NHTSA Complaint #11452953 — 2018 FORD E-450

I received a recall letter stating the awning (Solera Smart Arm manufactured by Lippert) on my newly purchased Forest River RV could begin to open up as the vehicle was in motion. Because of the extreme safety issue, I immediately took it into the service department for fear it would rip off while driving and cause a collision and possible serious injury to others. After attempting to fix the recall issue my awning has never worked properly. After 7 attempts, several replacement parts and three years later, my awning still does not work. After each time the awning was serviced, I would bring it back to storage. A month or two later I would go on a trip. Once I arrived at my location, I would attempt to open my awning and it was inoperative. It would take one to two months to get a service appointment and then a month or more for the service technician to attempt to fix the issue. This occurred five times after the initial attempt to fix the recall. Each time moisture got into the exterior controls and no amount of sealant would rectify the problem. I am unsure if the safety issue has even been rectified and now have to travel with zip ties around my awning arms. Once again, my awning is inoperative.