Certain Freightliner Cascadia Trucks Recalled for Fire Risk

Daimler Trucks North America issued a recall for certain 2017-2022 Freightliner Cascadia trucks equipped with halogen headlight assemblies. The halogen headlight bulb may dislodge during replacement and contact other vehicle components, possibly causing them to melt.

The recall could potentially affect about 72,500 trucks.

To fix the issue, dealers will install a foam grommet, cut a 4-inch access hole into the inner fender, and add a warning label on both fenders, free of charge.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration identified a number of field reports concerning headlamp fires on Freightliner Cascadia in vehicle owner questionnaires. DTNA were aware of the halogen bulb-related thermal events since the 2017 model, and believe the issue is due to incorrect bulb replacement during maintenance.

In July 2019, DTNA released service and installation information in the form of a technical service bulletin and a training video covering proper headlight bulb replacement.

NHTSA's Officer of Defect Investigation further investigated the field reports submitted by DTNA (up to third quarter 2020), and identified a high percentage of cases of thermal-related field reports that involve fires and data analysis shows that there is an increasing trend of fire related field reports.

Some vehicles have caught fire with mileages that were within the original equipment halogen bulb's expected life range. There have been additional fires, with total vehicle losses, even after DTNA released the extra training information.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 12.