The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Have a Safety Problem?

How to Report a Safety Issue to the NHTSA Regarding Recreational Vehicle (RV)

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
NHTSA states in writing that the RV industry is permitted to “self-certify and self-regulate” which means there are no federal safety regulations at all for the RV industry.

If you are experiencing serious safety concerns with your Grand Design RV, it is critical to report them to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) first, before filing a report with Grand Design RV or any RV manufacturer. These reports help trigger investigations, recalls, and legal accountability.

Common Safety Issues to Report

Include any of the following (and others you believe are safety-related):

• Excessive frame flex or failure (see Symptoms List)

• Doors/cargo doors opening during transport and/ or slide-outs opening during transport

• Fire hazard potentials (electrical in nature)

• Electrical issues that pose a fire risk

• CO2 poisoning (alarms not going off)

• Brake system failure

• Suspension breakage while traveling

• Broken axles

• Any other structural or mechanical defects that could cause injury or loss of control
  

Step-by-Step: Filing a Complaint with NHTSA

1. Go to the NHTSA Complaint Portal

Visit:

Click “Report a Safety Problem” and then select “Vehicle”.

2. Enter Your Vehicle Information

• Input your VIN (Vehicle Identification Number).

• The system will check for existing recalls.

• Confirm your vehicle details and proceed.

3. Describe the Incident

When prompted to describe the problem:

• Start with the most critical issue: e.g., “Doors and slide-outs open during transport.”

• Then list all frame and structural symptoms (refer to the “Frame Failure Symptoms List” in the Facebook group).

• Be concise but thorough — you are limited to 2,000 characters.

You may be able to upload photos or videos. If not, mention that you have them available upon request.

4. Select the Problem Area

When asked to identify the affected part:

• Choose “Other/I Am Not Sure”

• Then manually enter: “Frame and Structural Integrity”

5. Submit and Confirm

• After submitting, you will receive a confirmation email with a case number (VOQ number).

• Check your spam/junk folder if you don’t see it within a few minutes.
  

What Happens Next?

Within 1–3 business days, you may be contacted by an NHTSA investigator (call or email). Be prepared to:

• Answer follow-up questions

• Provide additional documentation or media

• After filing NHTSA complaint, then and only then you report it to Grand Design RV

• Share your repair history and communications with Grand Design
  

NHTSA Contacts for RV Investigations

You may hear from one of the following investigators below:

Joshua Neff
Chief, Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Defect Division
joshua.neff@Dot.gov

Jonathan Harrison
Safety Defects Specialist
Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles Division
jonathan.harrison@dot.gov
(202) 366-8833

Robert Nguyen
Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles Division
robert.nguyen@dot.gov
(214) 783-4471

Final Tips

• Keep a copy of your complaint and all related emails together (possibly in a email folder and cloud account for pictures and videos.

• If you don’t hear back within a week, follow up with the investigator.

• Be sure to email the NHTSA investigators when significant issues happen so they can update your complaint

• Encourage others with similar issues to file their own reports — volume matters.

NOTE:
1. Check your Spam folders for emails from NHTSA. Extremely important, please!

2. After going through these questions, some questions will be unique to your complaint so that they could vary.

3. If your RV company mobile tech or a dealership failed to perform all steps in your technical service bulletin, let NHTSA know why the tech failed to remove the phylon under the pin box and riser wall to do a thorough inspection of possible cracked/broken welds in the frame.

4. If you have an after-market pin box like the Gen-Y, make sure you let them know about the improvement in the ride since this upgrade and mention the Magnuson-Moss Act to them as the resource that protects you from warranty denial by RV assembly/manufacturing companies.



These may be questions that are asked of you by the NHTSA investigators. This is when you get the opportunity to explain everything that relates to your RV issues. Try to list outreach chronologically, and make sure it pertains to the RV only without getting into a long, drawn-out story. Try your best to keep emotion out of it and stick to the facts. This is when you have the opportunity to attach pictures and videos to this email request.
- Are you the original owner of this trailer?

- Has this trailer ever been in an accident or had its frame repaired/altered?

- What do you usually carry in this trailer?

- Has this trailer ever had water damage?

- Is the pin box currently on the trailer original from Grand Design? If not, what brand, model, and size is it? Who installed it?

- Have you been in contact with Grand Design in this matter

- How many times have your doors come open?

- Is there any other damage you’ve noticed in your trailer?

- Do you give this office permission to share your Vehicle Identification Number/VIN and Personal Identifying Information/PII with the manufacturer?
Yes, I 100% approve this.


Other Possible Questions:

- Is there damage to the frame at the pin box area? If so, can you share photos of that damage with this office? If so, please limit them to your Top 5 pictures for now.

- Have any doors opened in transit, such as cargo doors, entry/exit doors, or propane doors? If those doors opened, how many times did these doors open, and were any items lost to the roadway?

- Regarding the doors that have opened, do you have photos of them to share? We want to learn where they are on the trailer (driver’s side/passenger side? Towards the front, toward the rear?) and how the door itself operates (is the hinge to the front of the trailer, to the rear? Do the doors which might have opened lift because they are hinged at the top?). Please limit your photos to two for each door that has opened.

- If your trailer has had slideout troubles you feel are attributable to your frame concerns, please describe those slideout problems.

- If your trailer has had slideout troubles you feel are attributable to your frame concerns. Please tell us where the affected slideout is installed on your trailer.


Copy and paste these questions into a new email to whatever NHTSA investigator is assigned your case. if you never got these questions from NHTSA. Also, add plenty of pictures and videos to the email. Don't change these questions at all because they come from NHTSA, but feel free to add additional information to your responses. Please read through it thoroughly before sending it.