Bendix’s vast equipment recall of hundreds of thousands of electronic control units has affected tens of thousands of Mack trucks and more than 100,000 International trucks.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Mack Trucks is recalling more than 60,000 model year 2020-25 Anthem, Granite, Pinnacle and TerraPro trucks that are equipped with Bendix EC80 Advanced ECUs. Electrical noise and low signal to the power line carrier may cause the ECU to incorrectly process commands or stop working.
Meanwhile, International Motors is recalling more than 105,000 trucks over the same issue. Affected International truck models include:
- 2021-25 HV
- 2021-25 HX
- 2021-24 LoneStar
- 2021-25 LT
- 2021-25 MV
- 2022 ProStar
- 2021-25 RH
Certain safety systems that depend on the Bendix ECU may perform poorly or completely lose functionality, increasing the risk of a crash.
Those systems include automatic traction control, anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic stability control, active cruise control and collision mitigation system.
Defective EC80 ECUs were installed in “towing vehicles.” Bendix’s ECUs use a “power line carrier” network that allows a tractor and trailer to communicate through a signal on the electrical connection between the two. Signal failure is more likely on trucks that tow more than one trailer than on those that pull only one trailer.
As of Oct. 30, Mack Trucks had reported 55 warranty claims where the ABS light came on and the feature went “offline” without the other safety systems in use. There had been no field reports, crashes or injuries related to the Bendix ECU issue.
Authorized dealers will reprogram affected Bendix ECU software for free. Notification letters to owners of affected Mack trucks will be sent on Dec. 13. Letters to International truck owners will be sent on Dec. 23.
Mack Trucks and International’s recalls stem from a larger Bendix ECU recall issued on Oct. 11. That recall affects more than 400,000 ECUs that were sold to Volvo Trucks and Navistar. Volvo Trucks has issued a recall of nearly 127,000 trucks equipped with the ECU.
For more information about the Mack recall, contact its customer service at 800-866-1177 with recall number SC0472. NHTSA’s number for the Mack recall is 24V-792. Questions about the International recall can be directed to the manufacturer’s customer service at 800-448-7825 with recall number 24515. NHTSA’s number for the International recall is 24V-818. LL
Other recalls:
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