Great Dane Suspension: King Pin

Great Dane is recalling about 31,446 vehicles over a problem with the suspension. This could result in trailer separation from thetractor, with potential to injure people in its path and to crash into othervehicles.

Campaign
89V117000
Manufacturer
GREAT DANE TRAILERS, INC.
Reported
18 July 1989
Vehicles
31,446
Built between
Jun 1987 – Aug 1989
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
14 August 1989
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between June 1987 and August 1989. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1988-1989 Great Dane Platform TrailerBuilt June 1987 to August 1989
  • 1988-1989 Great Dane VANBuilt June 1987 to August 1989

What the defect is

The king pin that is used to join a trailer to the tractor at the couplings may fracture.

What could happen

This could result in trailer separation from thetractor, with potential to injure people in its path and to crash into othervehicles.

What gets fixed

REPLACE TRAILER MAIN BEAM (INCLUDING THE KING PIN).

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJune 1987 to August 1989
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA18 July 1989
  3. Owners notified14 August 1989

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 18 July 1989.

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.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
GREAT DANE TRAILERS, INC.
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

System:suspension/king pin.vehicle description:vans and platform trailers.

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