Freightliner Cascadia Complaints

57 consumer complaints on file.

#11759444August 25, 2026
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM
The contact's former employer owns a 2022 Freightliner Cascadia Commercial vehicle. The contact stated that while a company's technician was performing a preventative maintenance service on the vehicle, an exhaust leak was discovered; however, the technician informed the contact that the vehicle was safe to drive. While driving 65 MPH, the contact fell asleep, causing the vehicle to drift into the median. Another driver approached the vehicle and sounded the horn, waking the contact, who then pulled over to the side of the road. The contact reported the incident to a manager, who suspected potential carbon monoxide poisoning and advised the contact to seek medical attention; however, a senior manager instructed the contact's manager that the contact had to complete the delivery services or resign. The contact received medical treatment from a neurologist and a pulmonologist. The neurologist informed the contact that he sustained acute dementia because of the carbon monoxide inhalation. The contact also experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a fear of driving, and the contact was receiving Social Security Disability assistance. The contact associated the failure with Daimler Trucks North America Emission Recall Campaign Number: FL922, which was previously performed on the vehicle. A second technician inspected the vehicle, confirmed the exhaust leak, and informed the contact that it posed a life-threatening risk. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but denied responsibility. The failure mileage was approximately 128,113.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11758540August 21, 2026
TIRES
The contact owns a 2026 Freightliner Cascadia equipped with Goodyear Tires, Tire Line: Endurance LHS, Tire Size: 11R22.5, DOT Number: (N/A). The contact owns a fleet service and stated that within the last 50 days, 18 similar tires had sustained sidewall splitting. The contact stated that the failures were exclusively on the inner dually positions on the vehicles. The cause of the failures was not yet determined. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The tire failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11757569August 17, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On May 24, 2026, while driving home from the Ocotillo Wells OHV Recreation Area toward San Diego, California, a drive of roughly 90 miles, a dashboard warning reading "Stability Controls Not Working" illuminated on [XXX] near Warner Springs in San Diego County. The vehicle is a 2026 Freightliner Cascadia chassis carrying a Renegade Classic 43CMD Super C motorhome body. The vehicle was approximately six weeks old with about 3,100 miles. I stopped the vehicle and attempted to clear the fault by cycling the chassis power; the warning did not clear. I completed the drive home with a passenger aboard, aware that the stability control system was reporting itself inoperative. On XXX I delivered the vehicle to Velocity Truck Centers, an authorized Freightliner service center in San Diego, California, recorded at 3,189 miles under service invoice XXX and warranty claim XXX. The technician recorded the cause as "ABS ECU SHORTED." His written correction states that he verified the ESC light was on, ran end-of-line code 1810/2 which did not clear the fault, confirmed the ESC module was mounted level and tight, unplugged the connector and drag tested all four pins and found them good, and concluded that the ESC module was shorted out. He removed the old module and installed a new one, which required calibration on a road test; the unit passed the road test. The replacement part is listed as ECU-ESC6, part number 446 065 095 0. An internally shorted electronic stability control module on a six-week-old vehicle with roughly 3,100 miles, on a motorhome of this size and weight carrying occupants at highway speed, is a safety concern. I am filing this complaint so the failure is documented for safety-trend and potential recall analysis. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11722541March 6, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The front sensor is calibrated wrong. It slams my brakes on road if a shadow is in road, bridges, vehicles parked on side of road, and sometimes if another semi passes me it slams the breaks on. It happens if its just raining out not so much winter because snow and ice blocks the sensor. This has also almost caused accidents as well.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11722434March 6, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES
while driving a UPS Freightliner truck (Cascadia Vin number [XXX] ) on [XXX] on [XXX] in Charlotte, North Carolina, the tractor brakes locked down causing [XXX] 's arm to jam into shoulder from having all momentum come to abrupt stop causing seatbelt to yank across shoulder ultimately necessitating surgery and putting me out of work for 6 months+ and ongoing INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11715921February 5, 2026
WHEELS
Premature failure of TPMS sensors in 3 tires. Battery alert on them. Only 23,000 miles on vehicle
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11687882September 17, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
The forward collision avoidance system fails to distinguish stationary objects from animate objects resulting in immediate engagement of the braking system.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681340August 18, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL:FLASHER UNIT
The contact owns a 2025 Freightliner Cascadia. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the turn indicator on the instrument panel became inoperable. The contact stated that while attempting to make a turn, the sound indicator failed to function properly; however, the turn indicator was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated was concerned about the safety of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive and was hazardous to the contact and to the other drivers on the roadway. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679210August 7, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On August 1st, I was travelling on I-44 (a toll road with an 80 mph speed) near Claremont Oklahoma. I was doing 68 mph when a red warning message came up on my dash. It read...KINGPIN RELEASE ACTIVATED. STOP IMMEDIATELY! KINGPIN RELEASED WITHOUT REQUEST. I did not touch my brakes. I gently moved to the the shoulder and coasted to a stop...so as not to put any pressure on the kingpin or fifth-wheel and hoping the weight of the trailer would hold it in place til I could stop. I checked under my truck and the lock was perfectly across the jaws. It did NOT turn loose, thankfully. Our road breakdown dept and Tulsa Freightliner could not say what the problem was. Freightliner replaced the kingpin release button on the dash and hoped that was the fix. The service manager told me if it happened again, they would have to keep the truck at least a week and Dahmler would be opening a file on the problem. I know that means they don't know what happened.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11678206August 4, 2025
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT, POWER TRAIN
See attached document for complaint
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11668076June 20, 2025
TIRES
See attached document for complaint.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11666845June 13, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I was north of Louisville Kentucky on [XXX] traveling at 65 mph and I was in the middle lane and the collision lights came on and the truck abruptly started stopping. Luckily no one was on my right side. I made it to the shoulder of the road. Thank God I wasn’t rear ended by anyone and there were three lanes of traffic. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11658652May 3, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Malfunction check engine lights on and show faults 520349. 14
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646655March 6, 2025
FIRERELATED
See attached document for complaint.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11640831February 5, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FIRERELATED
See attached document for complaint
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11633144December 30, 2024
SUSPENSION, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
It is hard to impossible to drive the truck in a straight line (compared to models without the smartvalves), and often drifts side to side randomly without any warning or feedback. The steering requires constant input, and the "feel" of the truck is not correct to allow intuitive steering. When driving in tight areas, I find that I need to stay at least a foot away from barriers or other objects to not be in danger of hitting them. When in width-limited areas, like construction zones, I often need to straddle the center line and block other vehicles from passing me, so as not to be in danger of collision. These controllability problems are induced by the "active" smartvalve system. This is the chassis leveling system that adjusts air to the suspension air springs (air bags). The smart valve system is there to allow a driver to adjust the suspension up or down as needed to assist in hooking in improperly positioned trailer (to prevent injuries). The system also actively interferes with what would be the normal operation of a suspension "leveling" valve, and adjusts and or blocks the normal flow of air in and out of the suspension when driving. This results in poor handling and control problems. I have asked to have the valve replaced with a normal "dumb" valve on my truck, since I have found that the trucks handle normally with a standard leveling valve. I have also found that in many curvy road situations, the truck is hard to keep from running off the road, even bobtail. There is severe apparent understeer, and it seems likely to be attributed to the smartvalve leveler interfering with the suspension. I see that there is a recall on Freightliners having to do with understeer problems on curves (Recall 234245 [USA]: Understeering during a j-turn may increase the risk of a crash.). The recall says that Freightliner will replace the tires; it is likely that this will not help in the case of models with an active "smartvalve" system.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11633142December 30, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The cruise control has been programmed to stay engaged, in many instances, after the driver has used the foot brake. In some situations, like approaching a traffic circle, I have slowed down with the foot brake, then had the truck unexpectedly start to accelerate after I released the brake. This apparently has to do with a vehicle in my headway allowing the cruise to remain engaged, and then after the vehicle leaves my headway the truck thinks it can accelerate again. There is never a good reason for the cruise control in any vehicle to remain engaged after using the brakes. This results in unpredicted situations, like unplanned acceleration. This also applies to vehicles trying to merge in front of me, where I use the brakes to back off some and allow them in, but then the cruise (still engaged) will accelerate again toward the vehicle that was previously in my headway.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11633141December 30, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Complaint 1 When using cruise control in 2024 Freightliner Cascadia trucks with level 2 autonomous driving features, there is no option to turn off the autonomous driving features (and use standard cruise control); the driver is forced to use the system if he wants or needs to use cruise control. This apparently is a software setting that is available in some versions, but is not available in models bought/leased to large trucking companies. Complaint 2 There is no way to adjust the "agressiveness" of the self-driving (acceleration and braking) feature of these trucks. The default in this model truck is unknown to me, but in slow-and-go or stop-and-go traffic, the truck is highly aggressive; the truck follows too close very often, and waits until the last second to slow or stop in most cases. This also happens in high volume, higher speed traffic.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11633138December 30, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
These trucks have a non-adjustable default setting for Over and Under cruise control speed setting. This means, in the case of the truck I drove, that the cruise control will allow the truck to go 5 mph over the set speed before engaging the engine brake, or 4 mph under the setting before accelerating. The problem is that when set for the speed limit, the truck will climb to 7 mph over the set speed before engaging engine brake. When driving on a downgrade with a lot of weight, the truck quickly gets to well over a safe speed before the truck will attempt to slow down. This often results in an overspeed situation when approaching curves. In older models of Freightliner, and maybe in current versions that are adjustable, there is a setting to change this to closer to the set speed. In this model, or large companies' ordered versions, this adjustment is not available. The idea is to save fuel by "hyper-mile" style of driving. It makes for an unpredictable speed of vehicle, frustrating other drivers, and sometimes leading to unsafe overspeed situations.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11633136December 30, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
When a vehicle is merging into my lane, the truck will often not detect or react to the encroaching vehicle; this happens even when there is plenty of space, and the encroaching vehicle is halfway into my lane. I have had to intervene several times, since the truck was accelerating toward the previous vehicle in my headway, and ingoring the intervening merging vehicle. In contrast, the sensors in the truck apparently can see when a vehicle is near to the front, and mostly out of the headway of the truck (only part of the front vehicle in my lane, like when exiting). This truck will brake, and continue braking unnecessarily (and unnecessarily hard braking) for a vehicle that is completely out of my lane (by several feet), before continuing and regaining speed. This shows that the sensors are capable of "seeing" and tracking the vechicles, but still does not respond to traffic merging into the truck's headway.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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