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.
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 brake handle does return to the off position, the trailer service brakes may drag causing the wheel end to overheat and potentially cause a wheel end fire or tire blowout. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.
If engine oil comes into contact with a hot surface, there could be an increased risk of a fire.
Inoperable wipers may result in poor driver visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Without a signal to disengage the clutch when the brakes are applied, the distance required to stop the truck may lengthen, increasing the risk of a crash.
Loose or chafed cables may lead to overheating of the battery cable and switch which may result in a fire.
Two 2012 VOLVO VNMs 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.