- Vehicles
- 269
- Built between
- Jun 2012 – Aug 2013
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 16 August 2013
- Repaired
- 96%
- Unrepaired
- 0
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between June 2012 and August 2013. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2012-2013 Kaufman TrailerBuilt June 2012 to August 2013
Repair progress
The manufacturer reports every reachable vehicle in this recall has been repaired, as of Q1 2015.
96% repaired — 258 of 269 reported
- Owners not reachable
- 11
Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.
What the defect is
Kaufman Trailers of NC, Inc. and Kaufman Trailers of NE, Inc. (Kaufman) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 gooseneck auto transport trailers and equipment trailers manufactured June 26, through August 6, 2013. These trailers are equipped with kingpins attched to square bottom plates which may crack over time, causing the button to separate from the bottom plate.
What could happen
If the kingpin button separates, the trailer could become detached from the towing vehicle increasing the risk of a crash.
What gets fixed
Kaufman will notify owners instructing them to inspect their trailers for kingpins with square bottom plates. Kaufman will ship replacement kingpins to owners of affected trailers, free of charge. The recall began on August 16, 2013.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJune 2012 to August 2013
- Recall reported to NHTSA7 August 2013
- Owners notified16 August 2013
- Latest repair reportQ1 2015 — 96% repaired
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 7 August 2013.
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 Kaufman at 1-336-790-6800.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- Kaufman Trailers
- 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
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to 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.