The defect
THE MATING SURFACE ON SOME LAMINATED "J" HOOKS MAY BE UNEVEN, OR THE SWING DOWN ARMS UNEQUAL IN LENGTH, EITHER OF WHICH COULD RESULT IN UNEVEN LOAD BEARING OF THE HOOKS.
The risk
UNEVEN LOAD BEARING ON "J" HOOKS COULD CAUSE FAILURE OFEITHER HOOK, WHICH RESULTS IN TRAILER SEPARATION AND A VEHCILE CRASH WITHOUTWARNING.
The remedy
REPLACE SWING DOWN ARMS IF THEY ARE UNEQUAL IN LENGTH, AND INSPECT AND REPAIR "J" HOOKS TO ASSURE SYMMETRICAL LOADING.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Witzer Challenge | 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 |
Components: TRAILER HITCHES
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Witzer Challenge | 1985 | 0 | 1 |
| Witzer Challenge | 1986 | 0 | 1 |
| Witzer Challenge | 1987 | 0 | 1 |
| Witzer Challenge | 1988 | 0 | 1 |
| Witzer Challenge | 1989 | 0 | 1 |
| Witzer Challenge | 1990 | 0 | 1 |
Other trailer hitches recalls in 1990
3 of the 208 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 1990 concerned the trailer hitches.
| 90V202001 15 Dec 1990 | NATEC |
| 90V012000 23 Jan 1990 | TRAILMOBILE INC. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 1990