2003 Workhorse Chassis
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Workhorse › Chassis › 2003
These records cover every 2003 Workhorse Chassis. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
1 recall names the 2003 Workhorse Chassis. Newest first.
Certain chassis equipped with actia corporate instrument clusters fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard nos. 101 "controls and displays" and 105 "hydraulic and electric brake systems." if the brake fail input falls below a voltage of 1.5V, the brake failure lamp and alarm will be activated. also activation of the…
Risk and remedy
Risk
This does not meet the requirements of the standard.
Remedy
Workhorse will notify its customers and reprogram the instrument panel cluster free of charge. the recall began january 2005. owners should contact workhorse at 1-877-246-7731.
Owner complaints
22 complaints1 involved a crash1 involved a fire
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Structure · Unknown or other · Visibility › Windshield
Winnebago's failure to properly seal windshield to frame has caused corrosion and rust over time which has caused front windshield breakage. The rust has allowed the windshield to shift and break, thus causing a safety issue.
- Service brakes, hydraulic
TL* the contact owns a 2003 workhorse chassis. The contact stated while driving 10 mph the front passenger side brake failed. The brake caliper seized which caused the brake to overheat. The brake pedal went tot he floor and the alarm sounded and the brake light came on at that time. The contact…
TL* the contact owns a 2003 workhorse chassis. The contact stated while driving 10 mph the front passenger side brake failed. The brake caliper seized which caused the brake to overheat. The brake pedal went tot he floor and the alarm sounded and the brake light came on at that time. The contact was traveling at 10 mph when this occurred. The next day, everything seemed fine. The contact drove the rv home slowly and didn't notice any problems. The manufacturer was notified, but offered no assistance as of 11/19/12 the rv has not been repaired. updated 12/10/12 *cn
- Service brakes
TL* the contact owns a 2003 workhorse chassis, model P32 (n/a). The vehicle was equipped on a 2003 winnebago sightseer rv. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the park brake engaged independently and the vehicle came to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed to an…
TL* the contact owns a 2003 workhorse chassis, model P32 (n/a). The vehicle was equipped on a 2003 winnebago sightseer rv. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the park brake engaged independently and the vehicle came to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate mileage was 70,914.
- Service brakes, hydraulic
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 workhorse W22 chassis with 24,000 miles. The contact received recall notice 09v110000 service brakes, hydraulic. The recall repair was performed on the front brakes; however, the failure has recurred on the front and rear brakes. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to have the vehicle repaired because of the diagnostic fee.
- Service brakes, hydraulic
TL* the contact owns a 2003 workhorse P32 chassis rv. While driving 55 mph, the left brakes locked and caused the vehicle to swerve excessively. The contact was able to maneuver the vehicle off of the road and allow the brakes to cool. The contact continued driving to his destination without…
TL* the contact owns a 2003 workhorse P32 chassis rv. While driving 55 mph, the left brakes locked and caused the vehicle to swerve excessively. The contact was able to maneuver the vehicle off of the road and allow the brakes to cool. The contact continued driving to his destination without brakes. An authorized workhorse dealer was contacted and the dealer refused to repair the vehicle. The manufacturer stated that there were no recalls on his vehicle and would not provide any assistance. The brakes were repaired at a local repair shop at the owners expense. The approximate failure mileage was 30,700 and the current mileage was 30,940. Updated 08/03/10. *Lj updated 08/04/10*jb
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Disc › Caliper
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 workhorse chassis. The brake calipers were not functioning properly and the ABS light illuminated when the contact was driving at approximately 25 mph. The contact stated that the failure seemed to occur at all speeds while driving. The vehicle had not been repaired at…
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 workhorse chassis. The brake calipers were not functioning properly and the ABS light illuminated when the contact was driving at approximately 25 mph. The contact stated that the failure seemed to occur at all speeds while driving. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint due to the parts being unavailable. The current mileage was approximately 50,000. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
- Service brakes, hydraulic
Brakes failed, had to be towed traveling in alabama. Replaced defective master cylinder (2-3-09). replaced rear brakes (8-13-09). front brakes locked , smoking,had to be towed. Replaced front calipers, (2-26-10). Out of pocket cost to date $3720.75. *Tr
- Service brakes, hydraulic
This letter IS to communicate my disappointment in my workhorse chassis. on january 1, 2008 we were moving our motor home to a new rv park for the month. I started to smell a bad odor while driving in moderate stop and go traffic. I pulled the coach into a service station to discover a smoking…
This letter IS to communicate my disappointment in my workhorse chassis. on january 1, 2008 we were moving our motor home to a new rv park for the month. I started to smell a bad odor while driving in moderate stop and go traffic. I pulled the coach into a service station to discover a smoking and stuck hot brake on the driver's side rear. I unhooked my tow vehicle and backed up my coach and was able to get the brake to release. I contacted a workhorse service center for an appointment. at that time they informed me they only do warranty work on workhorse chassis. I then contacted a service person to come to my coach as I didn't want to drive the unit. at that time they had to replace the rear brakes at a cost of $ 1,989.19. on october 31, 2008 we experienced a thumping vibration from the steering wheel coming down a mountain in tennessee. after we got down, I stopped the coach to check for hot brakes. they seemed to be ok so we proceeded to move on to bradenton, florida without incident. on november 5, 2008 we had the front brakes repaired at a cost of $339.63 from a workhorse service center. They assured me the brakes were ok at that time. shortly after arriving home for the summer I received a safety recall 50901-c but felt there was nothing to do because of the above repairs. on october 30, 2009, we were driving in stop and go traffic on our way to gulf shores, al. much to my dismay we arrived at the rv park and smelled something hot again. I stopped to inspect the coach and found the driver's side front brake was overheated. we waited for the brake to cool before moving to our site. the past summer I stored my unit inside and drove it on the first of each month when I exercised my generator. I am very concerned about the safety of the workhorse chassis! at this point I don't know what to do to feel safe on the road. *Tr
- Equipment · Equipment › Recreational vehicle/trailer
Brake began to get hot and loose power, then began to pull toward the right. I got out and looked under the rv and saw a small fire . the caliper got so hot that it caught on fire. and then I called road service. they toad me to rv repair center. they said that caliper had gone bad and so I…
Brake began to get hot and loose power, then began to pull toward the right. I got out and looked under the rv and saw a small fire . the caliper got so hot that it caught on fire. and then I called road service. they toad me to rv repair center. they said that caliper had gone bad and so I got them to put a new one on. repair man said that the caliper had rust in it and did not let the piston retract. causing the brake to get so hot that it caught on fire. this happened in july of 2008. after this was corrected. I was traveling to another city and stop for a break and smelled a burning smell. I then discovered that another caliper had frozen up. I then got it to a service dept. the service repair man advised me it would be best to go ahead and replace both of the back calipers. he and I felt sure that all of the calipers would eventually go bad because two had already gone bad. I had them all replaced because they could cause another fire. repair tech. Said that there seemed to be a defect in them. I spent a little over $3,000.00 to repair these. I contacted bosh and they said that it was workhorse responsibility. so therefore I got no results from either of these company's. I feel that I should be repaid for these replacements. *Tr
- Service brakes, hydraulic
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 workhorse chassis. while driving approximately 35 mph, the contact noticed that the front end of the vehicle was vibrating and the brakes were burning. he pulled the vehicle onto the shoulder and inspected the hubs of the tires to see if they were hot. after inspecting…
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 workhorse chassis. while driving approximately 35 mph, the contact noticed that the front end of the vehicle was vibrating and the brakes were burning. he pulled the vehicle onto the shoulder and inspected the hubs of the tires to see if they were hot. after inspecting the hubs, he stated that the vehicle seemed normal. the contact continued to drive the vehicle and, approximately ten minutes later, the steering column jerked out of his hands to the right. he made a u-turn to return the vehicle to the storage yard, but when he applied pressure to the brakes, the pedal extended to the floor. he stopped at a brake shop and the mechanic stated that the brake calipers were defective. the vehicle has not been repaired. the dealer and manufacturer were not notified. the current and failure mileages were 20,000.
- Power train · Service brakes, hydraulic
While driving my rv I began to lose power. I parked and found the engine compartment very hot and smelled of burning material. I noticed the front wheel covers were too hot to touch. I called the selling dealer and was advised to call the chassis manufacturer who in turn advised to call the…
While driving my rv I began to lose power. I parked and found the engine compartment very hot and smelled of burning material. I noticed the front wheel covers were too hot to touch. I called the selling dealer and was advised to call the chassis manufacturer who in turn advised to call the authorized workhouse dealer in town who then advised me to contact a transmission company in nearby corpus christi and not drive the unit but have it towed. I was told the transmission had locked down for some reason and not to drive it further. I had the unit towed. The transmission company later advised nothing was wrong but that some loose battery cables were tightened. Then a month later while driving my rv I noticed the unit was pulling to the right and I again found the right front wheel cover was hot. I contacted the authorized workhorse dealer in town and was advised that they did not do brake work but referred me to a local mechanic and ask that the front brakes be dismantled, inspected, cleaned, and greased. This work was completed and no damage was found. The mechanic advised that he was not sure if the problem was solved but only time would tell. He does not rule out the possibility that there remains some kind of hydraulic problem within the ABS brake system. in summary, total cost expended to date amounts to $750. and I am not sure if the unit IS safe to drive as the problem may resurface, the unit fail to stop, or catch on fire. Research on the internet finds a host of complaints pinpointing the brakes on a workhorse chassis. These complaints including some directed to nhtsa appear to document my current problem. I would also suggest the manufacturer vin numbers may pinpoint the range of problem identification but may not rule out the manufacturer using up inventory of defective parts to complete their work before changing to new improved parts. reference: nhtsa action no. Ea07016, nhtsa complaint no.s 10160192, 10209084, 10215202, 10226637, and 10237100. *tr
- Service brakes, hydraulic
Brakes of a winnebago brave 2003 bought brand new, were smelling in 2006. had them checked at a workhorse dealer and was told the brakes were fine. went on a trip and after 5 miles, the brakes smelled awful and didn't work. limped to a repaid place winnebago sales recommended because there was…
Brakes of a winnebago brave 2003 bought brand new, were smelling in 2006. had them checked at a workhorse dealer and was told the brakes were fine. went on a trip and after 5 miles, the brakes smelled awful and didn't work. limped to a repaid place winnebago sales recommended because there was no workhorse within 50 miles & couldn't drive without brakes, the mileage IS 29,114. the front brakes calipers froze and overheated and burned up the brakes, got the back brakes checked and had the same problem. spoke to workhorse and was told they don't make things as good as before. the man said it was out of warranty and nothing he could do, also the dash air compressor went bad after we had the a/c fixed two other times. I spoke to winnebago and they pointed to workhorse and workhorse pointed to winnebago. now we are stuck with all these bills and I am so afraid to go anywhere in this motorhome which cost $114,000 new. I found a lot of problems like this online with workhorse. I have a expensive dud now and want my repair money back and assurance that this won't happen over and over. if I had made it to the interstate with no brakes, I would have had a horrible accident. I see that nhtsa IS investigation (pe07032) IS investigating workhorse custom chasis service brakes, hydraulic, IS there any recall on this? I have owned motorhomes since 1976 and never had this problem. robert williams. *tr
- Service brakes, hydraulic
On a recent trip to the florida keys the anti-lock brake light came on. I checked the brakes and they seemed alright for the rest of the trip. I made an appointment to correct this condition in jan '08. The repair facility advise that all the brakes had been overheated, found calipers seizing up…
On a recent trip to the florida keys the anti-lock brake light came on. I checked the brakes and they seemed alright for the rest of the trip. I made an appointment to correct this condition in jan '08. The repair facility advise that all the brakes had been overheated, found calipers seizing up damaged wheel speed sensors. They replaced calipers, rotors, pads and wheel speed sensors also drilled and installed a grease fitting on the service brake pedal bell crank to prevent future seizing and damage new brake components. I have the damaged parts. *tr
- Service brakes, air
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 workhorse chassis. the contact stated that both front and rear passenger side brake components failed. the brake assemblies exhibit elevated temperatures that could lead to catastrophic deterioration of the wheel end components such as bearings, races, spindles…
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 workhorse chassis. the contact stated that both front and rear passenger side brake components failed. the brake assemblies exhibit elevated temperatures that could lead to catastrophic deterioration of the wheel end components such as bearings, races, spindles, knuckles, seals, hubs, rotors, patch bolts, calipers, brake pads, and ABS sensors. the failure mileage was 10,000 and current mileage was 10,400.
- Service brakes, hydraulic
Brakes on motorhome very poor, never sure it would stop. it would slow down, just kept on pushing the pedal and the mh kept on moving, finally, it would stop. complained many times to dealer. just spent over $1700 to have brakes repaired by an independent truck garage mechanic. he said it was…
Brakes on motorhome very poor, never sure it would stop. it would slow down, just kept on pushing the pedal and the mh kept on moving, finally, it would stop. complained many times to dealer. just spent over $1700 to have brakes repaired by an independent truck garage mechanic. he said it was the poorest braking system he ever saw and he could not guarantee the parts he had to replace would hold up. I have copies of all service and recalls done on the mh. *tr
- Suspension › Front › Control arm
2003 workhorse truck. control arm failure causing front wheel to fall off. *jb
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Disc › Caliper · Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Disc › Rotor
(1) on my first trip in my 2003 workhorse chassis r.v. About 31 miles into the trip in freeway traffic I noticed on a slight up grade the vehicle was not accelerating like normal. The transmission was not upshifting. (2) I pulled over and then smoke began to come from underneath the vehicle . I…
(1) on my first trip in my 2003 workhorse chassis r.v. About 31 miles into the trip in freeway traffic I noticed on a slight up grade the vehicle was not accelerating like normal. The transmission was not upshifting. (2) I pulled over and then smoke began to come from underneath the vehicle . I told the passengers to get out . The smoke was coming out from the front and rear tires,the tires and wheels were very hot! ! After getting under the chassis I could see the rotor was smoking hot . I felt the heat of the calipers from a couple feet away . After letting the brakes cool for 20 minutes I moved the vehicle backwards a few feet on a slight grade I still had to throttle up to go down hill. So I let it sit 30 minutes more .during this time I checked several times to see if it would move down hill in neutral ,when it moved on its own I drove to the nearest exit and stopped on a hill ,with it in neutral it would roll down hill on its own. The vehicle smelled bad inside. The trip was over! After it cooled down and rolled on its own I drove it for about 10 miles without braking then I stopped to check to see if anything was still hot or any brake drag, and there was none . So I took it to a dealer and it IS still there now.the parts to repair are in excess of 3 thousand dollars. And this failure happend with only 6,300. Miles on it !! *jb
- Steering › Linkages › Arm › Idler and attachment
Consumer concerning workhorse custom chassis problems. *ts ***nar*** the idler arm relay had to be replaced twice. The consumer was informed, the part was probably not heavy enough for the weight of the front end of the motor home. *jb
- Service brakes, hydraulic
Dt*: the contact stated the brakes failed twice within 60,000 miles. The vehicle has been taken to the dealer several times where the ABS sending unit was replaced and a brake tune up was performed. neither remedy fixed the problem. the dealership determined the brake fuel heats up to a boiling…
Dt*: the contact stated the brakes failed twice within 60,000 miles. The vehicle has been taken to the dealer several times where the ABS sending unit was replaced and a brake tune up was performed. neither remedy fixed the problem. the dealership determined the brake fuel heats up to a boiling paste consistency and creates air in the brake line which causes the brakes to stick. there IS a recall, 04v195000, for this problem however the remedy also did not fixed the problem. updated 7/18/2006 - *nm
- Power train › Automatic transmission
Driving I70 in mountains going east bound on west side of floyd hill. the transmission miss shifted and dropped into second at 65 mph and we were almost rear ended by 18 wheeler took it workhorse and they said nothing wrong but thus was the third this happened this IS a P32 workhorse. *Jb
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip · Suspension › Front › Shock absorber
While driving at any speed, the vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. the mechanic informed the driver that the shock absorbers needed to be replaced. however the problem still occurs. the ABS light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. the…
While driving at any speed, the vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. the mechanic informed the driver that the shock absorbers needed to be replaced. however the problem still occurs. the ABS light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. the cause has not been determined at this time. please provide further details. *Jb
- Power train › Automatic transmission
The gear shift cable snapped. The vehicle was towed. The dealership repaired the problem. *jb the gear shift lever was shifted from park into drive and snapped leaving the vehicle disengaged in park. *sc *jb
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10202062As communicated previously, an issue discovered in DiagnosticLink version 8.14SP1 was fixed with the release of 8.14SP3 on August26. The issue related to incorrect parameter data being sent to the server for some Chassis ECUs.
- 10017409Oil leak under extreme cold temperatures (-34 degrees c) (-30 degrees f) or colder).
Every Workhorse Chassis model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.