On June 8th, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems notified a recall to the National Highway Traffic Administration. The company is recalling close to 195,000 Bendix spring brake valves due to a defect.

The recall claims that, “Certain SR-5 Trailer spring brake valve bodies were machined without a radius (Internal check valve seat)” which causes a delay of application of spring brakes while parking.

“During transition to a new valve body supplier, a radius dimension was inadvertently omitted from a
revised engineering drawing.”

v

According the recall,

“Under certain conditions (primarily off-highway or in trailer yards) there can be a delay in the application of the spring brakes to park the trailer after the operator pulls the dash valve button. This slow to park condition could lead to trailer roll away after decoupling.”

The symptoms of affected vehicles were described in the recall,

If the internal leakage develops in the SR-5, a leak can be heard or observed. This leakage will continue until the trailer reservoirs & spring brake chambers are depleted of air pressure. If coupled to a tractor, a leak may be heard from the exhaust of the dash valve (Bendix® MV-3TM dash control valve) or from the tractor protection valve. If uncoupled, a leak may be heard at the supply (red) gladhand on the trailer. Additionally, if uncoupled & the internal leakage is present, there will be a loss of air pressure in the trailer reservoir, resulting in the eventual parking of the brakes. ‘Slow to apply’ condition can range from 30 seconds to several minutes depending on the severity of the leak
Lastly, empty reservoir may impact the function of other air powered features on the trailer, such as slider locking pins, if so equipped.

Trailer manufacturers have been recalling trailers due to this issue. So far, 10 companies have issued recalls, and in total, more than 30,000 trailers have been recalled. Specifically, SR-5 trailer spring brakes manufactured from January 2nd, 2014 to March 4th, 2016 are affected.

The following trailers have been affected:

  • 2015-2017 Brenner liquid tank
  • 2015-2016 Cheetah Bridgemaster chassis
  • 2016 Cheetah curtainside flatbed
  • 2015-2016 Cheetah extendable chassis
  • 2015 Cheetah flatbed
  • 2014-2016 Cheetah gooseneck chassis
  • 2015-2016 Cheetah straight frame chassis
  • 2015-2017 Fontaine Revolution
  • 2015-2017 Great Dane dry van
  • 2015-2017 Great Dane reefer
  • 2015-2017 Great Dane flatbed
  • 2014-2016 Hackney beverage trailers
  • 2014-2016 Kindron reefer trailers
  • 2015, 2017 Strick tandem axle van trailers
  • 2015-2017 Transcraft platform trailers
  • 2014-2016 Utility dry van trailers
  • 2014-2016 Utility flatbed trailers
  • 2014-2016 Utility reefer trailers
  • 2015-2016 Vermeer TR620
  • 2015-2016 Vermeer TR626
  • 2014-2016 Vermeer DT6
  • 2014-2016 Vermeer HG4000
  • 2014-2016 Vermeer HG6000
  • 2014-2016 Vermeer HG8000
  • 2014-2016 Vermeer TG5000
  • 2014-2016 Vermeer TG7000
  • 2014-2015 Vermeer TG9000
  • 2014-2016 Vermeer WC2300XL
  • 2015-2016 Vermeer WC2500XL
  • 2015-2017 Wabash National van trailers
  • 2015 Wilson CD-1080
  • 2015 Wilson DWH-550

Bendix is working to remedy the issue.

s

Owners may contact Bendix customer service at 1-877-345-9526, or NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236, for updates. NHTSA’s recall number is 16E-045.