The defect
Fontaine Modification (Fontaine) is recalling certain model year 2006-2015 Freightliner M2 trucks manufactured January 2, 2006, to January 23, 2015 and modified by Fontaine to have dual steering. Brake lights of the affected vehicles will not illuminate if the primary brake air supply is depleted below 6 psi. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 121, "Air Brake Systems."
The risk
If the primary brake air system fails causing the truck to rely on the secondary brake air system, the brakes lights may not illuminate when the brakes are applied, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Fontaine will notify owners, and dealers will install a repair kit to resolve the issue, free of charge. The recallbegan on June 12, 2015. Owners may contact Fontaine customer service at 1-800-366-8246.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Freightliner M2 | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
Components: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH | SERVICE BRAKES, AIR
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 M2 | 2006 | 3 | 5 |
| Freightliner M2 | 2007 | 2 | 7 |
| Freightliner M2 | 2008 | 1 | 10 |
| Freightliner M2 | 2009 | 3 | 15 |
| Freightliner M2 | 2010 | 1 | 17 |
| Freightliner M2 | 2011 | 0 | 17 |
| Freightliner M2 | 2012 | 2 | 9 |
| Freightliner M2 | 2013 | 1 | 8 |
| Freightliner M2 | 2014 | 1 | 11 |
| Freightliner M2 | 2015 | 1 | 12 |
Other exterior lighting recalls in 2015
23 of the 863 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2015 concerned the exterior lighting; Fontaine Modification filed 7 campaigns in all.
| 15V861000 22 Dec 2015 | Ford Motor Company |
| 15V777000 20 Nov 2015 | Polaris Industries, Inc. |
| 15V759000 16 Nov 2015 | Hyundai Motor America |
| 15V630000 7 Oct 2015 | Volvo Trucks North America |
| 15V575000 16 Sept 2015 | Vermeer Manufacturing Company |
| 15V566000 8 Sept 2015 | Hyundai Motor America |
| 15V520000 17 Aug 2015 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 15V519000 14 Aug 2015 | General Motors LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2015