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June 29, 2023 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 23V456000
Driver-Side Front Axle U-Bolts May Come Loose
Loose or detached U-bolts can result in a loss of vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash.
NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V456
Manufacturer Hino Motors Sales U.S.A., Inc.
Components SUSPENSION
Potential Number of Units Affected 1,865
Summary
Hino Motors Sales U.S.A., Inc. (Hino) is recalling certain 2022-2023 NE7A, NE7B, NJ7A, NJ7B, NV7A, and NV7B vehicles. The driver-side U-bolts that secure the front axle to the leaf spring assembly may come loose and detach.
Remedy
Dealers will tighten the front axle U-bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 15, 2023. Owners may contact Hino customer service at 1-248-699-9390. Hino’s number for this recall is AAUW0.
Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
Chronology of Defect Determination
August – October 2022
On August 9, 2022, Hino received a field technical report indicating that a customer has a truck where both U bolts on the driver side have fallen out of the front axle and were missing. The customer complained of steering drift. Hino inspected the collected parts but observed no obvious abnormalities. It also reviewed its front axle production process on its line at its WV plant for the dates of manufacture, but those records also did not show any inappropriate front axle torque values for any inspected vehicle. Hino began a detailed investigation.
November 2022
By November 21, Hino had identified a total of 7 field cases involving loose or missing U bolts. Hino issued a stop ship order at its WV assembly plant to inspect the tightening torque of U bolts and nuts for all inventory vehicles. In total, 1,136 units were inspected. Hino identified 14 vehicles that had front axle torque values below the inspection limit.1 From November 29, Hino started to confirm all vehicles meet the torque design specification before shipment.
December 2022 – March 2023
The inspection revealed 14 vehicles with torque below design specification, but no apparent root cause. Accordingly, Hino continued its investigation. During the investigation, By the end of December, a total of eight similar field cases had occurred. Hino confirmed that all field events involved vehicles containing one 9 mm spacer between the driver side front leaf spring and front axle. Maintenance records of all the vehicles above were confirmed and there was no history of U bolt maintenance performed as instructed in the owner’s manual.
During vehicle inspection conducted in February 2023, Hino identified a small dent near the guide hole on the front axle upper surface and presumed the dent was generated by interference between the axle upper surface and tip of the center bolt. Hino started planning for bench testing to duplicate the interference and evaluate the effect to axial force of the U bolts.
April – June 2023
Based on detailed analysis of inventory vehicle torque inspection result, taking torque variation into consideration, the tightening torque could possibly reach the lowest limit in certain period of production.
Bench testing confirmed duplication of the small dent on the axle and decrease of axial force of U bolt. On June 23, 2023, based on the above investigation result, if a vehicle continues to be operated with above mentioned condition, Hino considered there was possibility that the U bolt(s) and nut(s) could come off during vehicle operation. Hino determined to conduct a voluntary safety recall campaign for certain vehicles equipped with 12,000 lbs weight-rating front axle and suspension assembly containing one 9 mm spacer.
As of June 22, 2023, Hino is aware of 10 cases of driver side front U bolt(s) looseness or missing received from August 2022 to March 2023. Hino has also investigated warranty claims for similar cases. However, Hino is not aware of any warranty claims other than the vehicles mentioned above. To date, Hino is not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries resulting from driver side U bolt(s) looseness or missing.
1 Hino separately identified roughly 228 vehicles with front axle torque values above the rated specification. This issue will be discussed in a separate report filed contemporaneously with this one.
12 Affected Products
Vehicles
MAKE | MODEL | YEAR |
HINO | NE7A | 2022-2023 |
HINO | NE7B | 2022-2023 |
HINO | NJ7A | 2022-2023 |
HINO | NJ7B | 2022-2023 |
HINO | NV7A | 2022-2023 |
HINO | NV7B | 2022-2023 |
3 Associated Documents
Defect Notice 573 Report
RCLRPT-23V456-7771.PDF 214.565KB
Recall Acknowledgement
RCAK-23V456-7438.pdf 645.313KB
Chronology of Defect Determination
RMISC-23V456-1359.pdf 104.521KB
Latest Recalls Documents
For the Latest and Most Recent Recalls Information Visit the link below…
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=23V456&docType=RCL
- Durable Ratchet Head: Made from Hardened treated Chrome Vanadium steel alloy (Cr-V) Corrosion-Retardant: Satin Finish. Made in Taiwan
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- Includes 1-pc. 3/8 in. drive torque wrench; Storage case; Product manual with torque conversion chart
- Wrench emits a click that can be heard and felt when the preset value is reached
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- Includes 1-pc. 1/4 in. drive micrometer torque wrench (20-200 in.-lb.) with storage case and product manual; 1-pc. 3/8 in. drive micrometer torque wrench (10-80 ft.-lb.) with storage case and product manual; 1-pc. 1/2 in. drive micrometer torque wrench (25-250 ft.-lb.) with storage case and product manual
- Wrenches emit a click that can be heard and felt when the preset value is reached
- Permanently marked, high-contrast dual-range scale is easy to read, even in low light
- Reversible ratchet heads drive in both directions and measure torque in clockwise direction
- Durable all-steel construction has no plastic parts to break or wear out
- 【PRECISION】 - Ships pre-calibrated to +/- 4% accuracy and ready to use. Include calibration certificate . Before shipping, we take 200 times calibration tests to make sure all wrenches performance well .
- 【DURABLE】 - Reinforced ratchet gear head constructed from hardened, heat treated Chrome Vanadium alloy steel.
- 【 RELIABLE & SAFE】: When small torque wrench set torque value is reached, the wrench will emits slight click sound to remind you to stop applying force to prevent overtorque damage to your items.
- 【LONG-LASTING】 - Rust & corrosion protection with our unique and newly invented Chrome finish treatment.
- 【 DUAL-DIRECTION MEASURES & WIDE USE】: The paddle of the mini torque wrench head can adjust the direction of use at any time,so that the wrench can be used both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. More widely used for Installation equipment, Electrical engineering, bicycle/motorcycle maintenance, Product assembly.With a storage box and an instruction manual.
Last update on 2024-04-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This product presentation was made with AAWP plugin.
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OMB Control No.: 2127-0004 Part 573 Safety Recall Report 23V-456 The information contained in this report was submitted pursuant to 49 CFR §573 Manufacturer Name : Hino Motors Sales U.S.A., Inc. Submission Date : JUN 29, 2023 NHTSA Recall No. : 23V-456 Manufacturer Recall No. : AAUW0 Manufacturer Information : Manufacturer Name : Hino Motors Sales U.S.A., Inc. Address : 45501 Twelve Mile Road Novi MI 48377 Company phone : 248-699-9300 Population : Number of potentially involved : 1,865 Estimated percentage with defect : 1 % Vehicle Information : Vehicle 1 : 2022-2023 Hino NE7A, NE7B, NJ7A, NJ7B, NV7A, NV7B Vehicle Type : BUSES, MEDIUM & HEAVY VEHICLES Body Style : Power Train : DIESEL Descriptive Information : Hino intends to recall a subset of vehicles produced between October 2021 and November 2022. Beginning in October 2021, certain Hino vehicles were produced with a front axle rated to 12,000 lbs and a suspension assembly containing one 9mm thick spacer between the leaf spring and front axle on the driver side. Beginning November 2022, Hino instituted a comprehensive inspection of all vehicles to ensure that they were all torqued to appropriate specifications. Although the involved vehicles are within the above production period range, not all vehicles in this range were sold in the U.S. Note: Hino is unable to estimate the percentage of the involved vehicles to contain the defect due to various factors described in chronology section. However, as the NHTSA manufacturer portal requires an integer value be entered, Hino has entered the value “1” in response to this question in the portal. For the purpose of this report, “1” means “unknown”. Vehicles not included in this recall were either inspected and repaired prior to shipment, manufactured after November 29, 2022, or equipped with different front suspension and front axle weight-rating combination. Production Dates : OCT 08, 2021 – NOV 09, 2022 VIN Range 1 : Begin : NR End : NR Not sequential Description of Defect : Description of the Defect : The subject vehicles contain two U bolts on each driver and passenger side in order to secure the front axle with the front leaf spring assembly. The U bolt(s) and nuts on the driver side may come loose and fall off during vehicle operation. FMVSS 1 : NR Part 573 Safety Recall Report 23V-456 Page 2 The information contained in this report was submitted pursuant to 49 CFR §573 FMVSS 2 : NR Description of the Safety Risk : A loose U Bolt could become detached from the vehicle. A front axle that is not properly secured by U bolt could shift in position, along with its leaf springs, potentially causing a loss of vehicle control and leading to an increased risk of a crash. Description of the Cause : Due to misalignment of related parts and variation of tightening torque applied to U bolt(s), axial force of U bolt(s) may decrease during vehicle operation. Identification of Any Warning that can Occur : NR Involved Components : Component Name 1 : Spring Assy, FR Component Description : Front leaf spring suspension assembly for 12,000 lbs front axle weight specification Component Part Number : 48110-EW410 Component Name 2 : U bolt, Leaf SPG Component Description : U bolt for 12,000 lbs front axle weight specification Component Part Number : SZ940-84259 Component Name 3 : Spacer, Leaf SPG Component Description : 9mm thick spacer for ride height adjustment Component Part Number : SZ940-AK010 Supplier Identification : Component Manufacturer Name : NR Address : NR NR Country : NR Part 573 Safety Recall Report 23V-456 Page 3 The information contained in this report was submitted pursuant to 49 CFR §573 Chronology : Please see attached document. Description of Remedy : Description of Remedy Program : For all the subject vehicles, the Hino dealer will re-tighten all front axle U bolts and nuts with required tightening torque. If the nuts are loose enough to be turned by hand when inspected, the dealer will replace the related parts with new ones, free of charge. Customers who have received the “Customer Notification Letter for Recall (AAUW0)”, who may have paid for repairs due to this defect may apply for reimbursement for those repair costs. All pre-notification reimbursement requests for repairs which were performed until a date 10 days after the final customer notification was made will be considered by Hino for reimbursement. Hino will also reimburse for all Parts, Labor, and miscellaneous costs directly related to the remedy of this defect. Requests for reimbursement, including paid receipts, should be directed to warranty@hino.com How Remedy Component Differs from Recalled Component : There is no change between remedy and recalled components. U bolt(s) and nuts in question will be torqued to required value. Identify How/When Recall Condition was Corrected in Production : From November 29, 2022, Hino started tightening torque inspection to confirm all vehicles meet the tightening torque design specification before shipment. Recall Schedule : Description of Recall Schedule : NR Planned Dealer Notification Date : JUN 30, 2023 – JUN 30, 2023 Planned Owner Notification Date : AUG 15, 2023 – AUG 15, 2023 * NR – Not Reported
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