Fouts Bros. Exterior Lighting: Brake Lights

Fouts Bros. is recalling about 15 vehicles over a problem with the exterior lighting. If the brake lights incorrectly illuminate, it may confuse other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.

Campaign
19V214000
Manufacturer
Fouts Bros
Reported
20 March 2019
Vehicles
15
Built between
Nov 2017 – May 2018
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
25 March 2019
Repaired
7%
Unrepaired
12

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between November 2017 and May 2018. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2017-2018 Fouts Bros. F-3000Built November 2017 to May 2018
  • 2017-2018 Fouts Bros. F-PumperBuilt November 2017 to May 2018
  • 2017-2018 Fouts Bros. F-RescueBuilt November 2017 to May 2018

Repair progress

12 of 15 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2023.

7% repaired — 1 of 15 reported

Owners not reachable
2

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

Fouts Bros (Fouts) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Fire Apparatus F-3000, F-Rescue and F-Pumper vehicles equipped with Whelen brake lights. Depending on the specific wiring of the vehicle, these brake lights may illuminate when the brake pedal is not being pressed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

What could happen

If the brake lights incorrectly illuminate, it may confuse other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

Fouts has notified owners, and Fouts service centers will replace the brake lights, free of charge. The recall began on March 25, 2019.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtNovember 2017 to May 2018
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA20 March 2019
  3. Owners notified25 March 2019
  4. Latest repair reportQ4 2023 — 7% 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 20 March 2019.

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 Fouts customer service at 1-800-948-5045.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
Fouts Bros
Safety standard
FMVSS 108
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.

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