Recall Register

1997 Freightliner Century: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 1997 Freightliner Century. The newest campaign is 00V232002. NHTSA received the report on 7 Aug 2000. The NHTSA record gives the component Service Brakes, Air / Antilock. NHTSA has 4 complaints on file for this model year. 1 NHTSA investigation names this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 00V232002, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will replace the ABS ECU.
NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.

NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

4 campaigns, newest first. 75,677 units in total.

  • 00V232002Service Brakes, Air / Antilock
  • 98V326000Visibility / Windshield Wiper/Washer / Linkages
  • 98V085000Suspension / Front
  • 97V112000Steering / Steering Wheel/Handle Bar

  1. 00V232002Received . 35,405 units.

    Service Brakes, Air / Antilock

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Vehicle description: heavy duty trucks and school bus chassis built with bendix air ABS with an ec-17 1030r electronic control unit (ECU), there have been reports of unwanted ABS activation at low speeds caused by 1) chafed ABS wheel speed sensor wires on rotating parts or 2) a damaged component at the wheel end that generates a certain type of erratic sensor signal.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    This condition could cause the ABS ECU to exhaust the air at the air brake modulators for one or more of the wheels. This could result in extended braking distances and a possible crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will replace the ABS ECU.

    Report filed by FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION. Manufacturer campaign number FL-266. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  2. 98V326000Received . 6,720 units.

    Visibility / Windshield Wiper/Washer / Linkages

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Vehicle description: heavy duty trucks. The windshield wiper connecting linkage sockets can wear out prematurely due to insufficient greasing during assembly.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    This can lead to a separation of the linkage and loss of wiper function, impairing the driver's visibility.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will replace the connecting linkages with new links that are properly lubricated.

    Report filed by FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION. Manufacturer campaign number FL-228A. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  3. 98V085000Received . 22,186 units.

    Suspension / Front

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    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.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    If this problem goes undetected, the interaxle driveline can separate from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will replace the u-joints with the current design u-joints.

    Report filed by FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  4. 97V112000Received . 11,366 units.

    Steering / Steering Wheel/Handle Bar

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Vehicle description: heavy duty truck. Leaks through the firewall or steering shaft boots allows water to run down the steering shaft. The steering shaft slip spline corrodes causing it to seize.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    Increased steering effort can result increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will replace the steering shaft with a new design that is installed in an inverted orientation so no water can enter the splines.

    Report filed by FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

4 complaints, 5 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. This model year has fewer than 50 component mentions, so the table shows the number of mentions only.

1997 Freightliner Century: component mentions in complaints
ComponentMentions
Equipment2
Tires1
Suspension1
Engine and Engine Cooling1
Complaints that report a crash
0
Complaints that report a fire
0
Injuries in the complaints
1
Deaths in the complaints
0
Date of the newest complaint
22 Sep 2006

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1997 Freightliner Century, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1998, with 1 complaint.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1997 Freightliner Century
NumberTypeSubjectComponentOpenedClosedCampaign
PE02088Preliminary evaluationINTEGRAL HUB AND BEARING ASSEMBLYWheels22 Nov 20021 May 200303E019000

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

  1. 19952
  2. 19967
  3. 19974
  4. 19985
  5. 19997
  6. 20006
  7. 20014
  8. 20021
  9. 20032
  10. 20043
  11. 20052
  12. 20068
  13. 20079
  14. 20089
  15. 200912
  16. 201011
  17. 20119
  18. 20122
  19. 20131

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

Official channels

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1997 Freightliner Century: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/freightliner/century/1997/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .

Sources

Source
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence
US government work, public domain
Recall file through
30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through
30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file
1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file
FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1997 Freightliner Century?
75,677 units in 4 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Freightliner Century have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 38 recall campaigns for the Freightliner Century, model years 1995 to 2013. 4 of them name the 1997 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1997 Freightliner Century name most often?
Equipment: 2 of 5 component mentions.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1997 Freightliner Century open?
No. The 1 investigation that names this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.