1998 Fleetwood Bounder: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 1998 Fleetwood Bounder
On the 1998 Fleetwood Bounder, the failure owners report most often is other body or interior problem, with 8 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 35,000 miles. Overall it scores 71 out of 100, high risk for a 1998.
High risk for a 1998 — 28th riskiest of the 271 1998 vehicles we can rate. 38 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
What breaks on the 1998 Fleetwood Bounder
Owners have reported 18 named failure modes on the 1998 Fleetwood Bounder, and the three most-reported carry 39% of everything filed.
Other body or interior problem leads with 8 reports and about 9.2 per 1,000 vehicles.
Wiring harness or short circuit follows with 4 reports.
Alternator or charging system failure follows with 3 reports.
By system, the reports fall mostly into body (9), electrical (9) and fuel (4).
At what mileage it happens
Too few of the reports on this year carry an odometer reading to describe the timing: 7 of them do. The mileages quoted elsewhere on this page come from the modes that have enough of them.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 18. The full list is in the table below.
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
What happens when these parts fail
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.61, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: other body or interior problem at $200–$2,000, wiring harness or short circuit at $400–$3,500, alternator or charging system failure at $450–$1,600 and other visibility problem at $150–$1,400. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
5% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other body or interior problem | body | 8 | 1 | — | 29k | — | 9.2 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Wiring harness or short circuit | electrical | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4.6 | $400–$3,500 | High |
| Alternator or charging system failure | electrical | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3.4 | $450–$1,600 | High |
| Other visibility problem | glass | 3 | 1 | — | 29k | — | 3.4 | $150–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Fuel leak or fuel odor | fuel | 2 | 2 | — | 54k | — | 2.3 | $300–$2,500 | Critical |
| Parking brake failure | brakes | 2 | 2 | — | 42k | — | 2.3 | $250–$1,300 | Moderate |
| Exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin | emissions | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2.3 | $250–$2,000 | High |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2.3 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other fuel system problem | fuel | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2.3 | $300–$2,200 | High |
| CV axle or driveshaft failure | drivetrain | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $450–$2,200 | High |
| Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure | steering | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $700–$2,600 | High |
| Door latch or handle failure | body | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $250–$1,200 | High |
| Headlight failure or clouding | lighting | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $150–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 41k | — | 1.1 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Other suspension problem | suspension | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $350–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other lighting problem | lighting | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $120–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Unclassified problem | other | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 1998 Fleetwood Bounder draws about 44 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 94th percentile of complaint rates among 1998 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 870 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 1998 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Other body or interior problem
Dt*: the contact stated there are four thermo-pane windows in the motor home located in the driver's compartment. Three of these windows have developed a leak, causing the windows to fog reducing the drivers vision. The dealership has been informed. Updated 08/14/06. *jb
Recalls on the 1998 model year
NHTSA has issued 3 recall campaigns covering the 1998 Fleetwood Bounder, affecting an estimated 1,443 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover equipment:recreational vehicle/trailer, suspension:rear and equipment:mechanical:integrated jack/leveler/stabilizer. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.
EQUIPMENT:RECREATIONAL VEHICLE/TRAILER
167,096 vehicles 2007-03-19- Defect
- Certain motor homes and travel trailers equipped with a two-door refrigerator, manufactured by the dometic corporation, may have a defect in the boiler tube. Pressurized coolant solution could be released into an area where an ignition source (gas flame) is present.
- Consequence
- Release of coolant under certain conditions could ignite and result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Fleetwood will be working with dometic in order to repair these refrigerators (please see 06e076). Dometic will repair these refrigerators by installing a secondary burn housing, a thermal fuse, and a melt fuse free of charge. Dometic has retained stericycle inc. To manage this campaign. Stericycle will assist you in locating dealerships or service centers and will provide assistance with scheduling of appointments. Owners may contact dometic/stericycle at 1-888-446-5157 or fleetwood at 1-800-322-8216.
SUSPENSION:REAR
95 vehicles 1999-01-26- Defect
- Vehicle description: class a motor homes. These motor homes, when fully equipped and loaded with typical cargo, will experience an overloaded condition on the rear axle.
- Consequence
- This could cause the rear axle components to fail prematurely resulting in loss of vehicle control.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the rear axle with a new higher capacity rear axle.
EQUIPMENT:MECHANICAL:INTEGRATED JACK/LEVELER/STABILIZER
1,915 vehicles 1997-10-07- Defect
- Vehicle description: class a motor homes. The hydraulic hoses which operate the leveling jack system is routed too close to the engine exhaust manifold causing the hose to melt, releasing hydraulic fluid.
- Consequence
- This hydraulic fluid can ignite in the engine compartment causing a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect, replace any damaged hoses, and relocate the affected hydraulic lines.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 1998 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Better and worse years of the same car
High risk for a 1998 — 28th riskiest of the 271 1998 vehicles we can rate. The comparison is always within the same model year, so an older car is never penalised for having had longer to break.
Across the 10 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 1996 comes out best at 65 and 2003 worst at 81, with 1998 itself at 71.
If the model year is negotiable, 1996 scores lower than 1998 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 1996–1999 generation specifically, 1996 is the strongest year at 65 and 1997 the weakest at 75.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 1996-1999 generation, 1996 Fleetwood Bounder scores best at 65 and 1997 Fleetwood Bounder worst at 75.
What this page cannot tell you
38 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 38 reports, 7 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 18% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 1998 Fleetwood Bounder?
The most-reported failures are other body or interior problem (8 reports, median 30,000 miles), wiring harness or short circuit (4 reports) and alternator or charging system failure (3 reports). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 1998 Fleetwood Bounder reliable?
It scores 71 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 28th riskiest of the 271 1998 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 1998 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Fleetwood Bounder is best?
Within the 1996–1999 generation, 1996 scores best at 65 out of 100 and 1997 worst at 75. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed