PASSENGER COMPARTMENT FIRES
Opened May 19, 1997
Closed Sep 30, 1997
FIRES ALLEGEDLY OCCURED IN THE DASH AREA WHILE THE VEHICLES WERE PARKED.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1996 Freightliner FLD120
Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data
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.
2
Latest Jun 11, 2000
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
0
InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
1
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.
1
Overview
Our database contains 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1996 Freightliner FLD120, most frequently naming the brakes and interior & seats categories. 1 NHTSA investigation names it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Complaint activity over time
When owners filed reports about this model year
Not enough dated records to plot a meaningful trend — 2 months of data.
What owners report
Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded
- Brakes150.0%
- Interior & seats150.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Safety recalls
No recalls in our database for this model year
That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.
Safety investigations
NHTSA inquiries naming this vehicle. An investigation is not a finding of a defect.
Recent owner complaints
Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words
Interior & seats
Filed Jun 11, 2000
Fire reported
THIS IS A 1996 FREIGHTLINER IM AM BUYING OFF OF BUSKE LINES INC. I WAS IN A RESTURANT EATING IN A RESTURANT IN INDIANA. I WAS NOTIFIED THAT UNIT WAS ON FIRE. I RAN TO TRUCK AND FIRE HAD GUTTED INSIDE OF CAB MY DOG WAS TRAPPED IN THE SLEEPER AND WAS KILLED I NOTICED NO SMOKE WHEN I LEFT TRUCK BUT SMELLED SOMETHING LIKE HOT PLASTIC I CHECKED BUT DID NOT FIND ANYTHING BURNING. TRUCK WAS THEN TOWED TO ST LOUIS MO I WAS INFORMED BY FIRE DEPT AND SHERRIF THAT IF I WOULD OF LAID DOWN I WOULD HAVE PROBELY BEEN KILLED DUE TO TOXIC FUMES PRODUCED BY SMOKE. IN RECENT MONTHS I HAVE SEEN IN PERSON A MINIMUM OF 10 OTHER TRUCKS SAME YEAR AND MODEL WITH SAME FIRE DAMAGE STARTING IN THE SAME AREA. I ALSO HAVE A WIREING JUNCTION BLOCK THAT WAS TAKEN FROM ANOTHER TRUCK SAME YEAR THAT HAS MELTED AND STARTED TO BURN BUT WAS REPLACED BEFORE IT CAUGHT ANOTHER TRUCK ON FIRE. THIS TRUCK HAS BEEN REBUILT BUT AM STILL AFRAID OF FIRE IN WIRING I HAVE TRIED TO CONTACT FREIGHTLINER WITH NO RESPOSE . ALSO NOT ONLY IN MY UNIT BUT OTHERS AT NIGHT WHEN YOUR DASH LIGHT ARE ON ALL GUAGES [ESPECIALLY WHEN HEATER IS ON] YOU CAN NOT PLACE YOUR HAND ON ANY GUAGE AND LEAVE IT THERE BECAUSE IT IS EXTREMELY HOT IN MY OPINION THIS WOULD ALSO BE A MEANS OF A FIRE STARTING SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THIS . I AM DOING MORE INVESTIGATION ON MY OWN FOR MORE FIRES OF THIS NATURE PLEASE NEED YOUR HELP I HAVE OVER 28 YEARS OF DRIVING AND HAVE NEVER HAD ONE CATCH FIRE IS IT GOING TO TAKE A HUMAN LIFE TO CORRECT THIS ..THANK YOU. *AK
- NHTSA ID
- 723892
- Incident
- Dec 23, 1999
Brakes
Filed May 19, 1998
BRAKES FAILED RESULTING IN REAR END COLLISION.
- NHTSA ID
- 535706
- Incident
- Apr 7, 1998
Compare model years
Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model
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. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.