Extremely poor quality 2018 Forester MBS 2401W

[Jetsetter]

Extremely poor quality of cabinetry; excessive failures of components, from central control unit, circuits that constantly pop breakers, high failure rates of microwave, water heater, TV’s. Either I have a unique LEMON, or the quality of these units is HORRIBLE! To make matters worse; when components fail while you are traveling with you newRV, the warranty claim system cannot fix these items wherever you are. ForestRiver pays warranty claims at such a low rate,that Forest River Dealers will refuse to do warranty claims unless you bought it from them. Warren Buffet has created a system that makes him profitable and screws his customers. My unit is close to being a LEMON. I now have to cut my summer trip short because of an unuseable microwave, a bad water heater, a TV that has died etc. If the AC or frig goes out shortly, I fully intend to abandon this LEMON at the nearest Forest River dealer and ask for my money back under the lemon law.

 

[sheridany]

I am sorry to hear about your challenges with your RV. Did you buy your RV new or used? I would suggest you get the dealer and manufacturer to fix the issues and if they make a good attempt at it and you still have issues, you should get in touch with a law firm that specializes in lemon law in your state. They can advise on the appropriate steps to take to address the defects through remediation which can include the manufacturer purchasing it back.

Good luck.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Welcome to RVF @Jetsetter, sorry to hear that you are having so many problems; that's no fun. @sheridany has offered some good advice; get the dealer and manufacturer directly involved first. If that doesn't resolve the situation, the next step is legal action. While I've never had to do it with a RV, I don't think using the Lemon Law is a DIY project. Good legal advice is essential.

Good luck with all this.

TJ

 

[Neal]

Welcome to RVForums @Jetsetter, I'm sorry to hear of this too but this is sadly the case with some RV's and you have to have the mindset to just fix things you can on your own. I heard the phrase when getting into RVing that you have to learn to fix things yourself or you'll go broke doing so getting dealers to do things for you. Maybe break down what you can resolve on your own and then what you'll need a dealer to handle. The option is to sell it and get something else and hope for better having learned from this one. This certainly kills the joy of RVing, I hope you can get these things fixed up and enjoy the RV lifestyle soon.

 

[AbdRahim]

I say skip the dealer. Document everything and send to FR, if iyou bought it new. Send pictures of everything and suggest that there are so many things wrong, you want to have the factory address it. Be courteous and nice.

If you bought it used, find a good mobile tech (emphasis on good). It will cost a pretty penny to address all of the issues, but you will likely get faster service (not have to leave it sitting in a dealer lot for 6 weeks) and better quality work, depending on the dealer.

I let them keep mine all winter. When I got it back it was a dream. Yes, still had to fix a thing or two myself. I did many, many mods.

 

[Jetsetter]

I am sorry to hear about your challenges with your RV. Did you buy your RV new or used? I would suggest you get the dealer and manufacturer to fix the issues and if they make a good attempt at it and you still have issues, you should get in touch with a law firm that specializes in lemon law in your state. They can advise on the appropriate steps to take to address the defects through remediation which can include the manufacturer purchasing it back.

Good luck.

We bought it new from RV Wholesalers in Ohio. Susy, the customer advocate is awesome, but she runs into roadblocks everywhere in trying to schedule repairs when traveling and near our home in PHX. Forest River, severely under pays on labor, so no-one wants to do their warranty work. This is a very poor business model in my opinion.
So I have nothing but good things to say about RV Wholesalers.
Susy tried to get us a new microwave, but the factory had none and she ordered one from Magic Chief. We waited over 10 days and Magic Chef could not ship it. By then we were on the road again. We had to go out and buy a countertop microwave at our own expense.
We are deferring our current list of four components, until after we get get back to PHX next month. Susy has gone out of her way to help us. It’s the terrible warranty process and vendor supply line that are making our new RV experience less than comfortable. Here is the list of what has gone wrong with our new 2018.
1) central control monitor failed. It was replaced under warranty. Even the new unit does not register grey & black water.
2) Bathroom sink cracked in four places. Replaced under warranty, but they failed to hook up the drain properly. Pieces missing, I had to buy a new drain & install it myself.
3) Marker lights and various exterior moldings had to be repaired. Fixed under warranty.
4) Coach radio failed. Replaced under warranty.
5) Microwave has failed.
6) Main TV has failed.
7) Water heater only puts out Luke warm water when overnite temp in upper 40’s/low 50 degrees.
This is my 4th RV, yet now the worst experience.

 

[AbdRahim]

Look up Brian Clemens on Forest River Forums - Forest River Owners Community. He is a real customer service advocate - previously headed up Dynamax. He now has fglobal responsibilty for quality improvement at FR (or something like that). Anyhow, he is unique in that at that high level, he is active on the forums addressing customer issues and using the info provided by customers to make changes in the products. It is worth a shot.

 

[Gizmo]

I had a Forest River 5er that the front cap faded and looked like it was oxidized after I owned it for less than a year. Forest River refused to fix it and said that I didn't wax it and properly care for it and damage was my fault. I took a beating on the trade-in of the 5er but I will not own other products made by Forest River.

 

[Jetsetter]

An update Feb 1, 2021
Finally got the coach back from Bell RV Center in Phoenix. It took 3 mos. to get the correct rooftop heat pump replaced. They fixed the TV, replaced the microwave, replaced the water heater control board, replaced the external awning speakers, replaced the Converter that died, etc. all under extended warranty. I really like Bell RV Center!! I ended up with the very best Dometic Heat Pump. Cools & heats much better than the original HVAC. It took the factory 3 tries before I got the correct replacement micro. While on the road last Summer, I installed noise dampening sheets inside the front door, under the front carpet and everywhere else I could. Also replaced the front door speakers with better quality. Now we can finally hear the music in the cab @ 60 MPH. Another poor quality issue from Forest River; we developed a roof crack where the cap joins the rest of the roof. Turned it in as a warranty item. The factory denied the repair!!!!! I'll never buy another Forest River product!!!!!!!!
This week. we are replacing the two front Continental tires with Michelins, hoping to quite down the cabin noise further. Also have ordered Sumo Spring "bumpers" to improve on stability and rocking. Looking forward to an improved ride. Now we just need to get extended warranty to replace the flickering LED ceiling lights, shower drain that clogs up repeatedly. The pealing issues with the contact paper on the cabinets is getting worse! I recognize that I will have to replace all of the cabinet surfaces that have this crapo contact paper with real venier or Formica since I cannot afford to replace this coach. Warren Buffet; do something about your poor quality RV's.

 

[AbdRahim]

Sorry to hear of all of those issues. I was very pleased with FR's handling of my warranty issues. I ended up leaving it at the factory for an entire winter. 24 items needed to be addressed, several major -new roof, ceiling etc. They did a great job.

Go on the FR forums and contact Bclemens.