Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
TRAILER HITCHES - FIFTH WHEEL ASSEMBLY
PE11012FREIGHTLINER LLC04/15/2011Fontaine Ulta LT 5th Wheel False Latch
 Odi became aware of the potential false latch condition in fontaine's ultra lt 5th wheels from fontaine's tsb (10036732) submission.odi contacted fontaine requesting fleet contact information in order to contact the end users.communications with the fleets revealed that several trailers had de-coupled and in one case occurred while entering the roadway.the tsb identifies a product enhancement which replaces the lock bar with a modified component.the driver of a vehicle with the unmodified component may believe that the trailer is securely hitched after a pull test has been successfully completed.however if the release handle is not fully seated in the locked position the 5th wheel jaws may release the king pin at anytime.the modified component is designed such that a partially latched 5th wheel will release during a pull test as is normally expected.odi has opened a pe to further evaluate the safety risk.