The defect
CERTAIN FREIGHTLINER SCHOOL BUSES AND TRUCKS MANUFACTURED FROM OCTOBER 23, 2004, TO MARCH 21, 2006. DURING THE STEERING COLUMN MANUFACTURING PROCESS TWO WELDS MAY HAVE BEEN MISSING.
The risk
COLUMNS WITH TWO WELDS MISSING MAY FATIGUE AND FRACTURE AND ALLOW THE STEERING WHEEL TO PROGRESSIVELY BE MOVED OUT OF ITS NORMAL POSITION WHICH MAY CAUSE THE STEERING TO RESPOND DIFFERENTLY THAN EXPECTED. IF THIS CONDITION IS IGNORED, A CRASH MAY OCCUR.
The remedy
FREIGHTLINER WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND INSPECT AND REPAIR THE AFFECTED VEHICLE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 30, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT FREIGHTLINER AT 1-800-547-0712.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Freightliner Century ST | 2005, 2006 |
| Freightliner Columbia | 2005, 2006 |
| Freightliner Coronado | 2005, 2006 |
| Thomas Built Buses FS-65 | 2004, 2005, 2006 |
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner | 2004, 2005, 2006 |
Components: STEERING:COLUMN
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freightliner Century ST | 2005 | 1 | 6 |
| Freightliner Century ST | 2006 | 1 | 5 |
| Freightliner Columbia | 2005 | 38 | 14 |
| Freightliner Columbia | 2006 | 14 | 21 |
| Freightliner Coronado | 2005 | 0 | 9 |
| Freightliner Coronado | 2006 | 1 | 12 |
| Thomas Built Buses FS-65 | 2004 | 1 | 7 |
| Thomas Built Buses FS-65 | 2005 | 0 | 9 |
| Thomas Built Buses FS-65 | 2006 | 1 | 11 |
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner | 2004 | 0 | 1 |
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner | 2005 | 0 | 1 |
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner | 2006 | 1 | 1 |
Other steering recalls in 2007
38 of the 587 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2007 concerned the steering; FREIGHTLINER LLC filed 99 campaigns in all.
| 07V596000 21 Dec 2007 | FARBER SPECIALTY VEHICLES |
| 07V592000 21 Dec 2007 | FREIGHTLINER LLC |
| 07V591000 20 Dec 2007 | PACCAR INCORPORATED |
| 07V590000 20 Dec 2007 | MONACO COACH CORPORATION |
| 07V584000 19 Dec 2007 | FOUR WINDS INTERNATIONAL |
| 07V583000 14 Dec 2007 | FLEETWOOD ENTERPRISES, INC. |
| 07V577000 12 Dec 2007 | WINNEBAGO INDUSTRIES, INC. |
| 07V570000 10 Dec 2007 | FREIGHTLINER LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2007