Kenworth Trailer Hitches: Fifth Wheel Assembly

Kenworth is recalling about 172 vehicles over a problem with the trailer hitches. The fifth wheel may fail to latch without the operator's knowledge, causing the tractor and trailer to disengage increasing the risk of a crash.

Campaign
08V176000
Manufacturer
PACCAR INCORPORATED
Reported
17 April 2008
Vehicles
172
Built between
Mar 2006 – Dec 2006
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
1 May 2008
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between March 2006 and December 2006. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2007 Kenworth T600Built March 2006 to December 2006
  • 2007 Kenworth T800Built March 2006 to December 2006
  • 2007 Kenworth W900Built March 2006 to December 2006

What the defect is

Paccar is recalling 172 my 2007 kenworth T800 short hood, W900 long hood and T600 tractor/trailers equipped with saf-holland simplex fifth wheels. If the pivot bolt joint for the lever bar is over torqued, the spacer deforms, and makes contact with the lever bar. This condition coupled with corrosion associated with the seasonal dry out, can affect the lock system of the fifth wheel, preventing the fifth wheel jaw from latching securely around the trailer king pin.

What could happen

The fifth wheel may fail to latch without the operator's knowledge, causing the tractor and trailer to disengage increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

KENWORTH IS WORKING WITH SAF-HOLLAND SIMPLEX AND WILL INSPECT THE PIVOT BOLT JOINT FOR A DEFORMED SPACER AND REPLACE THE BOLT, WASHER AND SPACER WITH A HEX-HEAD SHOULDER BOLT AND WASHER FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 1, 2008.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMarch 2006 to December 2006
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA17 April 2008
  3. Owners notified1 May 2008

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 17 April 2008.

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 kenworth at 1-425-828-5440 or saf-holland at 1-231-773-3271.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
08KW5
Recalling manufacturer
PACCAR INCORPORATED
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

Paccar/kenworth recall no. 08KW5.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.

Same component

Same brand