Tekonsha Trailer Hitches

Tekonsha is recalling about 120,000 vehicles over a problem with the trailer hitches. In the event of a trailer breaking loose from a tow vehicle, the malfunction of a breakaway switch could result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, property damage or both.

Campaign
00E045000
Manufacturer
TEKONSHA ENGINEERING CO.
Reported
10 August 2000
Vehicles
120,000
Built between
Apr 2000 – Jul 2000
Models
1
Recall type
Equipment
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
5 September 2000
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between April 2000 and July 2000. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • Tekonsha Breakaway SwitchBuilt April 2000 to July 2000

What the defect is

Equipment description: breakaway switch assemblies for trailers shipped during april 1 through july 7, 2000. The subject switches are base parts 2011 and 50-85-009, and are branded tekonsha (2011) and bargman (50-85-009). These may be packaged in kit numbers 1026, 1028, 2011-23, 2028-23, 2011P, 2011AP, 20005, 20010, 20015, 20020, 2026, 2026-LB, 2028, 1026-LB, 50-85-200, 50-85-201, 50-85-250, 5061404, 5061406, 5061407, 5061408, 5061410, 5061506, 5061507, 5061508, 5067406, 5067407, 5067408, 5067409, and 5067410. The internal switching mechanism may fail to make proper contact and provide electrical continuity when the breakaway pin is pulled. This condition may result in no electrical power to the trailer brakes in the event of a trailer breakaway situation and could occur without warning.

What could happen

In the event of a trailer breaking loose from a tow vehicle, the malfunction of a breakaway switch could result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, property damage or both.

What gets fixed

TEKONSHA IS NOTIFYING DISTRIBUTORS AND ORIGINAL EQUPIMENT MANUFACTURERS AND WILL REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE BREAKAWAY DEVICE WITH NEW BREAKWAWY KITS FREE OF CHARGE. ALSO, TEKONSHA WILL REIMBURSE FOR ALL FREIGHT CHARGES TO AND FROM ITS CUSTOMERS ON RECALLED PART NUMBER.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtApril 2000 to July 2000
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA10 August 2000
  3. Owners notified5 September 2000

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 10 August 2000.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
TEKONSHA ENGINEERING CO.
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owner notification began september 5, 2000.OWNERS who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact tekonsha towing systems at 1-800-325-5860.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand