MileCFO
+1 (984) 789-5979 Free audit

NHTSA data, computed here

Truck recalls by make and model year: where to look first

NHTSA recall campaigns for seven truck makes since 2010 counted by year, make, model year and component area. It shows where recall checks are most likely to turn something up and what the downtime could cost.

Dated snapshotNHTSA vehicle recall file, seven truck makesRecalls received from 2010 to Oct 6, 2026Retrieved Oct 10, 2026, 10:00 UTCretrieved Oct 10, 2026

Read this first

A campaign count is not a count of defective trucks. One campaign can cover a narrow build range of a single model, and the count says nothing about how serious a defect is. Whether a recall applies to your truck depends on its VIN: check every VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The downtime figure in the form is a ceiling built from your own inputs, not an estimate of what you will lose.

NHTSA received 298 recall campaigns naming these seven truck makes from 2021 to 2025, 59.6 a year. Freightliner led with 63 and Kenworth had 40. The largest by vehicles potentially affected was Freightliner with 982,844. The area named most often was Steering, in 59 campaigns. In the model year 2022 column of the table below, Freightliner lists 28 campaigns and Peterbilt 22.

How many campaigns touch your trucks, and what a visit costs

Pick the make and model year on your registration, enter the number of trucks and your own downtime figures.

Campaigns by year reported

020406080111213141516171819202122232425

Seven truck makes together, each campaign number once. Years are when NHTSA received the report, last two digits shown.

Component areas named most, 2021 to 2025

0204060SteeriElectrServicExteriPower EngineEngineParkinFuel SServic

Campaigns naming the area, ten most common, first six letters shown: Steering 59, Electrical System 52, Service Brakes, Air 37, Exterior Lighting 23, Power Train 20, Engine 12, Engine And Engine Cooling 12, Parking Brake 12, Fuel System, Diesel 11, Service Brakes, Hydraulic 11.

Pre-filled values are Example data. Replace them with your own.

Your trucks
The truck maker.
The model year on the registration.
Whole number.
Your downtime
Your own figure, one decimal. Include travel.
Your own figure.

Campaigns that list this make and model year

-

Reported in the last five full years
-
Component areas named most
-
Truck visits if every campaign applied to every truck
-
Hours out of service, that upper bound
-
Cost of that downtime
-

Pick a make and model year.

Formula: visits = trucks x campaigns that list your make and model year. Hours = visits x hours per visit (tenths of an hour). Cost = hours x idle cost per hour, integer cents, half up. This is a ceiling: most trucks fall outside a campaign's build range or have had the repair. Check each VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Nothing you type leaves this page.

By make

Click a heading to sort. A campaign that names two makes counts in both rows, so the rows add up to more than the total of 854 distinct campaigns.

Truck recall campaigns by make
MakeCampaigns on file since 2010Reported 2021 to 2025Per year, 2021 to 2025Reported in 2026 so farUnits potentially affected, 2021 to 2025Component area named most, 2021 to 2025
Freightliner2216312.64982,844Steering (14)
International1655811.65472,545Electrical System (10)
Kenworth138408.04610,402Steering (8)
Mack1376012.08144,949Steering (14)
Peterbilt1375110.25609,448Steering (9)
Volvo Trucks115479.49218,171Steering (12)
Western Star113448.82556,707Steering (11)

Source: NHTSA recalls, retrieved Oct 10, 2026. Units potentially affected is the number NHTSA lists for the campaign, summed over the campaigns of the make; a campaign shared by two makes lists the same figure under both. 2026 is a part-year through Oct 6, 2026.

Campaigns by model year

How many campaigns list each model year. Darker cells mean more campaigns. Newer model years are still collecting reports.

Recall campaigns listing each model year, by make, model years 2015 to 2027
Make2015201620172018201920202021202220232024202520262027
Freightliner373038435040372819131682
International1518213136282821302120115
Kenworth242517221417162122191353
Mack30179916151720182825147
Peterbilt282022241620212223211374
Volvo Trucks16147613171520222324187
Western Star18132019212528251771461

Source: NHTSA recalls, retrieved Oct 10, 2026. A campaign listing several model years counts once in each column.

What this number means

  • A make with many campaigns is not necessarily a worse truck: it can have more models, more years on the road and more thorough reporting.
  • The model-year table shows where the checking effort is. A model year with a dozen campaigns deserves a VIN check on every unit.
  • Recalls on trucks are repaired by the dealer for free, so the cost to you is the day or the afternoon lost.

What to do about it

  • Run every VIN in your fleet at nhtsa.gov/recalls once a quarter and write the result down.
  • Book recall visits with a planned service visit, so one trip to the dealer closes both.
  • Keep the recall notice letters with the truck file. They matter when you sell a truck or file a claim.

Questions

What is a recall campaign here?

A campaign is one safety recall filed by a manufacturer with NHTSA and given a campaign number. One campaign can list many models and model years, and a campaign that names two makes appears under both. Counts here are campaigns, not trucks or repairs.

Which trucks are included?

Vehicle recalls of seven makes: Freightliner, International, Kenworth, Mack, Peterbilt, Volvo Trucks and Western Star. We keep the records of the truck maker only, so Sprinter vans, Volvo cars and body builders are left out. All models of a make are kept, so medium-duty and vocational trucks are in the counts. Trailers are not.

Does a recall mean my truck is affected?

Only a check of your VIN says. A campaign lists model years and often only a build range, so many trucks of a listed model year fall outside it. The tool on this page counts campaigns that list your make and model year, which is the number of places to look, not the number of recalls you owe.

Who pays for a recall repair?

Federal rules require the manufacturer to remedy a safety recall free of charge for the owner. The cost to you is the time the truck is out of service, which the form lets you price with your own numbers.

How current is it?

NHTSA publishes the file daily. The snapshot was retrieved Oct 10, 2026 and the newest report in it was received Oct 6, 2026. Recent months are thin because reports reach the file as they are filed, and 2026 is a part-year.

Related guides and tools

See what your last 20 loads show.

One short form. We reply by email with the next step, and a one-page report follows. Free, no obligation.

Get my free audit Call +1 (984) 789-5979

Mon-Fri, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (Raleigh, NC). Voicemail is answered the next business day.