The Recall Desk
HighNHTSA·24V668000·Announced 2024-10-09

Freightliner and Western Star brake lights may fail during emergency braking

Daimler Trucks is recalling certain Freightliner and Western Star trucks because brake lights may fail to illuminate during automatic emergency braking, increasing crash risk. Dealers will update software at no cost.

What this means for you

Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.

Our severity reasoning: This recall involves failure of a critical safety system—brake lights are essential for communicating vehicle deceleration to following drivers, and failure during automatic emergency braking is a genuine hazard. However, no injuries or deaths have been reported. Per the rubric, this qualifies as a risk-of-harm vehicle defect without reported injury, scoring as High (3).

Plain-English summary

Daimler Trucks North America is recalling certain Freightliner and Western Star heavy trucks from model years 2020 through 2025 equipped with a body lighting interface controller. On affected vehicles, the brake lights may fail to illuminate when the automatic brake assist system activates during emergency braking events.

When brake lights do not illuminate, other drivers may not realize the vehicle is slowing down, increasing the risk of a rear-end collision.

The recall affects approximately 16,890 vehicles, including multiple Freightliner models (108SD, 114SD, EM2, and Business Class M2) and Western Star models (47X, 49X, and 57X) spanning model years 2020 through 2025.

Owners should contact Daimler Trucks customer service at 800-745-8000 or their dealer. The remedy is a free software update to the automatic brake assist system. Owner notification letters were mailed October 24, 2024. For additional information, contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at 1-888-327-4236 or visit www.safercar.gov.

The recalled product

Product
2025 FREIGHTLINER EM2
Brand
FREIGHTLINER
Manufacturer
Daimler Trucks North America, LLC
Category
Vehicle — Commercial trucks
Hazard
  • brake-light-failure
  • collision-risk
Affected units
16,890

Is your product affected?

Check your packaging against the codes below. If any of them match, the product is part of this recall.

Model numbers (7)

  • EM2
  • 108SD
  • 47X
  • 57X
  • 114SD
  • 49X
  • BUSINESS CLASS M2

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

Related recalls

Same brand · FREIGHTLINER

Same category