VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH DESIGN LEVEL 1, ROCKWELL FF980 SERIES FRONT AXLE. THE FRONT AXLE HUB FLANGE CAN DEVELOP CRACKS DUE TO HIGH STRESS LEVELS.
Safety risk
CRACKS IN A HUB FLANGE CAN RESULT IN A WHEEL SEPARATION.
Manufacturer remedy
DEALERS WILL REMOVE AND REPLACE THE FRONT HUBS WITH AN IMPROVED DESIGN LEVEL 2 HUB.
THESE VEHICLES ARE EQUIPPED WITH A DETROIT DIESEL OPTIMIZED IDLE SYSTEM. IF THE IGNITION IS TURNED ON AND THE FUSE FOR THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE (ECM) POWER FEED LINE IS REMOVED OR BURNED OUT, THE SAFETY FEATURES DESIGNED TO PREVENT INJURY TO PERSONS WORKING IN THE VICINITY OF THE ENGINE WILL BE BYPASSED, AND UNINTENTIONAL CRANKING OF THE ENGINE WILL OCCUR.
Safety risk
IF UNINTENTIONAL CRANKING OF THE ENGINE OCCURS, PERSONS WORKING IN THE VICINITY OF THE ENGINE COULD BE INJURED AND THE VEHICLE COULD MOVE.
Manufacturer remedy
DETROIT DIESEL DISTRIBUTORS WILL REWIRE THE VEHICLES USING A REVISED ECM WHICH WILL ELIMINATE UNINTENTIONAL CRANKING.
THE BOLTS USED TO MOUNT THE BRAKE ASSEMBLIES TO THE AXLES MAY HAVE CRACKS FROM IMPROPER HEAT TREATMENT.
Safety risk
THESE CRACKS COULD CAUSE THE BOLTS TO FAIL ALLOWING THE BRAKE ASSEMBLIES TO SEPARATE FROM THE AXLES INCREASING THE POTENTIAL FOR A VEHICLE ACCIDENT.
Manufacturer remedy
DEALERS WILL REMOVE AND REPLACE ALL BRAKE MOUNTING BOLTS.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
Component
Complaints
Median mileage
Electrical system: wiring
1
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The 1997 model has roughly the same number of complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.
Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.