Freightliner Suspension: Spindle

Freightliner is recalling about 1,100 vehicles over a problem with the suspension. Incorrectly heat treated spindles could fracture, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.

Campaign
05V467000
Manufacturer
FREIGHTLINER LLC
Reported
5 October 2005
Vehicles
1,100
Built between
Jun 2005 – Jul 2005
Models
6
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
11 April 2006
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between June 2005 and July 2005. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2005 Freightliner ArgosyBuilt July 2005 to July 2005
  • 2005 Freightliner Business Class M2Built June 2005 to July 2005
  • 2005 Freightliner Century STBuilt June 2005 to July 2005
  • 2005 Freightliner ColumbiaBuilt June 2005 to July 2005
  • 2005 Thomas C2Built June 2005 to July 2005
  • 2005 Thomas FS-65Built June 2005 to July 2005

What the defect is

Certain 2005 thomas built FS-65 and C-2 school buses and 2005 freightliner argosy, columbia, century st, and M2 business class trucks manufactured between june 4 and july 8, 2005. The spindles in the rear axle housing were overheated during the heat treatment process. Incorrectly heat treated spindles could result in a fracture of the spindle.

What could happen

Incorrectly heat treated spindles could fracture, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.

What gets fixed

FREIGHTLINER WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS AND INSPECT FOR THE HEAT TREAT DATE CODE ON THE END OF THE REAR SPINDLES AND REPLACE THE AXLE HOUSING IF NECESSARY. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON JANUARY 23, 2006.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJune 2005 to July 2005
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA5 October 2005
  3. Owners notified11 April 2006

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 5 October 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 freightliner

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
FL-460
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

Freightliner recall no. FL-460.CUSTOMERS may 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.

Same component

Same brand