NHTSA Complaint #11487005 — 2021 NEWMAR DUTCH STAR

This model motorhome has a steering assist function to allow the steering wheel effort to be adjusted to a very light turning input or a very hard turning input. This feature is known as Comfort Drive or Comfort Steer. As I was driving down the highway at 60 MPH, I got a warning on the dash that said “Steering Effort Control (CTRL) Disabled” and the steering wheel immediately went into the very hard steering feel. While still driveable at highway speeds, all turns, especially at slow speeds are difficult to turn the wheel into and out of the turn. On a social media page for Newmar owners, I found that several people had this same issue and a “fix” to return the steering to normal was to turn off the chassis batteries and turn them back on. This did reset the Comfort Drive initially, but as I was making a turn at an intersection, the warning came on again, and because of the slow speed in making the turn, the steering wheel was excessively hard to turn and I drifted into the lane next to me and almost ran onto the curb. Had there been another vehicle next to me or a pedestrian walking on the sidewalk, it could have been a serious accident. Supposedly, Freightliner (the motorhome is built on a Freightliner chassis) knows about this issue but has not voluntarily offered to fix the issue. I am told there is no repair possible on this system, instead it requires a complete replacement of the steering column and a software update of the Comfort Drive system. Newmar says it is not their problem and Freightliner refuses to address the issue in a timely manner. I seriously believe that if this system were to shut off on someone not as capable of turning the steering wheel in the heaviest steering mode on this 50,000 pound vehicle, , there could very easily be an accident due to loss of control of the motorhome.