Rear Axle Drive Pinion May Fracture

Affected vehicles (1)

Component / system

Defect

Meritor, Inc. (Meritor) is recalling certain 180 Series Drive Pinions. The rear axle drive pinion may fracture.

Risk / consequence

A fractured drive pinion may contact the brake drop hose, and unintentionally engage the parking brake without detection or without the brake lights activating, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Meritor will work with the affected vehicle manufacturers to inspect and replace the drive pinion, as necessary, free of charge. The vehicle manufacturers will provide all owner notifications. Owners may contact Meritor customer service at 1-866-668-7221, or the respective vehicle manufacturers customer service number.

Chronology of events

1. June 2020

   June 2020 - Spartan reported pinion crack to Meritor

2. September 2020

   August - September 2020 Meritor completed testing to attempt to replicate the fracture and could not do so. Meritor implemented 100% mag particle inspection in 180 series pinions.

3. Mar 25, 2021

   March 25, 2021 Meritor received a report of a pinion fracture from a different customer. The defect did not result in unintended braking. At that point Meritor began an investigation into the root cause of the fracture.

4. Apr 1, 2021

   April 1, 2021 Meritor evaluated pinion material and heat treat verifying material. Meritor confirmed that the heat treat material complied with required specifications.

5. Apr 9, 2021

   April 9, 2021 Meritor began running capability studies on the production spline rolling rack

6. Apr 20, 2021

   April 20, 2021 Meritor implemented 100% ultrasonic testing / detection

7. Jun 12, 2021

   June 12, 2021 Meritor completed capability studies on production spline rolling rack

8. July 2021

   July 2021 – Spartan reported pinion failure during delivery to the dealer from the plant.Meritor provided a new gear set under warranty.

9. Jul 29, 2021

   July 29, 2021 Meritor implemented spline protector sleeves during manufacturing process.

10. Aug 16, 2021

    August 16, 2021 Meritor implemented new spline rolling racks and capability studies on new spline rolling racks.

11. Sep 20, 2021

    September 20, 2021 - Spartan notified Meritor of pinion crack failure while in service (24 hours in service and under 3,000 miles), Pinion broke off and damaged the spring brake air supply line. This is the first report of uncommanded spring brake application related to this issue known to Meritor.

12. October 2021

    September - October 2021 - Meritor continues its investigation including performance of on-site ultrasonic test for the rest of the REV Group fleets.

13. Nov 22, 2021

    November 22, 2021 - REV Groups notified Meritor that its OEMs filed 573 defect reports with NHTSA.

14. Nov 30, 2021

    November 30, 2021 - Meritor files 573 Defect Report in accordance with 573.6 (f) compliance obligation.

Notification schedule

Dealer notification

NR - NR

Owner notification

NR - NR

Documents