RoadVitals

2019 Proterra Catalyst

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

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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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.
9
Latest Sep 6, 2024
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
1 currently open
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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Overview

Our database contains no NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2019 Proterra Catalyst. 9 safety recalls have been issued covering this model year; 1 NHTSA investigation names it; and 146 manufacturer communications are on file.

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

Safety recalls

9 campaigns cover this model year

View all 9

Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.

Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov
24V655000

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Sep 6, 2024
483 units potentially affected
The defect: Phoenix Motorcars (Phoenix) is recalling certain 2019-2021 800V Catalyst and 2020-2022 ZX5 transit buses. The vehicle controller software may allow the electrical circuit for the radiator fan to overheat.
The risk: Electrical circuits that overheat increase the risk of a fire.
The remedy: Dealers will update the vehicle software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 15, 2024. Owners may contact Phoenix customer service at 1-909-987-0815.
Phoenix MotorcarsManufacturer number SC-24-009View on NHTSA.gov
23V697000

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Oct 17, 2023
238 units potentially affected
The defect: Proterra Operating Company, Inc. (Proterra) is recalling certain 2019-2022 40' and 35' Catalyst 800V transit buses equipped with ProDrive 1.0, and 40' and 35' ZX5 800V transit buses equipped with ProDrive 1.0. A transistor inside the inverter may overheat and fail, which can result in a loss of power steering and drive power.
The risk: A loss of power steering and/or drive power increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy: Dealers will replace the inverter, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 16, 2023. Owners may contact Proterra customer service at 1-864-438-0000.
Proterra Operating Company, Inc.View on NHTSA.gov
22V887000

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

Nov 30, 2022
300 units potentially affected
The defect: Proterra Operation Company, Inc. (Proterra) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Catalyst transit buses. One or more battery packs may allow liquid to leak into and accumulate in the battery pack enclosure.
The risk: The accumulation of liquid inside the battery pack enclosure increases the risk of a fire.
The remedy: Proterra will update software, inspect, and replace the battery pack, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed November 6, 2023. Owners may contact Proterra's customer service at 1-864-438-0000.
Proterra Operating Company, Inc.View on NHTSA.gov

Safety investigations

NHTSA inquiries naming this vehicle. An investigation is not a finding of a defect.

RQ25001OpenRecall Query

Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 22V887

Opened Jun 27, 2025

In November 2022, Proterra Operating Company, Inc. (Proterra) filed a safety recall (NHTSA recall 22V887) covering nineteen 2017-2019 Proterra Catalyst transit buses to address the potential of liquid accumulation in the 400-volt battery packs, increasing the risk of a fire. On December 16, 2022, Proterra mailed an interim owner notification letter stating that Proterra would physically inspect and analyze each recalled battery pack.In October 2023, Proterra amended their filing to now cover 300 vehicles, with a final remedy plan of updating the battery monitoring software. According to the final remedy documents from Proterra, should liquid be detected within the battery pack, the updated software would illuminate a warning light in the driver's dash display, prevent the batteries from being charged, and reduce the maximum speed of the buses.As of the most recent recall completion rate report, 109 of the 300 buses (36.3%) have received the software update. In August 2023, Proterra declared bankruptcy, with its the three major business areas going to three separate companies.Phoenix Motorcars assumed liability for recall 22V887. On June 5, 2025, a fire occurred at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) decommissioning lot.Local officials stated that the fire initiated in a battery pack of one of the Proterra buses. The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening this Recall Query (RQ) to evaluate the remedy effectiveness of recall 22V887 and to further understand the effects of nearly two-thirds of the affected population having not yet received the recall remedy.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

No owner complaints recorded for this model year

Either none have been filed with NHTSA, or this vehicle is too new for reports to have accumulated.

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

SC-23-158

SUSPENSION

Repair instructions for PP1 valve to prevent the parking brake from engaging while the vehicle is kneeling to allow for customers to enter and exit the vehicle.

SC-23-147

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; STRUCTURE:BODY

The procedure describes the process of updating the body controller to remove a 2.5 second delay to a door open request.

SC-24-009

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; ENGINE; ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:FAN

Software update for the 800vRRs Vehicle and Body Software to reduce the radiator fan current draw to 80%. Additionally corrects a bug to properly route ESM faults away from the coolant light icon.

IB-23-132

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Repair instructions to support transit buses when a charge shunt fails. If the installed charge shunt were to fail we can replace with the original shunt installed, therefore this instruction set provides documentation for installing an alternative.

FC-23-140

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; POWER TRAIN

Service bulletin fleet check for the transit buses due to potential missing split blocks on DuoPower Vehicles.

SC-22-134

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Replaces curb side Duopower motor when failure occurs.

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Proterra Catalyst by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2022030—
2021150—
2020080—
2019Viewing091—
2018091—
2017081—
2016060—
2015040—

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.