RoadVitals

2002 Freightliner Fs-65 Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints 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.
5
Latest Oct 10, 2014
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.
0
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jan 7, 2005

What this page shows

Our database holds 5 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2002 Freightliner Fs-65. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

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

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–5 of 5

Body & structure
Filed Oct 10, 2014

FRAME IS CRACKED AND NEARLY SEPARATED ABOVE REAR AXLE. *TR

NHTSA ID
10643908
Incident
Oct 10, 2014
Mileage
95,869 mi
Body & structure
Filed Sep 24, 2012

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FREIGHTLINER FS65 SCHOOL BUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CROSS MEMBER FRAME WAS CRACK. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE FAILURE WAS FOUND AFTER A ROUTINE MAINTENANCE WAS COMPLETED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO OFFERED TO PAY FOR THE PARTS NEEDED FOR THE REPAIRS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 172,982.

NHTSA ID
10476812
Incident
Sep 1, 2012
Mileage
172,982 mi
Body & structure
Filed Sep 24, 2012

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FREIGHTLINER FS65 SCHOOL BUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER COMPLETING A ROUTINE MAINTENANCE ON THE VEHICLE THEY NOTICED THAT THE CROSS MEMBER FRAME WAS CRACK. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE WHO STATED THEY WILL REIMBURSE FOR THE PARTS BUT NOT FOR THE LABOR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 71,525.

NHTSA ID
10476809
Incident
Aug 1, 2012
Mileage
71,525 mi
Body & structure
Filed Sep 24, 2012

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 FREIGHT-LINER FS65 SCHOOL BUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER HAVING ROUTING MAINTENANCE DONE ON THE VEHICLE, HE WAS NOTIFIED THAT THE CROSS MEMBER FRAME HAD DEVELOPED A CRACK. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED WHO STATED THAT THEY WOULD REIMBURSE FOR THE PARTS BUT NOT FOR THE LABOR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 129,210.

NHTSA ID
10476806
Incident
Aug 1, 2012
Mileage
129,210 mi
Fuel system
Filed Jan 7, 2005

ROSEAU SCHOOL DISTRICT OPERATES A FLEET OF 26 BUSES COVERING APPROX. 1000 SQUARE MILES IN AREA. IN 1999 ROSEAU SCHOOLS BEGAN PURCHASING BUSES WITH THE CUMMINS ISB ENGINES (AN ALL ELECTRONIC ENGINE REPLACING THE OLDER "B" ENGINES). THE DISTRICT NOW HAS 8 UNITS WITH THIS PARTICULAR ENGINE. THE DISTRICT HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING TOO MANY PROBLEMS WITH SENSORS, CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS COMING ON AND POWER DERATING WHEN OPERATING THESE ENGINES. A COMMON PROBLEM IS LIFT PUMP FAILURE CAUSING RETOACTIVE FAILURE TO THE INJECTION PUMP (CUMMINS NAME FOR THE INJECTION PUMP IS THE VP44 PUMP). WHEN PUMP FAILURE OCCURS A NUMBER OF THINGS MAY HAPPEN - EITHER THE ENGINE MAY GO INTO THE LIMP MODE WHICH WILL LET THE ENGINE STILL RUN BUT UNDER RESTRICTED POWER, THE ENGINE MAY LOSE POWER AND WITHIN SECONDS RETURN TO FULL POWER OR THE ENGINE MAY JUST STOP AND NOT RESTART. IN THE SCHOOL BUSING INDUSTRY ANY OF THESE TYPE OF FAILURES COULD PRESENT ITSELF AS A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD FROM THE BUS SLOWING DOWN AND BEING REARENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE, THE LOSS OF POWER WHEN BRAKING OR TURNING CAUSING LOSS OF BRAKES OR POWER STEERING, THE LOSS OF POWER CAUSING STALLING OF THE UNIT IN AN INTERSECTION OR WORSE YET WHEN GOING ACROSS A RAILROAD INTERSECTION. IN OUR SITUATION IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA WE ARE SOMETIMES RUNNING IN SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURES (THIS PAST WEEK AS COLD AS -40 DEGREES BELOW 0). A STRANDED SCHOOL BUS OF KIDS IN THOSE TEMPERATURES COULD CREATE REAL PROBLEMS. THE LIST GOES ON AND ON OF WHAT MAY HAPPEN OR IN SOME CASES HAS ALREADY HAPPENED. OTHERS ARE HAVING SIMILAR PROBLEMS.*AK

NHTSA ID
10105924
Incident
Jan 7, 2005
Mileage
55,028 mi

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .