LISLE, Ill. – Navistar, Inc. has agreed to a third and fourth recall of vehicles potentially plagued with a brake fluid leak which could lead to fires, bringing the total recalled this year to more than 70,000 units.
The original two recalls – one in April by General Motors (GM) for 40,428 vehicles built by Navistar and one in May for 9,170 of the company’s International CV Series trucks – totaled 49,598 trucks.
The latest recalls add some 22,184 Navistar and International products covering model years 2016-2024, depending upon the specific vehicles in question (links cited below to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – NHTSA – recall reports have said specific information).
At the root of the problem, according to the NHTSA Part 573 Safety Recall Report 23V-397 and 23V-398 , “These vehicles may have been built with a brake pressure switch assembly that allows brake fluid to leak beyond the diaphragm seal into the pressure switch. The brake fluid may seep into the switch’s electrical components and short the brake pressure switch and the associated fuse.
“If brake fluid shorts the brake pressure switch and the associated fuse, the circuit can generate excessive heat that can result in a fire.”
There were 11 instances reported by GM of fire, smoke or flame in the 2019-2023 Chevrolet Silverado 4500HD, 5500HD and 6500HD Class 4-6 trucks traced to this condition.
NHTSA has not reported any incidents in its reports.
The remedy will involve replacing the brake pressure switch assembly and any wire harness found with brake fluid at the brake pressure switch connector or the associated fuse.
The remedy brake pressure switch assembly is built without the corrosion inhibitor sealant where the recalled brake pressure switch assembly was built with the corrosion inhibitor sealant.
Both the Navistar authorized dealers and consumers are scheduled to be notified about the recall by Aug. 1st.
