- Vehicles
- 477
- Built between
- Feb 1996 – Jun 1997
- Models
- 8
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 19 May 1998
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between February 1996 and June 1997. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1996-1997 Spartan AdvantageBuilt February 1996 to June 1997
- 1996-1997 Spartan BaronBuilt February 1996 to June 1997
- 1996-1997 Spartan ChargerBuilt February 1996 to June 1997
- 1996-1997 Spartan DiamondBuilt February 1996 to June 1997
- 1996-1997 Spartan GladiatorBuilt February 1996 to June 1997
- 1996-1997 Spartan LOW Profile GladiatorBuilt February 1996 to June 1997
- 1996-1997 Spartan Metro StarBuilt February 1996 to June 1997
- 1996-1997 Spartan Silent NightBuilt February 1996 to June 1997
What the defect is
Vehicle description: fire trucks with occupant side entry doors. A difficulty in latching the side entry doors to the full closed position, and/or, the doors may release to the secondary latch position. Also loose rivets can cause the latch control mechanism to bind not allowing the door to latch properly when shut.
What could happen
The cab door could unlatch from its primary latch while the vehicle is in motion, allowing the door to open unassisted to the secondary latch position.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL REMOVE AND REPLACE THE LATCH AND ACTUATOR ON THE DOORS.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtFebruary 1996 to June 1997
- Recall reported to NHTSA24 April 1998
- Owners notified19 May 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 24 April 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
- SPARTAN MOTORS, 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 began may 19, 1998. 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 should contact spartan at 1-517-543-6400.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.