- Vehicles
- 2
- Built between
- Not published
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 15 January 2021
- Repaired
- 0%
- Unrepaired
- 1
Does this affect my vehicle?
The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.
- 2020 Smeal Aerial
- 2020 Smeal Pumper
Repair progress
1 of 2 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2022.
0% repaired — 0 of 2 reported
- Scrapped or exported
- 1
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
Smeal Holding, LLC (Smeal) is recalling certain 2020 Aerial and Pumper vehicles, equipped with battery-powered 3600 wireless remote controller units used to control the movement of electric firefighting monitors in firefighting vehicles. The monitor is used to direct the water stream and adjust the spray pattern. The wireless remote controller's sleep mode is disabled, which results in the batteries discharging faster than normal.
What could happen
Inability to use the wireless remote controller may hinder the firefighting efforts, increasing the risk of injury.
What gets fixed
Smeal will notify owners, and dealers will ask the customer to return the affected controller to Akron Brass for a software update, free of charge. The recall began on January 15, 2021.
Timeline
- Recall reported to NHTSA12 January 2021
- Owners notified15 January 2021
- Latest repair reportQ4 2022 — 0% 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 12 January 2021.
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 Smeal customer service at 1-800-867-6478. Smeal's number for this recall is 20-17.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 20-17
- Recalling manufacturer
- Smeal Holding, LLC
- 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.