Utilimaster Visibility: Fan/Motor

Utilimaster is recalling about 15,762 vehicles over a problem with the visibility. When a resistor overheats, the plenum could melt, resulting in deformation and possible ignition.

Campaign
01V003000
Manufacturer
UTILIMASTER CORPORATION
Reported
5 January 2001
Vehicles
15,762
Built between
Oct 1999 – Dec 2000
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
24 January 2001
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between October 1999 and December 2000. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1999-2001 Utilimaster Walk-IN VANBuilt October 1999 to December 2000

What the defect is

Vehicle description: walk-in delivery vans supplied to the united states postal service. Under certain snow conditions, if moisture gets into the blower motor and subsequently refreezes, the blower motor could seize causing a resistor to overheat.

What could happen

When a resistor overheats, the plenum could melt, resulting in deformation and possible ignition.

What gets fixed

UTILIMASTER WILL INSTALL FUSES BETWEEN THE RESISTORS AND THE POWER SUPPLY, WHICH WILL PROTECT THE RESISTOR ASSEMBLY IN THE EVENT OF AN OVERCURRENT SITUATION. AN EXISTING FUSE WILL BE RESIZED TO PROTECT THE WIRING HARNESS IN HIGH-SPEED FAN OPERATION. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JANUARY 24, 2001. ONLY US POSTAL SERVICE VEHICLES ARE INVOLVED IN THIS CAMPAIGN.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtOctober 1999 to December 2000
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA5 January 2001
  3. Owners notified24 January 2001

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 5 January 2001.

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
UTILIMASTER CORPORATION
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.

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