- Vehicles
- 248
- Built between
- Oct 2000 – Dec 2003
- Models
- 3
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 16 November 2005
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between October 2000 and December 2003. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2000-2003 Freightliner FreightlinerBuilt October 2000 to December 2003
- 2000-2003 Thomas MVPBuilt October 2000 to December 2003
- 2000-2003 Western Star Western StarBuilt October 2000 to December 2003
What the defect is
Certain my 2000-2003 freightliner, thomas mvp school bus and western stars trucks manufactured between november 19, 2000, and march 30, 2005, and equipped with webasto coolant heaters, model dbw 2010, assembled with webasto burner tubes, p/n 303046/26533A. The stainless steel burner tube is made out of a material that is not to specification and could fail prematurely.
What could happen
Should the burner tube fail, the coolant heater could overheat, possibly resulting in a fire.
What gets fixed
THOMAS BUILT WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS AND REPLACE THE SUBJECT BURNER TUBES WITH NEW CERTIFIED BURNER TUBES AT NO COST TO THE OWNER. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 16, 2005.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtOctober 2000 to December 2003
- Recall reported to NHTSA27 April 2005
- Owners notified16 November 2005
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 27 April 2005.
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 may contact thomas built customer support office at 1-336-889-4871 or contact freightliner at 1-800-547-0712.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- FL-449
- Recalling manufacturer
- FREIGHTLINER LLC
- Recall initiated by
- ODI
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
Freightliner/thomas built recall no. FL-449.CUSTOMERS may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.
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.