Guidesfrom the federal record
RV Fire Reports: Owner Complaints vs. Maker Recalls
Owners reported fire in 259 of 4,994 RV complaints; makers named it in 615 of 1,789 recalls. How the two NHTSA counts differ, by maker, through Sept 2026.
Through 16 September 2026, owners had filed 4,994 RV complaints with NHTSA since 1 January 2016, and 259 of them reported a fire. Over almost the same window, manufacturers filed 1,789 RV recalls, and 615 of those named fire as a hazard (recalls received through 14 September 2026; both snapshots taken 21 September 2026). The two fire numbers count different things, and mixing them up is the most common way to misread a maker's record.
Two fire counts, two different sources
A recall is a manufacturer's report to NHTSA that it has determined a defect is safety related. The rule says each report must be submitted "not more than 5 working days after a defect in a vehicle or item of equipment has been determined to be safety related" (49 CFR 573.6). A recall "names" fire when NHTSA's consequence summary mentions it, and one recall can name more than one hazard.
A complaint is a report from an owner. The fire, crash and injury columns are the owner's own answers on the form. They are unverified.
| Recalls | Complaints | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed by | The manufacturer | An owner |
| Total on file, 2016 to September 2026 | 1,789 | 4,994 |
| Naming or reporting fire | 615 | 259 |
Sources: NHTSA Recalls Data (recalls received 2016-01-01 to 2026-09-14) and NHTSA's consumer complaint files (complaints received 2016-01-01 to 2026-09-16); snapshots taken 2026-09-21.
Fire by maker, side by side
The table pairs the makers that appear in both of our top-15 lists. Recall counts are by the name the maker filed under; complaint counts are by NHTSA's manufacturer name. Counts are for the same ten-year window as above.
| Maker | Recalls | Recalls naming fire | Complaints | Complaints reporting fire |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest River, Inc. | 451 | 127 | 1,390 | 81 |
| Jayco, Inc. | 181 | 48 | 514 | 27 |
| Keystone RV Company | 146 | 42 | 386 | 19 |
| Thor Motor Coach | 106 | 37 | 497 | 19 |
| Newmar Corporation | 91 | 21 | 210 | 4 |
| Winnebago Industries, Inc. | 79 | 25 | 474 | 37 |
| Tiffin Motorhomes, Inc. | 58 | 20 | 179 | 6 |
| Grand Design RV, LLC | 56 | 25 | 564 | 18 |
| Heartland Recreational Vehicles, LLC | 51 | 20 | 109 | 15 |
| Airstream, Inc. | 46 | 21 | 49 | 2 |
| K.Z., Inc. | 42 | 20 | 48 | 0 |
A worked example: two makers, two different pictures
Winnebago Industries filed 79 recalls, 25 of which named fire, and owners filed 474 complaints, 37 of which reported a fire. Grand Design RV filed 56 recalls, 25 of which named fire, and owners filed 564 complaints, 18 of which reported a fire.
Both makers have 25 fire-naming recalls. Grand Design has more complaints overall (564 against 474), yet fewer that report a fire (18 against 37). Neither number says one maker builds safer RVs. It says the recall record and the owner record are separate sets of reports, and a maker can look different in each.
K.Z., Inc. shows the same gap in the other direction. It has 20 recalls naming fire and no fire complaints at all among its 48 complaints.
Why the two counts do not match
- They have different filers. Recalls are the manufacturer's report that a defect is safety related; complaints are owners' reports, unverified.
- A recall names a hazard; a complaint reports an owner's answer. The K.Z. row shows the two can diverge completely.
- Only some owners file. Of the 87 makers in the recall data, 30 have no complaints on file at all (complaints received through 16 September 2026).
The limitation: nothing here is per RV built
There is no public per-brand sales-volume source, so none of these counts is a rate. A maker with more RVs on the road will have more recalls and more complaints. Forest River leads both columns above, and that ranking is a fact about the raw record, not a verdict on quality or safety. Read a fire count as a list of reports to open and read, not as a score.
Where to go next
The RV Complaints by Manufacturer tool ranks every RV maker by the complaints owners have filed since 2016, with fire, crash and injury reports and recall counts alongside. To see the full recall side, see What an RV Maker's Recall Count Tells You, and for the difference between the two records in general, see RV Complaints vs. Recalls.
Informational only, not professional advice. Last reviewed: September 2026.
Sources
This guide is for informational purposes only. It is not legal, mechanical or purchasing advice, and it is not a safety rating of any RV or manufacturer. Recall and complaint counts are not adjusted for how many RVs a company builds, because no one publishes that figure. Confirm anything about a specific RV with its maker, a dealer or NHTSA before acting on it.
Last reviewed: September 2026 · Against the sources listed above.