PETERBILT Complaints

I [XXX] , [XXX] I PURCHASE THREE (3) TRUCKS FROM RITCHIE BROTHER AUCTION IN GEORGIA ON 3/23/2023 (1) 2012 FREIGHTLINER TRUCK WAS LOCATE IN GEORGIA, AND TWO TRUCKS WAS LOCATE IN CHEHALIS WA (1) 2012 PETERBILT (1) 2016 FREIGHTLINER. THE 2012 PETERBILT WAS A PROBLEM FROM THE START (SEE ATTACH REPAIRS) THE TRUCK WAS TOWED TO PETERBILT IN SALEM OR, THE SERVICE ADVISOR: MICHEAL [XXX] PREPARE A DIAGNOSTIC TEST ON THE TRUCK, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT ALL THE PROBLEM THAT YOU ARE HAVING WITH THIS TRUCK IS THE DEF SYSTEM HAS BEEN ERASED, THIS DEF SYSTEM CAN’T BE TAMPER WITH, SALE OR PURCHASE A TRUCK WITHOUT A DEF SYSTEM ACIVITY WORKING ON ALL TRUCKS ON THE ROAD THE CHIEF OPERATION OFFICER (COO) [XXX] SR, HAD CONTACT WITH THAT BRANCH OF RITCHIE BROTHERS IN CHEHALIS WA, TALKING TO THEM ABOUT SALE A TRUCK WITH A DEFAULT MISSING ERASED DEF SYSTEM WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET FULL RESTITUTION CONCERING THIS TRUCK. I’M REQUESTING A FULL INVESTIGATION ON RITICHES BROTHERS SELLING FAULTY TRUCKS AND SEVERELY FINE THE COMPANY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE EMISSION LAW INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

1. The components that malfunctioned were the "engine/transmission match" and "transmission communications failure idle torque limit". Yes, my unit is available for inspection at any time. 2. When I had to stop on the freeway due to heavy traffic, the gearshift would not budge, causing an even bigger traffic delay. I had to turn off/on my unit multiple times to be able to pull over, safely. If I were not able to change gears while on the road, it could create a big accident due to faulty parts. 3. Yes, my local Peterbilt is aware of this issue and ordered a "right hand turn stalk shift" (part# Q21-6155-211X) to fix the issue. I was told that this replacement part was out of stock and may need to wait up to 3 months for it. I called other Peterbilt's in CA but everyone was out of stock, with 20 to 30 trucks also waiting for the same part. I even called Canada to see if they had parts, but they are also out of this particular part, with a long waitlist of trucks at their dealerships. Peterbilt had to recall the gearshifts on their units back in 2018: https://www.truckinginfo.com/278812/kenworth-peterbilt-trucks-recalled-for-transmission-gear-display 4. There were no prior indications that the gearshift needed inspection. The vehicle only indicated "Transmission fault" when the gearshift became stuck. When I put my unit in "Drive" the dashboard showed an "!" and when I put my unit in "R" the dashboard showed the unit was in "Drive". These incorrect messages/gear changes can be very dangerous. My unit is a 2023 Peterbilt 579 with only 90K miles, there is no reason it would have a faulty gearshift and no reason why each dealership has a waitlist of 20-30 trucks waiting for this exact part. Paccar clearly did not learn from the 2018 recall 118-A. I believe Peterbilt is knowingly manufacturing faulty parts in an effort to make as many sales as possible. These faulty parts need immediate attention but are completely out of stock nationally.

Front axle begins popping and making metal to metal noises when hitting bumps and or turning. We took it to the shop and they found the nuts to the U-bolts that hold the leaf springs to the front axle had begun backing off and were out of torque spec. Upon receiving the truck back the front end no longer made this noise. Approximately 8 months later we are hearing the same metal on metal and popping noises that we heard previously. We have also noticed similar year Peterbilt 579's with this same noise and popping so this isn't specific to our vehicle.

Digital dash/display and the whole cluster freezes while driving. The recall 22v-779 update was done on the truck 4 weeks ago and it still have the same issue.

Whenever the truck goes over mildly rough road the steering wheel shakes and the tires follow the ruts of the road . When this happens steering wheel jerks out of hand and have to be overcorrected to keep in lane . With the shaking of steering wheel the steering wheel itself came loose one time and was repaired by peterbilt by applying locktite to the bolt.truck have been to peterbilt dealership 4 time and the problem still persists. According to them its normal for a class 8 truck to do this. This is a big safety issue as the truck can loose control really easily Truck was brought brand new and the issue showed up at 10,000 miles. I have video of the issue that i can share which was recorded after peterbilt failed to repair it 4 times and called it a normal steering of a class 8 truck.

I was driving on a freeway when suddenly my truck lost all power. I managed to coast to a safe spot to park. I immediately opened hood and started troubleshooting. Left key on so I'd know if power came back on. After about 10 minutes of moving wires gently I found the issue. A power wire plug connected to cab. I wiggled it and everything worked again. Messed up again and again, that day. Vehicle was still warrantied, but shops didn't have time to get it in. Finally I found a temporary solution. If I hold wire sideways after cutting zip ties it wouldn't mess up again. Shop said they must replace entire wire. Totally a safety issue. Could have resulted in bad situations if it happened at the wrong time.

Every 12-18 months I need to change something called a flexible pipe part# 1860417. A crack happens to form on the same end of the part. I asked Peterbilt worker about it and he said that they do see this part changed out a lot.

The contact owns a 2013 Peterbilt 587. The contact stated that the odometer became inoperable. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,334. The VIN was not available.

- The steering arm on the driver side of the Dana D-Series axle that was installed from the Peterbilt factory on a new 2019 Peterbilt 389 that was purchased new by Acord Transportation, Inc. is what failed. The steering arm on the D-Series axle bolts to the steering knuckle with two bolts as opposed to being one solid cast piece as in other families of Dana axles - such as the E-Series. When backing into a parking space the two bolts holding the steering arm to the steering knuckle broke, causing the steering arm to come free from the steering knuckle - ultimately causing a catastrophic failure and a complete loss of steering. Peterbilt took the steering arm for inspection following the failure, but did not return it to us. - Had this incident occurred while traveling on a public roadway, the driver would have lost all ability to steer the commercial vehicle (which could potentially be weighing 80,000 lbs and transporting hazardous materials) and would have no control over where the unit went. It could have resulted in an auto or property collision - potentially causing multiple injuries or fatalities. - We know of another company that has had two failures identical to this one. Allegedly, Dana Spicer admitted to our Peterbilt dealer that they knew of 12 other failures such as this. - The truck that experienced the failure was taken to the dealership where it was purchased. It was repaired by retrofitting the axle to the E-Series components. As mentioned, they kept the steering arm/bolts that failed. - There was no warning, nor is there potential to be any warning. If this happens, it will happen immediately and all control of the vehicle by the driver will be lost. The bolts that failed appeared to have been corroding for a period of time prior to the failure. However, there is no way to visually inspect the condition of the bolts without removing several components on the tire/wheel, hub and brake assembly and completely removing the bolts.

the window switch that operates the window goes bad on every single one of these trucks . the switch controls windows , door locks dome light and mirror heat. the switch is unavailable to buy as a part , the part is on national backorder with no estimated time . the window does not go up or down . the window needs to work in order for the vehicle to pass safety inspection . this makes it safety issue .