORCOLD DEALERS TO RECEIVE THE REMEDY FREE OF CHARGE. PLEASE SEE NORCOLD'S DEFECT REPORT 10E-049 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. THE RECALL BEGAN DURING DECEMBER 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NORCOLD AT 1-800-767-9101 OR WINNEBAGO AT 1-641-585-3535. (excerpt)
Defect: WINNEBAGO IS RECALLING 1,547 MODEL YEAR 2001-2003 RECREATIONAL VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH NORCOLD MODEL 1200LRIM REFRIGERATORS, MANUFACTURED FROM MARCH 1, 2001 TO DECEMBER 31, 2002, WITH SERIAL NUMBERS BETWEEN 1273701 AND 1536607, NON-CONSECUTIVELY. A FATIGUE FAILURE IN THE SECTION OF THE COOLING UNIT WHICH CONTAINS THE REFRIGERANT COULD ALLOW THE LIQUID SOLUTION TO SLOWLY LEAK. IF A LEAK OCCURS AND (excerpt)
Consequence: IF A LEAK OCCURS AND THE UNIT IS CONTINUES TO OPERATE, HYDROGEN GAS MAY BE EXPELLED AND CAN BE IGNITED, RESULTING IN A FIRE, POSSIBLY CAUSING SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH. (excerpt)
Remedy: WINNEBAGO IS WORKING WITH NORCOLD AND NORCOLD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE VEHICLE'S REFRIGERATOR WILL BE REPAIRED FREE OF CHARGE (PLEASE SEE 09E-027). OWNERS MAY CONTACT NORCOLD'S RECALL CENTER AT 1-800-767-9101. (excerpt)
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Investigations
0 investigations; 0 open.
Manufacturer communications
7 manufacturer communications.
Communications by system
System
Count
EQUIPMENT
4
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2
STRUCTURE
1
10252834
Date: 2024-04-05. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
Service Bulletin sent to dealers advising of the required legal verbiage each RO should document.
10251128
Date: 2024-02-23. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
Service Bulletin sent to all Winnebago dealers. Bulletin outlines the characteristics of new roof sealant being used.
10226724
Date: 2022-09-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.
Service Bulletin sent to all Winnebago dealers. Bulletin advises of a manufacturing change to the shower surround sealant process for all units.
10213593
Date: 2022-05-31. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
Service Bulletin sent to all dealers. This bulletin advises dealers they no longer need to email Winnebago the signed Vehicle Registration Form, but they should retain a copy for their records.
10199382
Date: 2021-07-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
Service Bulletin to dealers reminding them to understand their state's Lemon Law and to comply with Winnebago Motorhome mandates outlined in the Policy & Procedure Manual.
10199381
Date: 2021-07-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
Service Bulletin to dealers advising them of part sales training opportunities.
10199380
Date: 2021-03-26. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
General Parts and Service Letter to dealers detailing the warranty part return procedure.
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.