Kenworth Equipment

Kenworth is recalling about 290 vehicles over a problem with the equipment. If the fifth wheel and locking mechanism are sufficiently damaged, the locking mechanism may fail to operate as intended and the trailer may unexpectedly detach from the tractor, increasing the risk of a crash.

Campaign
15V641000
Manufacturer
PACCAR Incorporated
Reported
9 October 2015
Vehicles
290
Built between
Aug 2010 – Dec 2012
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
7 December 2015
Repaired
30%
Unrepaired
193

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between August 2010 and December 2012. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2011 Kenworth T700Built August 2010 to October 2010
  • 2012-2013 Peterbilt 579Built February 2011 to December 2012
  • 2012-2013 Peterbilt 587Built February 2011 to December 2012

Repair progress

193 of 290 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2017.

30% repaired — 86 of 290 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

Paccar Incorporated (Paccar) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Peterbilt 579 and 587 trucks manufactured February 14, 2011, to December 5, 2012 and 2011 Kenworth T700 trucks manufactured September 21, 2010, to October 1, 2010. The affected trucks are equipped with Fontaine Ultra LT Fifth Wheel connectors, which, due to cumulative damage to the fifth wheel and its locking mechanism, have a locking mechanism that may fail to operate or to properly engage.

What could happen

If the fifth wheel and locking mechanism are sufficiently damaged, the locking mechanism may fail to operate as intended and the trailer may unexpectedly detach from the tractor, increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

PACCAR will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fifth wheel with an Ultra NT model fifth wheel, free of charge. The recall began on December 7, 2015.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtAugust 2010 to December 2012
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA9 October 2015
  3. Owners notified7 December 2015
  4. Latest repair reportQ1 2017 — 30% 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 9 October 2015.

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 customer service at 1-425-828-5000 or Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4000. Paccar's numbers for this recall are 15KWP (Kenworth) and 1015M (Peterbilt).

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
15KWP and 1015M
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

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