2003 PIERCE CUSTOM CONTENDER Recalls, Complaints & Safety

FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER

Defect Description

PIERCE HAS DECIDED THAT CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 1995-2008 ARROW XT, DASH, CUSTOM CONTENDER, LANCE, ENFORCER, PIERCE ARROW, QUANTUM, SABER AND COMMERCIAL FIRE TRUCKS MANUFACTURED FROM JANUARY 2, 1995, THROUGH JANUARY 21, 2008, CONTAIN A SAFETY DEFECT. THESE VEHICLES ARE EQUIPPED WITH FUEL TANK STRAPS THA... Read more

Consequence

THE VEHICLES MAY LOSE POWER AND STALL. IN ADDITION, THE FUEL TANK MAY RUPTURE AND SPILL DIESEL FUEL ON THE ROADWAY. EITHER OF THESE OUTCOMES MAY CAUSE A FIRE TRUCK OR SURROUNDING VEHICLES TO SLIP OR SLIDE ON THE ROADWAY SURFACE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy

FOR FIRE TRUCKS THAT ARE LESS THAN 10 YEARS OLD, DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE FUEL TANK STRAPS AND REPLACE THEM IF NECESSARY WITH STAINLESS STEEL STRAPS FREE OF CHARGE. FOR VEHICLES THAT ARE OLDER THAN 10 YEARS, PIERCE IS NOT OFFERING A FREE REMEDY, BUT WILL OFFER FOR PURCHASE REPLACEMENT FUEL TANKS ST... Read more

6,803 vehicles affected

Manufacturer: PIERCE MANUFACTURING

STRUCTURE:BODY:BUMPERS

Defect Description

PIERCE IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2003 THROUGH 2009 CUSTOM CONTENDER, DASH, ENFORCER, IMPEL, LANCE SABER, AND VELOCITY FIRE TRUCKS MANUFACTURED FROM FEBRUARY 20, 2003, THROUGH MARCH 27, 2009. THESE TRUCKS MAY BE EQUIPPED WITH DROP-DOWN FIRE HOSE TRAYS MOUNTED UNDER THE FRONT BUMPER. THE HOSE T... Read more

Consequence

IF THIS OCCURS THE FIRE HOSE MAY DROP TO THE ROADWAY WITHOUT WARNING. POTENTIAL INJURY TO PEOPLE AND PROPERTY MAY OCCUR. THE SUDDEN HOSE DEPLOYMENT MAY ALSO DISTRACT DRIVERS TRYING TO AVOID THE HOSE AND A CRASH MAY OCCUR.

Remedy

A NEW AND IMPROVED LATCH DESIGN HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AND A NEW HOSE BOX INCORPORATING THE NEW LATCH WILL BE INSTALLED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 4, 2010. OWNER MAY CONTACT PIERCE AT 1-920-832-3000.

25 vehicles affected

Manufacturer: PIERCE MANUFACTURING

No complaints found for this vehicle.

Technical Service Bulletins, 2003 PIERCE CUSTOM CONTENDER

2 manufacturer communications from 2 unique bulletins. TSBs describe known problems and recommended fixes from the manufacturer.

Most Affected Components

Component	Bulletins
110000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	1
060000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	1

060000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

As a product improvement, Pierce will be changing coolant probes from a contact probe to a capacitive sensor.

110000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The GEN 1 Husky 3 foam pump from FSC is being discontinued. To keep supporting our customers, a conversion kit is available to install the GEN 2 Husky 3 foam pump in place of the GEN 1.

NHTSA Safety Investigations, PIERCE CUSTOM CONTENDER

Investigations opened by NHTSA into potential safety defects. These are separate from recalls and may or may not result in a recall.

EA, Closed , Model Year: 2006

Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode

On January 10, 2011 the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE11-001) based on a Product Improvement Program (PIP) (ODI TSB #10036912) submitted by Caterpillar dated August 18, 2010.The PIP was intended to address engine RPMs that could surge while the fire fighti... Read more

PE, Closed , Model Year: 2007

RPM's surging during pump mode

On January 10, 2011 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE11-001) based on a product improvement program (PIP) (ODI TSB # 10036912) submitted by Caterpillar dated August 18, 2010. The PIP was for engine RPM's that could surge while in a water pumping mode on 2005... through 2009 Pierce fire trucks equipped with a Caterpillar C9 engine.This engine surge could cause a fluctuation in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.The bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.Caterpillar's product improvement program released information involving the installation of new engine software on the subject vehicles.On April 11, 2011 ODI received Pierce's response to ODI's Information Request (IR) letter.Based on the information received, an ODI investigator contacted several fleets and complainants regarding this defect phenomena and everyone contacted expressedconcern related to the inherent danger involved with pressure oscillations in a fire hose.Several fire fighters stated that the frequency of failure even after Software fixes have been performed per the PIP are still happening.In a supplemental IR letter dated May 27, 2011 Pierce identified a total population of 241 vehicles with the C9 engine from MY 2005 - 2008. Pierce also specified that they had 15 unique complaints coupled with 2 complaints from Caterpillar; totaling 17 consumer complaints.These consumer complaints were for MY 2006 through 2008 fire trucks.Pierce had 2 warranty claims while Caterpillar had 19 warranty claims, totaling 21 warranty claims for this investigation.ODI notes that the complaints applied to 5 vehicles and the warranty claims applied to 5 different vehicles (based on VIN).There were multiple complaints or claims on one vehicle in some cases.An ODI investigator spoke with a fire chief in Sherwood, AR who alleged a Caterpillar representative, on several occasions, came to his fire house to fix the problem of engine surge while in water pumping mode.The Caterpillar technician installed several updates to modify the software which communicates with the engine and its fueling strategies (i.e. idle function).Allegedly, after each attempt to fix the problem a fire fighter would alert the fire chief that the problem persisted in spite of constant updates.The result of this malfunction puts fire fighters at risk. ODI is concerned that a fire hose that does nor function properly has safety ramifications to the user of the fire hose and others dependent on its performance.This Preliminary Evaluation is being closed and upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA11-008).Read more

PIERCE CUSTOM CONTENDER - All Years Overview

Complete safety history for the PIERCE CUSTOM CONTENDER across all model years (2000, 2011).

27 Total Recalls

1 Total Complaints

2 Investigations

1 Reported Crashes

0 Reported Fires

1 Reported Deaths

PIERCE CUSTOM CONTENDER - Year by Year

Compare recalls and complaints across model years. Click any year to see full details.

Year	Recalls	Complaints
2011	3	0	View
2010	3	0	View
2009	4	0	View
2008	5	0	View
2007	2	0	View
2006	2	0	View
2005	1	0	View
2004	1	0	View
2003 (current)	2	0
2002	1	0	View
2001	2	1	View
2000	1	0	View

Other PIERCE Models

Model	Recalls	Complaints
75' ALUMINUM LADDER	0	0	View
AERIAL PUMPER	0	0	View
ARROW	0	0	View
ARROW XT	0	0	View
COMMERCIAL	0	0	View
CONTENDER	0	0	View
CONTENDER BIG BLOCK	0	0	View
CUSTOM CHASSIS	0	0	View

Vehicle Safety

Consumer Safety

Infrastructure

Public Health

2003 PIERCE CUSTOM CONTENDER