Featherlite Trailer Hitches

Featherlite is recalling about 1,341 vehicles over a problem with the trailer hitches. Failure of the assembly could result in accidental damage including personal injury, property damage, or both.

Campaign
02V166000
Manufacturer
FEATHERLITE, INC.
Reported
17 June 2002
Vehicles
1,341
Built between
Aug 1999 – Aug 2000
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
28 June 2002
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

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

  • 2001 Featherlite Diamond DBuilt August 1999 to August 2000
  • 2000-2001 Featherlite STLBuilt August 1999 to August 2000

What the defect is

On certain livestock and horse steel gooseneck trailers, inadequate reinforcement and material on certain components of the trailer's gooseneck assembly can, over time, lead to a failure of the assembly.

What could happen

Failure of the assembly could result in accidental damage including personal injury, property damage, or both.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE TRAILER FOR ANY INDICATIONS OF CRACKED WELDS ANYWHERE IN THE GOOSENECK AREA, LOOSE SIDE SHEET SKIN ANYWHERE ON THE GOOSENECK, OR ANY INDICATIONS THAT THE FLOOR ABOVE THE COUPLER STEM IS RAISED OR ELEVATED. A REINFORCEMENT PLATE WILL BE WELDED TO THE SIDE OF THE FRAME TUBE AND CORNER BRACE PLATES. ALSO, IF NEEDED, AN ADDITIONAL CROSS TUBE WILL BE ADDED ABOVE THE COUPLER ASSEMBLY. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JUNE 28, 2002.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtAugust 1999 to August 2000
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA17 June 2002
  3. Owners notified28 June 2002

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 17 June 2002.

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.

Manufacturer contact

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 featherlite at 1-877-903-1444.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
FEATHERLITE, INC.
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

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