--- title: "Who pays for an RV recall repair?" kind: "answer" slug: "who-pays-for-an-rv-recall-repair" url: "https://www.rigfixhq.com/answers/who-pays-for-an-rv-recall-repair" markdownUrl: "https://www.rigfixhq.com/answers/who-pays-for-an-rv-recall-repair.md" --- # Who pays for an RV recall repair? Recall answers explain official NHTSA recalls and a VIN check. A model-year campaign is not proof a VIN is included. Owner reports are not recalls. The manufacturer named in the recall letter provides the remedy. When the law requires that remedy, it is at no charge to the owner. An RV often has more than one manufacturer, so a chassis letter, a coach letter, and a parts letter can send you to different shops. This page is not legal advice. Read the recall letter for your VIN, and ask the manufacturer named in that letter if you are unsure. ## The remedy is without charge when the law requires it NHTSA's Motor Vehicle Safety Defects and Recalls booklet says that if a safety defect is discovered, the manufacturer must remedy the problem at no charge to the owner. NHTSA's recalls page says the agency monitors each safety recall so owners receive safe, free, and effective remedies, and it tells you to have the recalled part fixed for free after you get the letter. The owner-letter rule, 49 CFR 577.5, says the letter must state that the manufacturer will remedy the defect without charge, and whether that remedy is a repair, a replacement, or a refund of the purchase price. For a vehicle, a refund is less depreciation. If the manufacturer is not required to remedy the defect without charge and will not do so, the same rule says the letter must say that, and must say what the manufacturer will do instead. There is an age limit. NHTSA's booklet says a free remedy is not required when the vehicle is more than 15 years old on the date the defect or noncompliance is determined. That age is counted from the date of sale to the first purchaser. The booklet says a safety problem can still exist on an older vehicle. The manufacturer is not obligated to pay for the remedy past that age. Tire recalls have a separate limit in the same booklet: a free tire repair or replacement is required only for tires bought within five years of the determination, and you must bring the tire in within 180 days of the letter. - [NHTSA booklet on safety defects and recalls](https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/2024-09/14218-MVSDefectsandRecalls_092524_v3-tag.pdf) - [NHTSA recalls lookup](https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls) - [49 CFR 577.5, owner notification](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-577/section-577.5) ## Chassis, coach, and parts can be different campaigns An RV is often built in stages. A chassis maker may build the incomplete truck. Another company may finish the coach or the trailer. A third company may make a tire, an axle, or another part. 49 CFR 573.5 says each motor-vehicle manufacturer is responsible for a safety-related defect in the vehicle or in original equipment. Each manufacturer of replacement equipment is responsible for a defect in that equipment. Who files the report depends on the part. 49 CFR 573.3 says that for a vehicle built in more than one stage, a report from the incomplete-vehicle manufacturer or from a later manufacturer can count for all of them. For original equipment used by only one vehicle manufacturer, a report from either the vehicle manufacturer or the equipment manufacturer can count for both. For original equipment used by more than one vehicle manufacturer, the equipment manufacturer reports on the equipment, and each vehicle manufacturer reports on its own vehicles. 49 CFR 577.3 is the notice rule. For a multi-stage vehicle, a notice from the incomplete-vehicle manufacturer, a later manufacturer, or the maker of the affected replacement equipment can count as the owner notice. Those rules are about who may file. They do not mean every company on the RV pays for every campaign. The letter names the company that is writing to you. 49 CFR 577.5 says the letter identifies that manufacturer and the vehicles or equipment. Follow that letter for that campaign. A letter from the chassis maker is about the chassis. A letter from the company that built the living quarters or the trailer is about that coach. A letter from a parts maker is about that part. The letter says where to get the work done. When the repair is not through that manufacturer's dealers, 49 CFR 577.5 says the letter must recommend service facilities. Search the part itself when the campaign may be filed by the company that made the axle, the tire, or the appliance. - [49 CFR 573.5, who is responsible](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-573/section-573.5) - [49 CFR 573.3, vehicles built in stages](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-573/section-573.3) - [49 CFR 577.3, who must notify owners](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-577/section-577.3) ## Check the VIN, then use the letter A campaign on a model-year page is not proof your VIN is included. Enter the VIN at https://www.rigfixhq.com/vin-check to see the make, model, and year, and the campaigns on file for that model year. Confirm the exact VIN at the NHTSA recalls lookup, https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls. If NHTSA shows an open recall, read the letter for that campaign and call the manufacturer it names. - [NHTSA recalls lookup](https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls) - [How to check an RV or tow-vehicle VIN for recalls](https://www.rigfixhq.com/answers/how-to-check-an-rv-or-tow-vehicle-vin-for-recalls) - [Check your rig by VIN](https://www.rigfixhq.com/vin-check) ## Questions ### Who pays for an RV recall repair? The manufacturer named in the recall letter provides the remedy. NHTSA's booklet says the manufacturer must remedy a safety defect at no charge to the owner (https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/2024-09/14218-MVSDefectsandRecalls_092524_v3-tag.pdf). 49 CFR 577.5 says the letter must state that the remedy will be made without charge when the law requires it, or must say when the manufacturer is not required to pay (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-577/section-577.5). ### Does the RV dealer always do the work? No. A chassis letter, a coach letter, and a parts letter are separate campaigns. 49 CFR 573.5 places responsibility on the manufacturer of the vehicle or the equipment (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-573/section-573.5). The letter names that manufacturer and says where to get the remedy. Follow the letter for that campaign. ### Is every older RV still eligible for a free repair? No. NHTSA's booklet says a free remedy is not required when the vehicle is more than 15 years old on the date the defect is determined, counted from the sale to the first purchaser (https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/2024-09/14218-MVSDefectsandRecalls_092524_v3-tag.pdf). The booklet also says a free tire remedy has a five-year purchase limit and a 180-day window after the letter. Read the letter for your VIN. ### Is this legal advice? No. This page explains what NHTSA and the recall rules say. It is not legal advice. The letter for your VIN controls that campaign. 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