Utility Parking Brake

Utility is recalling about 98,000 vehicles over a problem with the parking brake. If there is a delay of the spring brake application, the trailer may roll away after it has decoupled from the tractor, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Campaign
16V503000
Manufacturer
Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company
Reported
5 July 2016
Vehicles
98,000
Built between
Jan 2014 – Mar 2016
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
18 August 2016
Repaired
32%
Unrepaired
66,818

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 2014 and March 2016. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2014-2016 Utility DRY VAN TrailersBuilt January 2014 to March 2016
  • 2014-2016 Utility Flatbed TrailersBuilt January 2014 to March 2016
  • 2014-2016 Utility Refrigerated TrailersBuilt January 2014 to March 2016

Repair progress

66,818 of 98,000 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2017.

32% repaired — 31,182 of 98,000 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

Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company (Utility) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 FS1CHA, FS1CHS, FS2CDHA, FS2CHA, FS2CHS, FS3CDHA, FS3CHA, FS3CHS, TS1CA, TS2CDHA, TS2CHA, VS1DC, VS1RA, VS2DX, VS2RA, VS2RAP, VS3DX, VS3RA, and VS4DX refrigerated, dry van, and flatbed trailers manufactured January 1, 2014, to March 4, 2016, equipped with certain Bendix SR5 spring brake valves. These valves may have been improperly machined which may cause a delay of application of the spring brakes while parking.

What could happen

If there is a delay of the spring brake application, the trailer may roll away after it has decoupled from the tractor, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

What gets fixed

Utility will contact owners and provide a remedy kit, complete with instructions, to repair any affected SR-5 trailer relay valves, free of charge. Utility distributed an interim notification to owners on July 27, 2016. The recall began on August 18, 2016.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 2014 to March 2016
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA5 July 2016
  3. Owners notified18 August 2016
  4. Latest repair reportQ4 2017 — 32% 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 5 July 2016.

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 Utility customer service at 1-800-423-6591.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company
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