- Vehicles
- 7
- Built between
- Sep 2004 – Apr 2005
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 18 July 2005
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between September 2004 and April 2005. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2005 Sundowner SunliteBuilt September 2004 to April 2005
What the defect is
On certain horse/stock trailers equipped with dexter predator electric/hydraulic brake systems and were not factory equipped with a storage battery, the break-away system battery does not have enough amp hours to maintain braking for the required 15 minutes in case of trailer break-away when using the electric/hydraulic brake system.
What could happen
If the trailer were to come loose from the tow vehicle, it is possible that the current break-away battery would not be able to maintain breaking action for the required 15 minutes, which could result in a crash or injury/damage to the operator and/or the horses/stock.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A BATTERY AND BATTERY BOX AND REWIRE THE TRAILER THROUGH THE STORAGE BATTERY. THEY WILL ALSO APPLY A NOTICE LABEL ON OR BY THE BATTERY LOCATION INFORMING THEM THAT THE BREAK-AWAY SYSTEM IS TIED INTO THE STORAGE BATTERY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 18, 2005.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtSeptember 2004 to April 2005
- Recall reported to NHTSA27 June 2005
- Owners notified18 July 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 June 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 sundowner at 1-800-654-3879, extension 2149.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- SUNDOWNER TRAILERS, 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
Customers can 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.