RoadVitals

2003 Freightliner Century Problems

Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
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Latest Apr 22, 2025
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
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Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
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What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2003 Freightliner Century, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Reports by component

Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category

  • Tires & wheels250.0%
  • Driver assistance125.0%
  • Engine125.0%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Each component in detail

What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words

Tires & wheels

Reports naming tires, wheels, hubs, or the tire-pressure monitoring system.

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reports

From owner reports, verbatim

The contact owns a 2003 Freightliner Century CST120 equipped with Yokohama Tires, Tire Line: TY517MC2, Tire Size: 295/75/R22, DOT Number: N/A. The contact stated that the tires had cracked on the sidewalls. The contact called a tire center which scheduled an appointment. The tires were not yet inspected. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle failure mileage was 200,000. The tire failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID 11656059 · filed Apr 22, 2025

7 MONTH OLD STEER TIRE ON FREIGHTLINER TRUCK. TRAVELING AROUND 65 MPH VIBRATION STARTED AND BEFORE WE COULD FIGURE OUT FROM WHERE OR GET TO A SAFE SECTION OF THE ROAD, ALL THE TREAD SEPARATED FROM THE TIRE. ALL THE TREAD AND SEVERAL FAIRLY LARGE PARTS FROM THE TRUCK FLEW OFF. LUCKILY NO ONE WAS IN THE WAY. THIS WAS A FIRESTONE FS 507 295/75 R 22.5 DOT WI BT 3PT 1207. THE TIRE STILL HAD 99 LBS OF AIR. I HAD TO PURCHASE A TIRE AND 1100.00 IN PARTS TO SAFELY OPERATE TRUCK. WE CANT GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER FROM FIRESTONE OR THE TA. *TR

NHTSA ID 10212530 · filed Dec 21, 2007

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Driver assistance

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED ACCELERATOR PEDAL STUCK. DEALER INSPECTED VEHICLE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, AND WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. SINCE JANUARY 2004 CONSUMER WAS SCARED TO DRIVE THIS VEHICLE. *AK *LA

NHTSA ID 10063577 · filed Apr 20, 2004

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Engine

Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

2003 FREIGHTLINER CENTURY CAUGHT ON FIRE WHILE DRIVING (OHIO TRAFFIC CRASH REPORT). *TS *NM

NHTSA ID 10146439 · filed Dec 22, 2005

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .