2024 Freightliner Cascadia Problems

The forward collision avoidance system fails to distinguish stationary objects from animate objects resulting in immediate engagement of the braking system.

The cruise control has been programmed to stay engaged, in many instances, after the driver has used the foot brake. In some situations, like approaching a traffic circle, I have slowed down with the foot brake, then had the truck unexpectedly start to accelerate after I released the brake. This apparently has to do with a vehicle in my headway allowing the cruise to remain engaged, and then after the vehicle leaves my headway the truck thinks it can accelerate again. There is never a good reason for the cruise control in any vehicle to remain engaged after using the brakes. This results in unpredicted situations, like unplanned acceleration. This also applies to vehicles trying to merge in front of me, where I use the brakes to back off some and allow them in, but then the cruise (still engaged) will accelerate again toward the vehicle that was previously in my headway.

It is hard to impossible to drive the truck in a straight line (compared to models without the smartvalves), and often drifts side to side randomly without any warning or feedback. The steering requires constant input, and the "feel" of the truck is not correct to allow intuitive steering. When driving in tight areas, I find that I need to stay at least a foot away from barriers or other objects to not be in danger of hitting them. When in width-limited areas, like construction zones, I often need to straddle the center line and block other vehicles from passing me, so as not to be in danger of collision. These controllability problems are induced by the "active" smartvalve system. This is the chassis leveling system that adjusts air to the suspension air springs (air bags). The smart valve system is there to allow a driver to adjust the suspension up or down as needed to assist in hooking in improperly positioned trailer (to prevent injuries). The system also actively interferes with what would be the normal operation of a suspension "leveling" valve, and adjusts and or blocks the normal flow of air in and out of the suspension when driving. This results in poor handling and control problems. I have asked to have the valve replaced with a normal "dumb" valve on my truck, since I have found that the trucks handle normally with a standard leveling valve. I have also found that in many curvy road situations, the truck is hard to keep from running off the road, even bobtail. There is severe apparent understeer, and it seems likely to be attributed to the smartvalve leveler interfering with the suspension. I see that there is a recall on Freightliners having to do with understeer problems on curves (Recall 234245 [USA]: Understeering during a j-turn may increase the risk of a crash.). The recall says that Freightliner will replace the tires; it is likely that this will not help in the case of models with an active "smartvalve" system.

The contact owned a 2024 Freight Liner PT. The contact stated while the driver was driving at 64 MPH, the driver heard a pop sound, and the vehicle veered off to the left and crashed into a cement guard rail. The contact stated that the driver was steering in the right direction, however, the vehicle independently veered to the left. The vehicle was towed to the tow yard. The vehicle was deemed totaled by the insurance company. In addition, the contact stated that the same vehicle experienced a similar failure in January 2024. The contact stated that the vehicle was jack-knifed, however, the video confirmed that the driver was driving at 48 MPH and did not depress the brake pedal. Also, the contact stated that before the January 2024 failure, the engine was rebuilt in the vehicle. The contact was concerned that the failure was due to manufacturer defects. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,500.

Intermittent air leak from the Turbo cut off valve on Wabco air drier, Causing loss of system air pressure. This issue has been happening on many of the freightliner trucks in our fleet, Ever since Wabco re-designed the air drier. Wabco tag info. 23161 116973 4324801450

All 6 Rotors have circumferential Groves. Dealer refuses to fix the issue. It was dropped for repairs due to lack of proper braking. Dealer road tested unit and stated that everything operates properly. When confronted that groves will get deeper in short period of time and it's a safety issue they still refused to repair. Unit has bumper to bumper warranty for 100k miles.

See attached document for complaint.

On [XXX] I was traveling across Wyoming west from Laramie Wy to Cokeville Wy. It had been snowing all day with temperatures fluctuating between 28 and 31 degrees. I had my headlights on all day when the sun went down I was on [XXX] and I couldn't see anything. I had to pull over on the side of the snow covered road to find my headlights totally covered with about a half inch of snow and ice. I asked my dealer to check the LED headlight heaters and was told Freightliner didn't build a heater for their LED headlights. LED headlights do not create heat on their own and there for will not melt snow and ice off like traditional halogen lights will. I travel from Oregon to Colorado every week and this is a serious safety defect it is dangerous to pull over to clear snow and ice on the side of the road just so Freightliner could save a few dollars on headlight heaters that all LED headlight manufacturers are already included on other vehicles INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

It is hard to impossible to drive the truck in a straight line (compared to models without the smartvalves), and often drifts side to side randomly without any warning or feedback. The steering requires constant input, and the "feel" of the truck is not correct to allow intuitive steering. When driving in tight areas, I find that I need to stay at least a foot away from barriers or other objects to not be in danger of hitting them. When in width-limited areas, like construction zones, I often need to straddle the center line and block other vehicles from passing me, so as not to be in danger of collision. These controllability problems are induced by the "active" smartvalve system. This is the chassis leveling system that adjusts air to the suspension air springs (air bags). The smart valve system is there to allow a driver to adjust the suspension up or down as needed to assist in hooking in improperly positioned trailer (to prevent injuries). The system also actively interferes with what would be the normal operation of a suspension "leveling" valve, and adjusts and or blocks the normal flow of air in and out of the suspension when driving. This results in poor handling and control problems. I have asked to have the valve replaced with a normal "dumb" valve on my truck, since I have found that the trucks handle normally with a standard leveling valve. I have also found that in many curvy road situations, the truck is hard to keep from running off the road, even bobtail. There is severe apparent understeer, and it seems likely to be attributed to the smartvalve leveler interfering with the suspension. I see that there is a recall on Freightliners having to do with understeer problems on curves (Recall 234245 [USA]: Understeering during a j-turn may increase the risk of a crash.). The recall says that Freightliner will replace the tires; it is likely that this will not help in the case of models with an active "smartvalve" system.

It is hard to impossible to drive the truck in a straight line (compared to models without the smartvalves), and often drifts side to side randomly without any warning or feedback. The steering requires constant input, and the "feel" of the truck is not correct to allow intuitive steering. When driving in tight areas, I find that I need to stay at least a foot away from barriers or other objects to not be in danger of hitting them. When in width-limited areas, like construction zones, I often need to straddle the center line and block other vehicles from passing me, so as not to be in danger of collision. These controllability problems are induced by the "active" smartvalve system. This is the chassis leveling system that adjusts air to the suspension air springs (air bags). The smart valve system is there to allow a driver to adjust the suspension up or down as needed to assist in hooking in improperly positioned trailer (to prevent injuries). The system also actively interferes with what would be the normal operation of a suspension "leveling" valve, and adjusts and or blocks the normal flow of air in and out of the suspension when driving. This results in poor handling and control problems. I have asked to have the valve replaced with a normal "dumb" valve on my truck, since I have found that the trucks handle normally with a standard leveling valve. I have also found that in many curvy road situations, the truck is hard to keep from running off the road, even bobtail. There is severe apparent understeer, and it seems likely to be attributed to the smartvalve leveler interfering with the suspension. I see that there is a recall on Freightliners having to do with understeer problems on curves (Recall 234245 [USA]: Understeering during a j-turn may increase the risk of a crash.). The recall says that Freightliner will replace the tires; it is likely that this will not help in the case of models with an active "smartvalve" system.