TRAILER HITCHES:FIFTH WHEEL ASSEMBLY
If the fifth wheel and locking mechanism are sufficiently damaged, the locking mechanism may fail to operate as intended and the trailer may unexpectedly detach from the tractor, increasing the risk of a crash.
2 safety recall campaigns, 1 defect investigation.
Complaints are reports from owners of this model year, not findings about any particular vehicle, and a model that sold in large numbers will collect more of them. They are counted here as filed; nothing is inferred from them.
If the fifth wheel and locking mechanism are sufficiently damaged, the locking mechanism may fail to operate as intended and the trailer may unexpectedly detach from the tractor, increasing the risk of a crash.
IF THE SLACK ADJUSTER HOUSING WERE TO BREAK, THE WHEEL BRAKE TO WHICH THE SLACK ADJUSTER IS ATTACHED WOULD NO LONGER FUNCTION, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO HAVE REDUCED BRAKING CAPACITY AND, IF MOUNTED ON THE STEER AXLE, THE VEHICLE COULD PULL TO ONE SIDE, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A CRASH.
Two 2011 FREIGHTLINER COLUMBIA GLIDERs can have entirely different histories, and a recall campaign usually covers a build-date window rather than a whole model year — which a VIN does not encode, so only the door-jamb label settles it. Scanning the VIN adds the decode, the crash tests, the fuel economy and the complaints matched to that exact engine, trim and assembly plant.