The defect
ON CERTAIN FIRE TRUCKS WITH TANDEM STEER AXLES. THE TRW TIE-ROD ON THE REAR-MOST AXLE OF A TANDEM AXLE IS RESTRAINED FROM ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT BY A PAIR OF ANTI-ROTATION SEALS LOCATED AT THE BALL SOCKET JOINTS. THESE ANTI-ROTATION SEALS WILL COMPRESS OVER TIME. IF THE ANTI-ROTATION SEAL ALLOWS TOO MUCH MOTION, THE SEALS CAN DETERIORATE, ALLOWING CONTACT BETWEEN THE BALL SOCKET AND THE BALL SHAFT. THIS METAL-TO-METAL CONTACT WILL TRANSMIT FORCES INTO THE TIE-ROD TUBE, CAUSING FATIGUE FAILURE INITIATING AT THE ROOT OF THE FEMALE TREADS.
The risk
FAILURE OF THE TIE-ROD WILL ALLOW ONE OF THE WHEELS TO SWING TO THE LIMIT OF ITS STEERING STOP, POTENTIALLY CAUSING A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TIE ROD. NOTIFICATION TO OWNERS BEGAN NOVEMBER 7, 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT PIERCE AT 1-888-974-3723.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Pierce Custom Chassis | 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 |
Components: STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierce Custom Chassis | 1996 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierce Custom Chassis | 1997 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierce Custom Chassis | 1998 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierce Custom Chassis | 1999 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierce Custom Chassis | 2000 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierce Custom Chassis | 2001 | 0 | 2 |
| Pierce Custom Chassis | 2002 | 0 | 4 |
| Pierce Custom Chassis | 2003 | 0 | 3 |
Other steering recalls in 2003
30 of the 527 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2003 concerned the steering; PIERCE MANUFACTURING filed 40 campaigns in all.
| 03V492000 26 Dec 2003 | AUTOCAR, LLC |
| 03V522000 11 Dec 2003 | MACK TRUCKS, INC |
| 03V527000 11 Dec 2003 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. |
| 03V513000 10 Dec 2003 | AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO. |
| 03V517000 10 Dec 2003 | SPARTAN MOTORS, INC. |
| 03V488000 4 Dec 2003 | FREIGHTLINER LLC |
| 03V491000 1 Dec 2003 | AUTOCAR, LLC |
| 03V453000 14 Nov 2003 | AUTOCAR, LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2003