Tl* the contact owns a 1997 fleetwood discovery. The contact stated that there was a burning odor coming from the front end of the vehicle. He then discovered that the headlight wires were melted. The contact repaired the failure and both the dealer and manufacturer were notified. The failure mileage was 105,200 and the current mileage was 105,663.
The worst 1997 Fleetwood Discovery problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Visibility4
- Lights3
- Electrical2
- Fuel system1
- Locks1
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Visibility4
- Lights3
- Electrical2
- Fuel system1
- Locks1
- Tires1
Recalls 4
Equipment: recreational vehicle/trailer
- What is wrong
- Certain motor homes and travel trailers equipped with a two-door refrigerator, manufactured by the dometic corporation, may have a defect in the boiler tube. Pressurized coolant solution could be released into an area where an ignition source (gas flame) is present.
- Risk
- Release of coolant under certain conditions could ignite and result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Fleetwood will be working with dometic in order to repair these refrigerators (please see 06e076). Dometic will repair these refrigerators by installing a secondary burn housing, a thermal fuse, and a melt fuse free of charge. Dometic has retained stericycle inc. To manage this campaign. Stericycle will assist you in locating dealerships or service centers and will provide assistance with scheduling of appointments. Owners may contact dometic/stericycle at 1‑888‑446‑5157 or fleetwood at 1‑800‑322‑8216.
Recall number 07V120000 · Recall details
Steering: hydraulic power assist: hose, piping, and connections
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: motor homes. The power steering gear box hydraulic lines are routed too close to a sharp edge. This can cause the lines to rupture and result in a hydraulic fluid leak.
- Risk
- This fluid leakage can cause loss of the power steering assist feature.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect, replace or repair damaged hoses as necessary, and relocate the affected hydraulic lines.
Recall number 00V204000 · Recall details
Visibility: windshield
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: motor homes. The driver's and passenger's side windows do not meet the requirements of fmvss no. 205, "glazing materials," for an acceptable level of tint.
- Risk
- This condition could cause the driver reduced visibility through the side windows when backing up, when using the mirrors for lane changes, or whenever looking through the windows, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace these windows.
Recall number 98V147000 · Recall details
Exterior lighting: headlights
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: class a motor homes equipped with a vinyl protective front cover. This cover includes a mesh which covers the front headlight assembly. This mesh interferes with the photometric performance of the headlights resulting in a noncompliance to fmvss no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
- Risk
- The interfering mesh causes the effective brightness of the headlights and turn signals to be less than required. The decrease in headlight brightness can decrease the ability to view the road while driving at night or in other instances where headlights would be needed. Also, the decreased brightness of the turn signals will affect the visibility of these signals to following vehicles.
- Remedy
- Owners will be provided with instructions and repair parts necessary to perform this recall. If owners so desire, they can have a dealer perform this remedy for them.
Recall number 97V236000 · Recall details
Technical service bulletins for the 1997 Fleetwood Discovery 3
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
What 1997 Fleetwood Discovery owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Front windshield keeps popping out.*ak
During a recent trip the motorhome experienced three blowouts, the tires had 33000 miles on it (michelin size 235/80r/22.5 xtrv tires).
On the date indicated, while the motorhome was plugged into 115v 30 amp A/C power, with one roof air conditioner operating, an electrical fire occurred in the junction box. The fire, apparently caused by a short circuit, consumed a considerable amount of wiring insulation. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to other material. Damage required replacement of the powertek breaker box and repair of the wiring. This was the second time that this had occurred in this motorhome. A very similar electrical short and fire occurred in july 2000. Damage was not as extensive and only the wiring needed to be repaired. These incidents are being reported to the federal safety agency as a safety hazard. Other owners of the discovery motorhome have reported similar incidents. Fleetwood has refused to provide me with any financial assistance to correct the damage resulting from the most recent incident. To the best of my knowledge, fleetwood has never acknowledged the problem. No recall has ever been issued. There are no special periodic maintenance procedures in the owner's manual nor have any been sent to owners.
When headlights were turned on electrical wiring and headlight switch started melting, there was smoke under dash. Consumer could only drive during day time.*ak
While vehicle was parked in consumer's driveway it caught on fire, and was completely destroyed. An allstate insurance inspector stated that circuit board in front heating vent was faulty and failed. This resulted in fan coming on and remaining on .*ak
Insurance investagater said fire due to faulty heater circut board, this caused fan to come on blowing fire through motorhome, other owners of this type of motorhome should be informed to the posiblity of fires, if we were in the motorhome we could have been seriously injured or killed. Fleetwood said no responseability would be taken on their part, fleetwood did take an accident report.
While operating motorhome at highway speed, its fuel line ruptured, resulting in diesel fuel seepage throughout motorhome.
Magic chef range: top forward valve sticks in on position and can't be turned off. Turned all the propane off, and still it was on. Contacted dealer, and replaced the forward valve. However, it happened again. Serial# to the range 10885756sh and model#85tb3bk. *ak
The large burner control valve started to stick in the on position due to excessive heat to the point that it partially melted the plastic knob, this is possibly a design flaw and potentially a safety hazard. Nlm
Compare the 1997 Fleetwood Discovery
Other model years
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Questions about the 1997 Fleetwood Discovery
Is the 1997 Fleetwood Discovery reliable?
Owners have filed 13 complaints about the 1997 Fleetwood Discovery, 4.3 times a typical Discovery model year.
What is the most common problem with the 1997 Fleetwood Discovery?
Windows, wipers and visibility, with 4 complaints. Next is lights (3).
How many recalls does the 1997 Fleetwood Discovery have?
4 recalls, covering equipment, steering and visibility.
Was there a recall on the 1997 Fleetwood Discovery visibility?
Yes, 1 recall: 98V147000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Fleetwood Discovery have the most visibility problems?
The Fleetwood Discovery model years with the most visibility complaints are 2005 (15 complaints) and 2004 (10 complaints).
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