Insufficient Lubricant in Wheel Hub – 2023 Great Dane Champion Dry Van Trailers

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131 Technology Circle
Savannah, GA 31407 Office: (912) 644-2100 Fax: (912) 644-2100 greatdane.com
IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL NHTSA Recall No. 23V230
Date: May 31, 2023

This notice applies to your vehicle, VIN’s: See Attached
Re: Insufficient Hub Lubrication
Dear :
This notice is being sent in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
Great Dane LLC has decided that a defect, which relates to motor vehicle safety, exists in certain model year 2023 Great Dane Champion Dry Van trailers equipped with preset hub systems requiring lubricant fill manufactured at our Danville PA facility that may not have received the proper quantity of lubricant.
Inadequate lubrication fill levels in the wheel hubs could lead to the tapered roller bearings not receiving proper lubrication to support function. This could lead to a catastrophic failure of the hub bearings which could cause the trailer’s wheel/tire/hub assembly to become detached, increasing the possibility of a loss of stability and/or control of the vehicle leading to a crash. Further if the trailer’s wheel/tire/hub assembly were to become detached it could create a hazard for other vehicles.
An authorized Great Dane Service Center or Dealer will inspect and, if necessary, repair the wheel hub with insufficient lubricant fill, free of charge.
Repair time should be approximately 1 hour.
If you had this repair performed before you received this letter, you may be eligible to receive reimbursement for the cost of obtaining a pre-notification remedy of the problem associated with this recall. For more information contact Great Dane Customer Service at (877) 369-3493.
Federal regulations require that any vehicle lessor receiving this recall notice must forward a copy of this notice to the lessee within ten days.
If you conclude that Great Dane LLC has not enabled you to remedy this condition without charge and/or in a reasonable time, a complaint may be submitted to the:
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Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590
-or-
Call the toll-free Vehicle Safety Hotline: 1-888-327-4236; (TTY: 800-424-9153) or go to
http://www.safercar.gov )
We regret any inconvenience that this situation may have caused. Great Dane LLC wants to assure you that we are concerned for customer safety and your continued satisfaction with our products.
Sincerely,
James M Brown
Manager, Customer Service/Warranty

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liREAT DANE
Wheel-end Check
1. General Safety Instructions:
a. Read and observe all Warning and Caution hazard alert
messages in this publication. They provide information that
can help prevent serious personal injury, damage to
components, or both. Failure to follow the instructions and
safety precautions in this manual could result in improper
servicing or operation leading to component failure which,
if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury.
b. All installation should be performed by a properly trained
technician using proper/special tools, and safe procedures.
NOTE: In the United States, workshop safety requirements
are defined by federal and/or state Occupational Safety and
Health Act (OSHA). Equivalent laws could exist in other
countries. This manual is written based on the assumption
that OSHA or other applicable employee safety regulations
are followed by the location where work is performed.
c. Properly support and secure the vehicle and axles from
unexpected movement when servicing the unit. Failure to
properly support the vehicle and axles prior to commencing
work could create a crush hazard which, if not avoided,
could result in death or serious injury.
d. If possible, unload the trailer before performing any service
procedures.
2. Identifying Units Without Proper Grease
a. Orientate hub so that the fill port is located at the 12 o’clock
position.
b. Remove fill plug and insert a clean dip-stick of 8″ minimum
at an angle until it makes contact with the side of the hub.
c. Remove dip stick and check amount of grease. There should
be 3.0″ minimum on the stick.
131 Technology Circle
Savannah, GA 31407
(912) 644-2100 mail@greatdane.com greatdane.com
d. If the proper amount is present reinstall fill -plug (20-25 ftlbs).
e. Mark the hub at the fill-plug with a green paint mark.
f. If the proper amount is not present proceed to 3
3. Units without proper grease
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a. Units Without Proper Grease -O Mileage/ at OEM 1. Add
proper amount of Chevron Delo grease (35 oz) to the hub. 2.
Reinstall fill-plug (20-25 ft-lbs).
b. Units Without Proper Grease – Field/Inservice
i. Tear down wheel end, clean and inspect bearing
journals, and threads.
ii. If spindle is in good condition replace with new
wheel end following ConMet installation procedure
10084844.
iii. Mark the hub at the fill-plug with a green paint
mark.
iv. If spindle is deemed not satisfactory replace both
axle (refer to section 4) and wheel end.
v. Mark the hub at the fill-plug with a green paint
mark.
WHAT TO CHECK: Verify the hub cavity fill in wheel ends of completed trailers.
HOW TO CHECK: Use the steps below to remove the hub fill plug to visually verify the presence of the correct lubricant
in the hub cavity of completed trailers. To do this, you’ll need the following: (1) dipstick and (1) 5/16″ hex bit socket
and torque wrench
Locate the fill plug on the
hub surface.
Use the wrench to
remove the fill plug.
Note: if the hub plug is
not oriented to the top of
~ the hub, you may need a
•✓1 container to collect the
lubricant dripping out of
the hub hole.
Insert a CLEAN dipstick (or appropriate
substitute) into the hub hole. The specified
lubricant should appear on the stick. In this
example, Chevron Delo was spec’d for this
wheel end, ansL,_the gre_a~e is yelfow,which Ls
correct.
If the dipstick comes out clean, the hubcap
should be removed to verify the absence of
lubricant.
Replace the hub fill plug and torque to 20-25
ft-lbs.
45_12_AXL_0l.ppt

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OMB Control No.: 2127-0004
Part 573 Safety Recall Report 23V-230
The information contained in this report was submitted pursuant to 49 CFR §573
Manufacturer Name : Submission Date :
Great Dane Trailers MAR 31, 2023 NHTSA Recall No. : 23V-230 Manufacturer Recall No. : NR Manufacturer Information :
Manufacturer Name : Great Dane Trailers Address : 602 E Lathrop Avenue
Savannah GA 31415
Company phone : 912-232-4471
Population :
Number of potentially involved : 562 Estimated percentage with defect : 2 %
Vehicle Information : Vehicle 1 : 2023-2023 Great Dane Champion Dry Van Vehicle Type : TRAILERS Body Style : OTHER Power Train : NR
Descriptive Information : Great Dane Danville Produced 562, model year 2023 Champion Dry Van trailers with preset hub systems that required lubricant fill in our manufacturing facility. A quantity of those trailers have been found with deficient lubricant fill levels in the wheel hubs. Trailers not included in this recall were not equipped with the preset hub system.
Production Dates : OCT 31, 2022 – MAR 02, 2023
VIN Range 1 : Begin : NR End : NR Not sequential Description of Defect :
Description of the Defect : Certain 2023 Great Dane Champion Dry van trailer were produced in our Danville PA manufacturing facility using a preset hub system that may have received deficient lubricant fill levels in the wheel hubs.
FMVSS 1 : NR FMVSS 2 : NR
Description of the Safety Risk : Inadequate lubrication fill levels in the wheel hubs could lead to tapered
roller bearings not receiving proper lubrication to support function. This could lead to a catastrophic failure of the hub bearings which could in an extreme case, cause the trailer’s wheel/tire/hub assembly to become detached, increasing the possibility of a loss of stability and/or control of the vehicle leading to a crash. Further if the trailer’s wheel/tire/hub assembly were to become detached it could create a hazard for other vehicles. Description of the Cause : NR Part 573 Safety Recall Report 23V-230 Page 2 Identification of Any Warning
that can Occur : ABS malfunction indicator lamp my illuminate indicating excessive wheel end play. Involved Components : Component Name 1 : PreSet Plus Hubs
Component Description : Preset wheel hub with integrated spindle nut Component Part Number : 40500219 Supplier Identification : Component Manufacturer
Name : NR Address : NR
NR
Country : NR Chronology :
Jan. 30, 2023 Customer reports a failed wheel hub. The cause of failure is not clear. Investigation into cause begins.
March 2, 2023 Customer reports a second failed wheel hub. Cause of failure determined to be insufficient lubricant fill at Great Dane Manufacturing Facility
March 15, 2023 Customer reports a third failed wheel hub.
March 15, 2023 Great Dane determines that a field campaign to inspect units produced at the same manufacturing facility should be undertaken and communicates this to the customer.
March 17, 2023 Great Dane provides a VIN list and inspection instructions to the customer.
March 20, 2023 Customer questions the inspection procedure and a meeting is held to iron out the procedure March 22, 2023 Customer confirms the field inspection campaign with an anticipated start date of March 24, 2023
March 24, 2023 Customer reports a fourth failed wheel hub, but states that the failure date was Jan. 29, 2023. This failure had not been reported to the customer’s corporate office or Great Dane prior to the distribution of the Field Inspection Campaign
March 27, 2023 Customer reports three trailers found with inadequate fill in one or more wheel hubs.
March 27, 2023 Great Dane notifies the customer of intent to file a 573 initial notice of defect with the NHTSA March 31, 2023 Great Dane files initial notice of defect with the NHTSA The information contained in this report was submitted pursuant to 49 CFR §573 Part 573 Safety Recall Report 23V-230
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The information contained in this report was submitted pursuant to 49 CFR §573
Description of Remedy :
Description of Remedy Program : The customer is to inspect the wheel hub lubricant fill on all 562 suspect
units. The customer will be reimbursed 1 hour of labor per trailer inspected. Any trailers found with insufficient lubricant fill will be removed to the closest authorized Great Dane Service Center or Dealer to be repaired as needed at Great Dane’s expense. How Remedy Component Differs from Recalled Component :
Identify How/When Recall Condition was Corrected in Production : The remedied component will be filled with the appropriate quantity of lubricant.
March 27, 2023 Great Dane Quality implemented a lubricant fill second tier inspection for all of its manufacturing facilites.
Recall Schedule :
Description of Recall Schedule : Great Dane intends to mail all notices by May 30th.
Planned Dealer Notification Date : MAY 30, 2023 – MAY 30, 2023
Planned Owner Notification Date : MAY 30, 2023 – MAY 30, 2023
* NR – Not Reported

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