What breaks most · 1990 to 2016 model years
Fleetwood Southwind problems by year
Owners have filed 150 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Fleetwood Southwind across model years 1990 to 2016. Three years stand out: 2003 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints, 1995 for fuel system complaints and 1998 for suspension complaints. The quietest years are 1992, 2007 and 1990.
- Years to check closely: 2003, 1995, 1998
- Fewest complaints: 1992, 2007, 1990
- Complaints on file
- 1501990 to 2016, all trims
- Worst year
- 200324 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 09 fires · 5 injuries · 2 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 22kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 57Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 1 | Engine and cooling (2) | |
| 6 | 0 | 1 | Suspension (2) | |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | Powertrain and transmission (1) | |
| 5 | 0 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (3) | |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | Parking Brake (4) | |
| 15 | 0 | 0 | Fuel system (3) | |
| 11 | 0 | 1 | Visibility (3) | |
| 8 | 0 | 2 | Parking Brake (4) | |
| 13 | 0 | 1 | Suspension (4) | |
| 7 | 0 | 2 | Electrical system (3) | |
| 8 | 0 | 4 | Visibility (2) | |
| 4 | 0 | 4 | Visibility (2) | |
| 4 | 0 | 5 | Brakes (hydraulic) (1) | |
| 24 | 0 | 8 | Brakes (hydraulic) (13) | |
| 13 | 0 | 8 | Brakes (hydraulic) (6) | |
| 8 | 0 | 4 | Wipers and visibility (2) | |
| 4 | 0 | 6 | Visibility (2) | |
| 3 | 0 | 3 | Visibility (3) | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | Steering (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 3 | Electrical system (1) |
What fails on the 2003 Fleetwood Southwind
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 54% |
13 | 0 | Shop all brakes (hydraulic) parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Equipment and infotainment | 8% |
2 | 0 | — |
| Service Brakes, AIR | 8% |
2 | 0 | — |
| Unknown or other | 4% |
1 | 0 | — |
| Trailer Hitches | 4% |
1 | 0 | — |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 4% |
1 | 0 | Shop all suspension parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 4% |
1 | 0 | Shop all brakes parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 4% |
1 | 0 | Shop all fuel system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
After 90 mile trip, lost braking on my motorhome, with the smell of brake burning, brake pedal at the floor. Rear wheel liners both sides were too hot to touch. After about 30 minutes, brake fluid cooled off and braking returned. Return trip of 90 miles 2 days later with no problems.
-
Consumer complains that the electric fuel pump was faulty, consumer received recall notice 97s92 after having vehicle serviced. *jg
-
Wheel separated from the vehicle due to ungreased wheel bearings which caused them to freeze. Please give any further details. *ak
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Fleetwood Southwind years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2003, 1995, 1998 carry the most filings on the Fleetwood Southwind. The 2003 alone has 24 complaints, led by brakes (hydraulic).
What is the most common Fleetwood Southwind problem?
On the 2003 model year, the most-reported component is brakes (hydraulic) with 13 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Fleetwood Southwind problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Fleetwood Southwind complaints that include mileage is about 22,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.