Freightliner Steering

Freightliner is recalling about 130 vehicles over a problem with the steering. The driver can possibly loose control of the vehicle if the tires contact the steering components while the bus is in motion.

Campaign
03V488000
Manufacturer
FREIGHTLINER LLC
Reported
4 December 2003
Vehicles
130
Built between
Not published
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
27 January 2004
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.

  • 2003 Freightliner FS-65 School BUS Chassis
  • 2003 Freightliner MB Shuttle BUS Chassis
  • 2003 Freightliner XC Motorhome Chassis

What the defect is

On certain school bus, xc RV, and shuttle bus chassis manufactured between february 1 and july 18, 2003, incorrect axle steering stop bolts were installed on aac front axles. It may be possible to turn the front wheels in either direction until the tires contact or damage other steering components.

What could happen

The driver can possibly loose control of the vehicle if the tires contact the steering components while the bus is in motion.

What gets fixed

FREIGHTLINER WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS AND REPAIR THE BUSES FREE OF CHARGE. OWNER NOTIFICATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING DECEMBER 2003.

Timeline

  1. Recall reported to NHTSA4 December 2003
  2. Owners notified27 January 2004

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 4 December 2003.

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 freightliner at 503-745-5219.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
FL419A
Recalling manufacturer
FREIGHTLINER LLC
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, customers can 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