Street Smarts: More than 11,000 Trucks Recalled
21 August 2024
A serious steering issue has sparked a recall of thousands of medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
An urgent recall notice has been issued by International Trucks and Paccar’s Kenworth and Peterbilt brands. Navistar and Paccar have recalled both medium- and heavy-duty truck models due to a potentially faulty ball stud in tie rods or drag links in the steer assembly.
The issue is so serious that in early July, Paccar issued a rare “Do Not Drive” warning to customers until they have had the vehicles taken to a dealer and repaired.
As of early August, the recalls for all three truck brands totaled nearly 8,000 models. But then, in the middle of the month, Daimler Trucks North America announced that it, too, was dealing with the same steering issue. As a result, Daimler issued a recall for an additional 3,000 Freightliner and Western Star trucks.
Third-party Supplier Mix-up
No OEM is directly responsible for the faulty steering component. A third-party component supplier, that delivers production parts to all three OEMs, inadvertently supplied experimental parts that used an unapproved heat-treating finishing process.
Photo: jn14productions via Adobe Stock
An initial investigation has found that the experimental ball studs have potentially made their way into Dana, Meritor and Paccar components.
That investigation determined that some ball studs supplied to Meritor by USK International did not meet case-hardening production specifications. As a result, there is a risk that the metal in the ball studs is more brittle and prone to cracking and breaking than production-approved components. If the ball stud breaks, loss of control and a crash are very real possibilities.
USK International said the recalled components were experimental parts manufactured using an unapproved heat treat process. The parts were accidentally introduced into the company’s production line and shipped to International, Kenworth and Peterbilt and installed on newly built trucks.
Meritor said in a statement it understands that USK International is initiating an internal review to implement corrective actions and avoid reoccurrence when handling experimental materials and processes.
International and Paccar dealerships will replace the tie rod end and re-align the front axle free of charge. When parts are available, remedy instructions and owner notifications will be distributed.
Affected Models and Production Dates
The first recall notice was issued in late June by Paccar. The initial recall targeted nearly 3,900 medium- and heavy-duty trucks with diesel powertrains for suspect USK ball studs. Initially, the recall was reserved for truck chassis with Dana steering components.
At that time, Paccar went an extra step and advised customers that any suspect trucks not be driven until repairs were made.
By July 25th, the recall notice had expanded to 7,400 units. This was because Paccar amended the recall notice to include chassis with Paccar and Meritor front axles that have suspect USK tie rod assemblies.
The Paccar recall affects 2025 model year trucks including:
- Kenworth K270, K370, L770, T280, T380, T480, T680, T880, W900, W990
- Peterbilt 220, 520, 536, 537, 548, 567, 579, 589
The affected trucks were produced between April 10 and July 3, 2024. Owner notification letters for the Paccar recall were mailed August 11, 2024.
By late July, the recall was expanded to include more than 500 International trucks. Navistar said it estimates that about 20% of the recalled trucks have the potentially faulty USK International ball studs and owners will need to have them replaced.
The International recall, dated July 26, also affects certain 2025 model year International HV, HX, LT, MV and RH vehicles.
The suspect International trucks were produced this year on these dates:
- HV: April 26-July 2
- HX: April 30-June 25
- LT: April 16-July 2
- MV: April 26-July 4
- RH: April 17-June 26
Owner notification letters for affected International customers are expected to be mailed September 9. Truck owners may contact Navistar customer service at 1-800-448-7825. Navistar’s number for this recall is 24511.
Daimler Issues Recall
In mid-August, Daimler Trucks North America announced that it had identified the same USK International ball stud issue with its 2025 model year Freightliner and Western Star trucks.
Daimler said the number of trucks potentially involved is 3,421. Freightliner said only 1% of that number are estimated to have the defective parts installed.
As a result, Daimler has issued a recall for certain 2025 vehicles, including:
- Freightliner 108SD, manufactured between April 22-June 26
- Freightliner 114SD, manufactured between May 20-July 2
- Freightliner Business Class M2, manufactured between April 22-July 20
- Freightliner Cascadia, manufactured between April 15-July 11
- Western Star 47X, manufactured on June 21
Jack Roberts is a Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based independent journalist and licensed commercial driver with more than 20 years’ experience covering the North American and global trucking industries.
According to Daimler, the affected vehicles were built with specific Meritor front axles in DTNA’s Saltillo and Santiago plants and with front axle tie rod assemblies that may have incorporated ball studs that were not properly heat treated by a sub-supplier. DTNA said it is not aware of any warranty claims, customer complaints or reports of injury or death potentially related to this issue.
Freightliner and Western Star dealers will replace the tie rod assembly, free of charge.
Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 29, 2024. Owners may contact DTNA customer service at (800) 745-8000. DTNA’s number for this recall is F1007.
