NHTSA Complaint #11488662 — 2021 WINNEBAGO NAVION

We only used the automatic electric awning a handful of times, On September 2nd after retracting the awning, it violently opened on it own. Despite trying to extend or retract the motor would just click and click. Since it was 10PM at night, we left it extended overnight. We then spent several hours trying to contact Carefree Awning or an RV repair. Ultimately we learned how to retract it manually and secured it in place with Gorilla tape. Once secure we were able to drive to a local store and purchase heavy duty zip ties to secure for additional strength since we had a 1,000 mile drive home. There are numerous accounts online regarding random deployment of the awning. Because of the large size ("sail area") of the deployed awning, having it extend while traveling home on various interstate highways was a great concern. There has been a recall issued (for improper installation and randomly opening) for the identical awning on the same vehicle, for the 2022 and 2023 models but for some reason the 2021 model year was excluded, even though the identical awning.