- Vehicles
- 225
- Built between
- Not published
- Models
- 5
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 2 December 2022
- Repaired
- 45%
- Unrepaired
- 80
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.
- 2021 KME Panther
- 2022-2023 KME redundant PANTHER
- 2021-2023 Spartan Fire FC-94
- 2021-2023 Spartan Fire Gladiator
- 2021-2023 Spartan Fire Metrostar
Repair progress
80 of 225 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q3 2024.
45% repaired — 101 of 225 reported
- Scrapped or exported
- 44
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 Fire, LLC (Spartan Fire) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Gladiator, MetroStar, FC-94, and KME Panther emergency vehicles. The tie rod clamps may have been improperly heat-treated, causing them to fail and allowing the tie rods to separate.
What could happen
Tie rod separation can result in a sudden loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash.
What gets fixed
Dealers will replace the tie rod clamps, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on December 2, 2022.
Parts involved
- Tie Rod AssemblyUnknownTie Rod Clamp
Part numbers are as filed by the manufacturer and are listed for reference. Your dealer will confirm the correct part for your vehicle.
Timeline
- Recall reported to NHTSA17 October 2022
- Owners notified2 December 2022
- Latest repair reportQ3 2024 — 45% 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 17 October 2022.
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 Fire's customer service at 1-517-543-6400. Spartan Fire's number for this recall is 22007.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 22007
- Recalling manufacturer
- Spartan Fire, 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.nhtsa.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.