2006 Blue Bird WANDERLODGE M450 LXI: complaints, problems and recalls

SIR, THIS A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE PUBLICATION OF THE RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER : 07V586000. AS YOUR SITE INDICATES THAT CCW AND BLUE BIRD KNEW OF AN OVERWEIGHT ISSUE IN SEPT.2007. THE RECALL OF DECEMBER 2007 BASED ON A TIE ROD WEAKNESS APPEARS TO BE A DIVERSION FROM THE UNSAFE AND IMMEDIATE PROBLEM OF SIGNIFICANTLY OVERWEIGHT FRONT AXLE AND THE RV'S WERE STILL ALLOWED TO BE DRIVEN. TWO OF THESE VEHICLES HAVE CRASHED WITH FRONT TIRE FAILURES: BOTH WRITE-OFFS AND ONE FATAL. THE UPDATED SUMMARY DOES NOT YET SHOW THE EXTENT AND DANGER OF TH…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10226544 at NHTSA ↗

TL*- THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BLUE BIRD WANDERLODGE LXI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE WAS NOTIFIED MARCH 2008 ABOUT RECALL 07V586000 ABOUT AXLE WEIGHT LIMIT. THE MANUFACTURER SENT SOMEONE TO REPLACE THE FRONT TIRES AND TOLD HIM TO HAVE THE VEHICLE ALIGNED AND WEIGHED. HE DID THIS AND RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO THE MANUFACTURER'S POSSESSION. HE MADE SEVERAL DIFFERENT TRIPS TO THE MANUFACTURER WHO FINALLY REPAIRED THE VEHICLE. HOWEVER, HE WAS STILL HAVING THE SAME EXCESSIVE WEIGHT ISSUE. MOST RECENTLY, THE MANUFACTURER WENT OUT OF BUSINESS. HE WAS N…

Owner-reported narrative. 12,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10266596 at NHTSA ↗

FAILURE IN THE ATTEMPTS TO REMEDY RECALL 07V586000. *TR THE TIE ROD WEAKNESS WAS NOT A CAUSE OF THE RECALL, BUT WAS A RESULT OF THE NEED TO INCREASE THE AXLE RATING. THE TIE RODS WERE SAFE AT AN AXLE LOAD OF 16,000LBS AND NO TIE ROD RECALL WOULD HAVE OCCURRED IF THE 16,000LB AXLE WAS SUFFICIENT AS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED. THE RECALL WAS BASED ON THE AXLE BEING IN EXCESS OF ITS RATING AND THE MOTORHOME COULD NOT BE SAFELY USED WITH REASONABLE LOADING. SOME OF THE COACHES THAT ARE BEING RELEASED AS FIXED ARE OVERWEIGHT ON THE FRONT AXLE WHEN THEY A…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10289185 at NHTSA ↗

PETITION FOR THE INCOMPLETE, UNSAFE REPAIRS AND MODIFICATION TO THE 2006 BLUE BIRD WANDERLODGE 450 LXI THAT ARE BEING DONE IN AN ATTEMPT TO REMEDY THE CONDITIONS FOR THE NHTSA RECALL 07V586000. *NJ THE ORIGINAL RECALL STATED THE FRONT AXLE WAS OVERWEIGHT ON THE FRONT AXLE WITHOUT CARGO, BUT WITH THE STANDARD 4 PASSENGERS AND FULL WATER. BLUEBIRD STATED THE TIRES SHOULD HAVE 130 PSI, BUT MICHELIN STATED IS SHOULD BE 120 PSI. MICHELIN STATED IF 130 PSI WAS PUT IN EACH TIRE THEY WOULD BLOW OUT EASILY. IN DOING THE MANY LEVELS OF FIXING THE RV, B…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10292809 at NHTSA ↗

CONSUMER STATES REPLY TO RESPONSE BY BLUE BIRD TO REQUEST DEFECT PETITION. *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEFECT IS THE UNDER CAPACITY OF THE FRONT AXLE. THE TRUE FIX, WHICH WAS INITIALLY OFFERED WAS A R REPLACEMENT AXLE. AS A COST SAVING MEASURE, THE NEW AXLE PLAN WAS SCRAPED AND THE RECONFIGURATION OF THE COACH WAS PLANNED. *JB UPDATED 10/25/12

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10318626 at NHTSA ↗

BLOWN LEFT FRONT TIRE CAUSED LOSS OF STEERING, IMPACT LEFT FRONT OF COACH IN THE CENTER DIVIDER. $87000.00 DAMAGE. THIS COACH IS STILL OUT OF SERVICE AT THIS WRITING. THIS COACH HAS HAD ALL PHASES OF CAMPAIGN 07V-586 BLUEBIRD BODY COMPANY. THIS CAMPAIGN IS DESIGNED TO ADDRESS FRONT AXEL WEIGHT ISSUES. I MADE 3 TRIPS OVER A 1 YEAR PERIOD TO ADDRESS CONCERNS OF BLUEBIRD TO MEET TARGET WEIGHT. LOSS OF SERVICE 6 WEEKS TOTAL. NEW MICHELIN TIRES(SPECIFIED IN CAMPAIGN) JUST LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLD WHEN FAILURE OCCURRED. ALL WHEEL POSITIONS HAD REQUIRED …

Owner-reported narrative. 42,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10594501 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BLUE BIRD WANDERLODGE M450 LXI RV. IN 2010, THE RV RECEIVED A PARTIAL REPAIR ACCORDING TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 07V586000 (POWER TRAIN). IN 2016, THE OTHER PORTION OF THE REMEDY WAS PERFORMED, WHICH INCLUDED THE APPROPRIATE REPLACEMENT OF THE FRONT TIRES. THE STEERING WHEEL STUDS WERE ALSO REPLACED. THE CONTACT WAS DISPLEASED THAT HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LABOR COST, WHICH WAS NOT MENTIONED IN THE RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10852013 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2005-02-08 (February 8, 2005)

ON CERTAIN MOTOR HOMES, A CIRCUIT DESIGN RESULTED IN A 12.1 AMP CIRCUIT DRAW IN THE BRAKE LIGHT CIRCUIT WHEN IT IS PROTECTED BY A 10 AMP CIRCUIT BREAKER.

Consequence: THE CURRENT DRAW MAY CAUSE THE CIRCUIT BREAKER TO FAIL RESULTING IN A LOSS OF BRAKE LIGHTS WITH NO WARNING TO THE DRIVER BEFORE OR AFTER THE FUSE BLOWS. A FOLLOWING DRIVER MAY NOT KNOW WHEN THE BRAKES HAVE BEEN APPLIED, AND A REAR-END CRASH COULD OCCUR WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE CIRCUIT TO INCORPORATE RELAYS TO REDUCE CURRENT DRAW IN THE FUSED CIRCUIT TO LESS THAN 10 AMPERES. THE RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 2, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BLUE BIRD AT 478-825-2021.

Reported: 2007-12-20 (December 20, 2007)

ON CERTAIN MY 2005-2007 WANDERLODGE 450 LXI MOTOR HOMES EQUIPPED WITH ARVIN MERITOR AND TRW TIE ROD ENDS, THE TIE ROD ASSEMBLIES WERE PRODUCED WITH STEEL TUBING THAT DID NOT MEET DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS WHICH COULD RESULT IN FAILURE OF THE TIE ROD ASSEMBLY WHEN COACH MILEAGE APPROACHES OR EXCEEDS 100,000 MILES. ALSO THE FRONT AXLE CURB WEIGHT MAY EXCEED THE SPECIFIED 16,000 POUNDS WEIGHT RATING.

Consequence: THE EXISTING TIE ROD ASSEMBLIES MAY NOT PERFORM AS DESIGNED AND MAY DEFORM OR FRACTURE WHICH MAY REDUCE STEERING CONTROL AND COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH. IN ADDITION, INSUFFICIENT FRONT TIRE INFLATION PRESSURE REDUCES THE WEIGHT RATING OF THE FRONT TIRES; AND IMPROPER ALIGNMENT OF THE FRONT SUSPENSION CAN CAUSE PREMATURE TIRE WEAR AND SUBSEQUENT DEGRADATION OF THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF ONE OR BOTH OF THE FRONT TIRES.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE LEFT AND RIGHT HAND FRONT TIE ROD ENDS ALONG WITH A CERTIFICATION LABEL STATING THE CORRECT WEIGHT LIMITS. APPROPRIATE REPLACEMENT TIRES WILL BE PROVIDED AND THE FRONT STEERING ALIGNMENT WILL BE CHECKED AND CORRECTED, IF NECESSARY. NEW TIRE DATA DECALS WILL ALSO BE SUPPLIED. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 14, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BLUE BIRD AT 478-825-2021.