3 times now while driving my brakes have failed. Brakes have gotten hot and overheated. Can smell a burning smell. Abs lights come on. Brake pedal goes to the floor and will not stop. Only way to stop is to shift vehicle to low gear and apply emergency brake which has taken an extremely long time with narrow misses. On time while driving down a windy road. Another time in stop and go traffic and just after the brakes smelled of burning. By the time I pulled over smoke was coming out of the front brakes. I lifted the front wheels off of the ground and the wheels would not turn. I cracked open a brake line and the fluid was boiling. I replaced the front brakes and calipers also both front ABS sensors. Recently for the third time I lost brakes after traffic, a burning smell occurred and brakes went to the floor again this time coming front the rear brakes. Also the ABS light came on. Please help. Also the brake master cylinder has been replaced.
Fleetwood Southwind brake failure problems
11 of the 157 owner complaints about the Fleetwood Southwind describe brake failure, most of them for the 2003 model year.
- owner complaints
- 11
- worst model year
- 2003
- typical mileage
- 25,000
By model year
- 20042
- 20035
- 20001
- 19951
- 19941
- 19931
Often reported together
What owners say
Loss of brakes in mountains due to over heating. Rear wheels smoking and too hot to touch. Pulled of into rest area and stayed there for 4 hours to let brakes cool down. After stopping brake pedal went to the floor until things cooled down and then pumped the brakes to get to camp ground 8 miles away. After 3 days the brakes had to be pumped in order to get brakes. After calling workhorse I had to have the motor home towed to repair facility. The calipers had to be replaced which took 2 days to get approval from workhorse. This is the 4th time I have had this problem and cannot understand why the fix for this recall is taking so long, as this is a dangerous situation. Workhorse said the fix will come sometime after november 2010. Is this a safe way to drive this vehicle?
After 100 mile trip, lost braking on my motorhome, with the smell of brake burning, while stopped in traffic, brake pedal went to 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 100 miles 3 days later with no problems.
After 75 mile trip, right rear wheel was hot and smoking, no loss of braking, return trip 8 days later no problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 fleetwood south wind. The contact received recall#50901-c from workhorse in regards to the hydraulic brake failure. The ABS light illuminated due to the left rear brake caliper failure which burned the ABS sensor in june 2009. On august 14, 2009, the right rear brake caliper also failed. The rv motor home is being repaired by the dealer. The failure mileage was 12,000 and the current mileage was 12,500.
Brake failure on a 2003 fleetwood workhorse chassis motorhome. Pedal goes to the floor.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 fleetwood southwind. While driving 15 MPH, the front brakes failed as the contact attempted to stop the vehicle and he smelled something burning. When the brakes cooled down, he took the vehicle to a repair shop and the mechanic stated that the pads were worn and the rotors needed to be changed. The vehicle was repaired, however, the failure recurred four months later. The number of cylinders and powertrain were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 24,000.
While driving 55 MPH and with cruise control engaged engine simply stalled, and would not turn over. Brakes failed as well as the power steering. After vehicle cooled off for a half hour it started up after engaging the ignition.
Vehicle was coming around a curve and the brakes failed, there was never an emergency brake installed, the vehicle crashed and 2 people were injured.
Brake failure.
Related recalls
Service brakes, air
- What is wrong
- Fleetwood is recalling 509 my 2001-2008 class a motor homes equipped with axles that include bosch zops or zoht pin slide hydraulic disc brakes. When combined with occasional or seasonal vehicle operation may experience calipers sticking in the applied position. This can result in abnormal heat generation at the wheel end causing brake drag. The driver would normally have warning of the brake drag if undetected by the driver.
- Risk
- The driver would normally detect the brake drag but if undetected the temperature increase at the wheel end can eventually lead to soft pedal conditions due to brake fluid boil, and possible extended stopping distance increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the necessary components free of charge. Workhorse is handling the remedy for this campaign please see 09v‑110. The manufacturer has not yet provided an owner notification schedule. Owners may contact workhorse at 1‑877‑246‑7731. Workhorse will conduct the owner and dealer notification.
Recall number 09V198000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: brake fluid low warning: lamp
- What is wrong
- Certain motor home chassis fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 105, "hydraulic and electric brake systems." the brake system warning indicator may not function as required by standard.
- Risk
- In some of the affected vehicles, the brake system warning indicator will not illuminate when the ignition is in the start position or for a low brake fluid condition, if the body builder relied solely upon ford's ivm compliance statement for the brake system warning indicator.
- Remedy
- Dealers will repair these vehicles. Owner notification began april 7, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact fleetwood at 1‑800‑445‑3307.
Recall number 03V066000 · Recall details
Questions about the Fleetwood Southwind brake failure
Which Fleetwood Southwind years have brake failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2003 (5 complaints), 2004 (2 complaints) and 1993 (1 complaints).
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