1999 Fleetwood Bounder: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 1999 Fleetwood Bounder
On the 1999 Fleetwood Bounder, the failure owners report most often is radiator or coolant leak, with 10 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 20,000 miles. Overall it scores 73 out of 100, high risk for a 1999.
High risk for a 1999 — 38th riskiest of the 303 1999 vehicles we can rate. 55 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 19 named failure modes on the 1999 Fleetwood Bounder, and the three most-reported carry 44% of everything filed.
Radiator or coolant leak leads with 10 reports and about 11 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other body or interior problem follows with 10 reports, median 40,000 miles. 1 of those report mention a fire.
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure follows with 4 reports, median 10,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into cooling (10), body (10) and fuel (9).
At what mileage it happens
8 of the reports on the 1999 Fleetwood Bounder came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 20,000 miles.
The busiest stretch is between 10,000 and 20,000 miles, which alone holds 38% of the dated reports.
63% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, which is early enough that a fair number of these cars were still under a factory warranty when the owner complained.
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 19. 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
- Dashed the median reported mileage
How bad it is when it goes
Across the named modes, 1 a fire. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.29, 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: radiator or coolant leak at $350–$1,900, other body or interior problem at $200–$2,000, fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure at $250–$1,800 and other powertrain problem at $400–$4,500. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
33% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radiator or coolant leak | cooling | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 11.5 | $350–$1,900 | High |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 10 | 2 | — | 42k | — | 11.5 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure | fuel | 4 | 1 | — | 12k | — | 4.6 | $250–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4.6 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Other suspension problem | suspension | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4.6 | $350–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Fuel pump failure | fuel | 3 | 1 | — | 6k | — | 3.4 | $600–$2,600 | High |
| Other visibility problem | glass | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3.4 | $150–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin | emissions | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2.3 | $250–$2,000 | High |
| Headlight failure or clouding | lighting | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2.3 | $150–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Other engine problem | engine | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2.3 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other fuel system problem | fuel | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2.3 | $300–$2,200 | High |
| No-start or intermittent start failure | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 12k | — | 1.1 | $200–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Misfire or rough idle | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 44k | — | 1.1 | $250–$1,600 | Moderate |
| Brake line, hose or caliper failure | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 15k | — | 1.1 | $250–$1,600 | Critical |
| Cruise control failure | adas | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $200–$1,400 | High |
| Tire blowout or tread separation | wheels | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $200–$1,500 | Critical |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 30k | — | 1.1 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| 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 1999 Fleetwood Bounder draws about 63 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 96th percentile of complaint rates among 1999 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 1999 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
Tl*the contact owns a 1999 fleetwood bounder. The contact stated that the refrigerator in the rv was repaired according to recall 07v120000 (equipment: recreational vehicle). The contact stated that the refrigerator failed as it leaked and would not keep cool. The manufacturer had not been notified. The current and failure mileages were approximately 44,790.
Tl*the contact owns a 1999 fleetwood bounder. While heading to a service station approximately four miles from home, the contact smelled a strong ammonia odor. He pulled into a dump site and cleaned out the vehicle. He continued driving and the smell remained. He shut off the refrigerator to get gasoline; however, he did not smell the odor anymore since the refrigerator was off. He turned the valve back on and his wife smelled ammonia again. The contact pulled off the road and removed the side compartment from the outside of the vehicle. He noticed smoke coming from the burner housing compartment and also heard a crackling sound in the burner tube. He waited a moment until the crackling stopped. Once the contact arrived home, he located a recall on the internet and found a notice sent by dometic. He called the manufacturer and was informed that they were only responsible for installing the heat shield according to the recall, but not for any other repairs. The recall number was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 38,225.
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure
On my 1999 fleetwood bounder motorhome, generator was unable to draw fuel from main fuel tank. Subsequent inquiry on bounder web page I found that other owners had identical problems and upon having the main fuel tank removed from coach found a rubber fuel line had disintegrated and that fuel had been permeating the floor of the coach for some undetermined time. I notified fleetwood customer owner relations mr. Duane mixon and his supervisor, mr. Ken cowles who asserted that is was just like a television that was out of warranty and that fleetwood had no obligation to look further into the matter although I told them that at least one other owner had experienced the same problem ( I have since heard from another owner with same problem). I have pictures showing the deteriorated line and the area permeated with fuel below the living compartment of the coach. I and my family have been living in some degree of jeopardy from this invisible danger and I feel that an immediate recall of these coaches is in order. *jb
Recalls on the 1999 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 1999 Fleetwood Bounder, affecting an estimated 870 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. 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.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
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.
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 1999 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 1999 — 38th riskiest of the 303 1999 vehicles we can rate. Because the ranking is against the same model year only, age cancels out of it.
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 1999 itself at 73.
If the model year is negotiable, 1996 scores lower than 1999 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.
Where these figures stop being useful
55 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 55 reports, 8 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 15% 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".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
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 1999 Fleetwood Bounder?
The most-reported failures are radiator or coolant leak (10 reports), other body or interior problem (10 reports, median 40,000 miles) and fuel tank, filler or evap failure (4 reports, median 10,000 miles). 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 1999 Fleetwood Bounder reliable?
It scores 73 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 38th riskiest of the 303 1999 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 1999 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