Freightliner Corporation: Suspension › Front
Freightliner Corporation reported this defect to federal regulators on Apr 21, 1998 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 22,186. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH MERITOR INTERAXLE DRIVELINE U-JOINTS. DEFLECTOR RINGS, A PART OF THE SYSTEM TO SEAL THE U-JOINTS FROM CONTAMINATES, ARE LOOSE. THIS ALLOWS WATER TO ENTER THE U-JOINT BEARING AREA RESULT IN DILUTION OF THE LUBRICANT, OXIDATION OF THE BEARING AND SEAL SURFACES, AND LOSS OF LUBRICANT.
The risk
IF THIS PROBLEM GOES UNDETECTED, THE INTERAXLE DRIVELINE CAN SEPARATE FROM THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE U-JOINTS WITH THE CURRENT DESIGN U-JOINTS.
3 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 Freightliner Century | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 Freightliner Century | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 Freightliner Century | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 98V085000.
Full record for the 1998 Freightliner Century → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →