- Vehicles
- 25,643
- Built between
- Oct 2004 – Mar 2006
- Models
- 5
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 30 August 2007
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between October 2004 and March 2006. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2005-2006 Freightliner Century STBuilt October 2004 to March 2006
- 2005-2006 Freightliner ColumbiaBuilt October 2004 to March 2006
- 2005-2006 Freightliner CoronadoBuilt October 2004 to March 2006
- 2004-2006 Thomas Built Buses FS-65Built October 2004 to March 2006
- 2004-2006 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-LinerBuilt October 2004 to March 2006
What the defect is
Certain freightliner school buses and trucks manufactured from october 23, 2004, to march 21, 2006. During the steering column manufacturing process two welds may have been missing.
What could happen
Columns with two welds missing may fatigue and fracture and allow the steering wheel to progressively be moved out of its normal position which may cause the steering to respond differently than expected. If this condition is ignored, a crash may occur.
What gets fixed
FREIGHTLINER WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND INSPECT AND REPAIR THE AFFECTED VEHICLE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 30, 2007.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtOctober 2004 to March 2006
- Recall reported to NHTSA3 July 2007
- Owners notified30 August 2007
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 2007.
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 can contact freightliner at 1-800-547-0712.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- FL-503
- 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 recall no. FL-503.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.