Spartan Steering: Linkages

Spartan is recalling about 277 vehicles over a problem with the steering. If the steering linkage separates, a loss of steering control would occur, increasing the risk of a crash.

Campaign
14V812000
Manufacturer
Spartan Motors, Inc.
Reported
23 December 2014
Vehicles
277
Built between
Nov 2012 – Oct 2013
Models
5
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
26 January 2015
Repaired
61%
Unrepaired
109

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between November 2012 and October 2013. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2013-2015 Spartan GladiatorBuilt November 2012 to October 2013
  • 2013-2015 Spartan K2Built November 2012 to October 2013
  • 2013-2015 Spartan K3Built November 2012 to October 2013
  • 2013-2015 Spartan MetrostarBuilt November 2012 to October 2013
  • 2013-2015 Spartan MMBuilt November 2012 to October 2013

Repair progress

109 of 277 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2016.

61% repaired — 168 of 277 reported

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

Spartan Motors, Inc. (Spartan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Gladiator, K2, K3, MetroStar, and MM motorhome and emergency response chassis cabs manufactured November 28, 2012, to October 15, 2013. The castle nuts for the steering linkage may loosen, allowing the steering linkage to separate.

What could happen

If the steering linkage separates, a loss of steering control would occur, increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

Spartan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and tighten the castle nuts, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on January 26, 2015.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtNovember 2012 to October 2013
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA23 December 2014
  3. Owners notified26 January 2015
  4. Latest repair reportQ2 2016 — 61% 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 23 December 2014.

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 Spartan customer service at 1-517-543-6400. Spartan's number for this recall is 14023.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
14023
Recalling manufacturer
Spartan Motors, Inc.
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.

Same component

Same brand