Caterpillar Engine and Engine Cooling: Exhaust System

Caterpillar is recalling about 2,309 vehicles over a problem with the engine and engine cooling. When the straps fail, the muffler can drop to the ground.

Campaign
04E054000
Manufacturer
CATERPILLAR INC.
Reported
9 August 2004
Vehicles
2,309
Built between
Not published
Models
1
Recall type
Equipment
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
29 October 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 Caterpillar 3126E

What the defect is

Caterpillar 2003 my 3126E engines with converter mufflers with welds added to the straps that support the converter mufflers to the chassis. These welds are causing the straps to fail.

What could happen

When the straps fail, the muffler can drop to the ground.

What gets fixed

CATERPILLAR WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS TO TAKE THEIR VEHICLE TO A CATERPILLER ENGINE REPAIR FACILITY TO HAVE THE CONVERTER MUFFLER STRAPS REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN OCTOBER 29, 2004.

Timeline

  1. Recall reported to NHTSA9 August 2004
  2. Owners notified29 October 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 9 August 2004.

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 caterpiller at 309-675-6496.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
CATERPILLAR 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, 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