- Vehicles
- 54
- Built between
- Nov 2003 – Sep 2005
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 24 August 2006
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between November 2003 and September 2005. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2003-2005 Unimog U500Built November 2003 to September 2005
What the defect is
On certain trucks equipped with automatic shift, air may leak into the clutch hydraulic system at the central release bearing seal preventing the clutch from opening completely and potentially preventing the transmission from shifting into neutral.
What could happen
Failure of the clutch to open completely or the transmission to shift into neutral could make the vehicle difficulty to bring to a complete stop or cause the vehicle to roll forward while stopped increasing the risk of a crash.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE CENTRAL RELEASE BEARING AND UPDATE THE CLUTCH ACTUATION ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT (ECU) SOFTWARE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 24, 2006.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtNovember 2003 to September 2005
- Recall reported to NHTSA3 July 2006
- Owners notified24 August 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 3 July 2006.
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 at 1-800-547-0712.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- FL-478
- 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-478.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.