NHTSA Complaint #11492072 — 2022 WINNEBAGO VIEW

While driving down the highway we noticed a noise. The noise got louder. I was a passenger and looked in the mirror and I could see that our awning manufactured by Carefree had deployed. We hurriedly pulled over to the shoulder. It was not a very wide shoulder and it was very dangerous. We were obviously very anxious about this. We could not get the awning to pull back in. We limped to the next exit where it would be safer to work on it. We were then able to get the awning to retract but it was ripped. We drove carefully to the next rest stop and applied four zip ties to the awning and pulled the DC fuse. We did not want this to happen again. For our safety and for the safety of others. This is a brand new vehicle and our first road trip. There was no warning other than the sound. There have been no problems prior to this incident. The awning had been used one time at a campground with no problem. It is our understanding that this awning is not supposed to deploy when the engine is running no matter what. Obviously that system failed. We immediately reported to the dealer. According to them they had never known anyone that this is happened to you before, yet following the incident I have found multiple reports of this happening. This is extremely dangerous.