Freightliner Engine and Engine Cooling

Freightliner is recalling about 18,067 vehicles over a problem with the engine and engine cooling. A short-circuited grid heater could result in a vehicle fire and injury to vehicle occupants.

Campaign
09V400000
Manufacturer
DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA
Reported
8 October 2009
Vehicles
18,067
Built between
Feb 2006 – Oct 2009
Models
6
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
4 November 2009
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between February 2006 and October 2009. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2007-2010 Freightliner CascadiaBuilt February 2006 to October 2009
  • 2007-2010 Freightliner CenturyBuilt February 2006 to October 2009
  • 2007-2010 Freightliner ColumbiaBuilt February 2006 to October 2009
  • 2007-2010 Sterling 8500Built February 2006 to October 2009
  • 2007-2010 Sterling 9500Built February 2006 to October 2009
  • 2007-2010 Western Star 4900Built February 2006 to October 2009

What the defect is

Daimler trucks is recalling model year 2007-2010 freightliner, sterling and western star vehicles equipped with detroit diesel DD15 EPA07 engines which were manufactured with grid heaters. Increased internal grid heater resistance caused by improperly tightened screws may melt the solder on the grid heater circuit board leading to a short circuit.

What could happen

A short-circuited grid heater could result in a vehicle fire and injury to vehicle occupants.

What gets fixed

THE ENGINE CONTROL LOGIC WILL BE REPROGRAMMED FREE OF CHARGE BY DETROIT DIESEL AUTHORIZED REPAIR FACILITIES AND DIRECT WARRANTY CUSTOMERS TO PROVIDE COLD WEATHER STARTING WITHOUT THE NEED OF A GRID HEATER. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 4, 2009.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtFebruary 2006 to October 2009
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA8 October 2009
  3. Owners notified4 November 2009

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 8 October 2009.

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 detroit diesel at 1-313-592-5800 and daimler trucks at 1-800-547-0712.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA
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

Daimler trucks recall no. 09C-4.OWNERS 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 <a href=http://www.safercar.gov>http://www.safercar.gov</a> .

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