The defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: WALK-IN DELIVERY VANS SUPPLIED TO THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE. UNDER CERTAIN SNOW CONDITIONS, IF MOISTURE GETS INTO THE BLOWER MOTOR AND SUBSEQUENTLY REFREEZES, THE BLOWER MOTOR COULD SEIZE CAUSING A RESISTOR TO OVERHEAT.
The risk
WHEN A RESISTOR OVERHEATS, THE PLENUM COULD MELT, RESULTING IN DEFORMATION AND POSSIBLE IGNITION.
The remedy
UTILIMASTER WILL INSTALL FUSES BETWEEN THE RESISTORS AND THE POWER SUPPLY, WHICH WILL PROTECT THE RESISTOR ASSEMBLY IN THE EVENT OF AN OVERCURRENT SITUATION. AN EXISTING FUSE WILL BE RESIZED TO PROTECT THE WIRING HARNESS IN HIGH-SPEED FAN OPERATION. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JANUARY 24, 2001. ONLY US POSTAL SERVICE VEHICLES ARE INVOLVED IN THIS CAMPAIGN.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Utilimaster Walk-IN Van | 1999, 2000, 2001 |
Components: VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM:FAN/MOTOR
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utilimaster Walk-IN Van | 1999 | 0 | 4 |
| Utilimaster Walk-IN Van | 2000 | 0 | 3 |
| Utilimaster Walk-IN Van | 2001 | 0 | 4 |
Other visibility recalls in 2001
16 of the 461 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2001 concerned the visibility; UTILIMASTER CORPORATION filed 27 campaigns in all.
| 01V368000 5 Dec 2001 | FLEETWOOD FOLDING TRAILER |
| 01V358000 23 Nov 2001 | COUNTRY COACH INC |
| 01V241000 20 Nov 2001 | AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION CORP. |
| 01V305000 26 Sept 2001 | PACCAR, INCORPORATED |
| 01V261000 15 Aug 2001 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY |
| 01V258000 8 Aug 2001 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY |
| 01V202000 18 Jun 2001 | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA,INC |
| 01V177000 29 May 2001 | AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION CORP. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2001