Insufficient Rear Impact Protection/FMVSS 223

Affected vehicles (1)

Component / system

Defect

Wabash National Corporation (Wabash) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Stepdeck trailers. The incorrect rear impact guard may have been installed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 223, "Rear Impact Guards."

Risk / consequence

The incorrect guard may not sufficiently protect a following vehicle during a rear end crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy

Wabash will replace the rear impact guards, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Wabash customer service at 1-765-771-5404.

Chronology of events

1. May 2025

   May 2025 to September 2025 - Wabash’s compliance teams conducted a compliance review of drop deck trailers that had been classified as “special purpose vehicles” or “Low Chassis vehicles” as defined in FMVSS 224, S4. Wabash reviewed trailer designs and rear impact guards installed on these trailers and conducted a regulatory analysis that included a review of NHTSA interpretations and rulemaking information to evaluate different populations of trailers.

2. Sep 19, 2025

   9/19/25 – 11/5/25 - A concern was entered into the system to bring awareness to the Product Safety Team (PST) of a potential Rear Impact Guard non-compliance in certain trailer populations. As Wabash continued its evaluation of its line of low-deck trailers for both FMVSS 223/224 compliance, Wabash determined that the subject trailer population, consisting of 158 MY25 & 26 trailers manufactured after

3. Jul 1, 2025

   July 1, 2025 and equipped with aluminum rear impact guards, may not meet the performance and labeling requirements specified in FMVSS 223, but did meet the dimensional requirements of FMVSS 224.

Notification schedule

Dealer notification

Jan 05, 2026 - Jan 09, 2026 No Dealers

Owner notification

Jan 05, 2026 - Jan 09, 2026 Phased Recall