Reese Trailer Hitches

Reese is recalling about 1,700 vehicles over a problem with the trailer hitches. In vehicles with manual transmissions, the brake light will stop working.

Campaign
98E006000
Manufacturer
REESE PRODUCTS, INC
Reported
9 March 1998
Vehicles
1,700
Built between
Jan 1998 – Mar 1998
Models
1
Recall type
Equipment
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
1 March 1998
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 1998 and March 1998. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • Reese Trailer HitchBuilt January 1998 to March 1998

What the defect is

Equipment description: trailer converters for use on toyota multi-purpose passenger vehicles. The circuit board of the 'converter' in the wiring harness is subject to electrical shorting, causing the brake light fuse to blow.

What could happen

In vehicles with manual transmissions, the brake light will stop working. In vehicles with automatic transmissions, the driver will not be able to again shift into 'drive.'

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE WIRING HARNESS BOTH IN USE AND THOSE INSTALLED IN VEHICLES STILL IN DEALERS' INVENTORIES.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 1998 to March 1998
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA9 March 1998
  3. Owners notified1 March 1998

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 9 March 1998.

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
REESE PRODUCTS, 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

Owner notification is expected to begin during MARCH1998.OWNERS who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time shouldcontact reese at 1-219-264-7564.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

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