RoadVitals

1989 Peterbilt 320 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 Jun 9, 2001
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 1989 Peterbilt 320, 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

  • Transmission1100.0%

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

Transmission

Reports naming the automatic or manual transmission, including shifting behaviour, shudder, slipping and transmission control modules.

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report

From owner reports, verbatim

THE PETERBILT 320 - WITH AN ALLISON 754 HT TRANSMISSION (AUTOMATIC MECHANICAL) HAS TWO (2) SEPARATE DEADLY DEFECTS: ILLUSORY NEUTRAL DEFECT - SHIFT INDICATOR IN CAB READS NEUTRAL AND VIBRATION OF VEHICLE CAUSES THE TRANSMISSION TO GO INTO GEAR. THIS VEHICLE IS USUALLY USED AS REFUSE VEHICLES. THIS DEFECTS OCCURS USUALLY WHEN PTO IS ON, WHICH CAUSES HIGH RPMS. THE DRIVER THINKS THE TRANSMISSION IS IN NEUTRAL BECAUSE THE SHIFT INDICATOR IN THE CAB SHOWS NEUTRAL AND THE TRANSMISSION IS NOT ENGAGED (THAT IS, THE VEHICLE WILL REMAIN MOTIONLESS ON LEVEL GROUND). . INSTEAD, THE TRANSMISSION IS REALLY IS IN BETWEEN THE NEUTRAL AND DRIVE POSITIONS. THE VIBRATION FROM THE PTO CAUSES THE TRANSMISSION TO UNEXPECTEDLY DROP INTO DRIVE. THE ALLISON AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION DROPS INTO DRIVE (WITH HIGH RPMS) AND THE PARKING BRAKE DOES NOT HOLD VEHICLE. THUS, THE BRAKES ARE DEFECTIVE AND THE TRANSMISSION IS DEFECTIVE. IN ADDITION TO A FATALITY, WE HAVE MANY DRIVERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SAME DEFECT. THE ILLUSORY NEUTRAL DEFECT OCCURS AFTER SHIFT CABLE STRETCHES AND/OR BECOMES MAL-ADJUSTED. *AK

NHTSA ID 746615 · filed Jun 9, 2001

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 .