2004 Keystone Cougar problems & reliability
26 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2004 Keystone Cougar, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Tires → | 20 | 77% |
| Equipment | 5 | 19% |
| Electrical System | 1 | 4% |
| Structure | 1 | 4% |
| Suspension | 1 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Tl* the contact owns a 2004 keystone cougar fifth wheel equipped with a dometic refrigerator. The contact stated that the refrigerator caught fire. The fire extinguished independently. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. A technician diagnosed that the refrigerator needed to be replaced and…”
Equipment · filed Nov 4, 2016
“I have a 2004 keystone travel trailer. The refrigerator has a recall from dometic. The recall is to prevent fires if the refrigerator leaks flammable coolant into the propane flame. My cooler has started to leak and is no longer safe to use. Dometic will not replace the faulty cooler. Their solution to the problem…”
Equipment · filed Mar 9, 2015
“Multiple tire blow outs less than 5000 miles with the first one, less than 80 miles with the replacement (spare never used always maintained) which then caused a third tire to strip. All of this within one trip with our rv that is just 5yrs old. We purchased it brand new and since he was a truck driver, he always did…”
Tires · filed Aug 1, 2009
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Safety recalls
The 2004 Keystone Cougar has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2004 Keystone Cougar?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.