The rear passenger seat belt retractor is jammed. The consumer made contact with the manufacture and the warranty has expired. This is the second occurrence for this belt jamming.
The worst 1998 Freightliner Century problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Engine3
- Fuel system2
- Steering2
- Transmission2
- Visibility2
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine3
- Fuel system2
- Steering2
- Transmission2
- Visibility2
- Body1
- Lights1
- Locks1
- Seat belts1
- Seats1
- Suspension1
Recalls 5
Suspension: front: hub
- What is wrong
- On certain trucks equipped with truck hub units manufactured by skf exclusively for use on arvinmeritor's ff98x series non-drive steer axles, the hub unit bearings can wear prematurely.
- Risk
- Seizure of the bearings can cause wheel separation or wheel end fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace both front hubs. Owner notification is expected to begin on or before september 20, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact freightliner at 1‑800‑547‑0712.
Recall number 03V112000 · Recall details
Service brakes, air: antilock
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: heavy duty trucks and school bus chassis built with bendix air ABS with an ec-17 1030r electronic control unit (ecu), there have been reports of unwanted ABS activation at low speeds caused by 1) chafed ABS wheel speed sensor wires on rotating parts or 2) a damaged component at the wheel end that generates a certain type of erratic sensor signal.
- Risk
- This condition could cause the ABS ecu to exhaust the air at the air brake modulators for one or more of the wheels. This could result in extended braking distances and a possible crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the ABS ecu.
Recall number 00V232002 · Recall details
Steering: linkages: tie rod assembly
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: heavy duty trucks. The tie rod ends can fracture due to low stress, high cycle, reversed bending fatigue resulting from a system resonance.
- Risk
- Loss of steering control could occur, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the tie rod ends and tube assembly.
Recall number 99V359000 · Recall details
Suspension: front: hub
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: heavy duty trucks. The outboard bearing on the steering axle hubs can fail due to water intrusion through a hubcap vent.
- Risk
- This condition can result in a separation of the wheel.
- Remedy
- Dealers will remove the hubcap and inspect for water intrusion and corrosion. The hub and bearing assembly will be replaced if there is evidence of corrosion. A non-vented hubcap will be installed.
Recall number 99V295000 · Recall details
Suspension: front
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: heavy duty trucks equipped with meritor interaxle driveline u-joints. Deflector rings, a part of the system to seal the u-joints from contaminates, are loose. This allows water to enter the u-joint bearing area result in dilution of the lubricant, oxidation of the bearing and seal surfaces, and loss of lubricant.
- Risk
- If this problem goes undetected, the interaxle driveline can separate from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the u-joints with the current design u-joints.
Recall number 98V085000 · Recall details
See all 5 recalls for the 1998 Freightliner Century
Defect investigations
Front brake air hose leaks
Certain 1998-2001 freightliner century and columbia vehicles exhibit a higher rate of front brake air hose leaks than earlier vintage freightliner vehicles.the leaks have been frequently discovered at fmcsa roadside inspections since these inspections are conducted with the brakes applied (pressurizing the air hose) whereas driver pre-trip inspections may not always be performed with the brakes applied. After a thorough technical review of this matter,odi has concuded that while the subject vehicles exhibit a higher rate of front brake air hose leaks than earlier vintage and peer vehicles, these leaks appear to be minor. Freightliner has extended the warranty for this component to 5 years, 500,000 miles and will assist in alerting those vehicle owners whose vehicles are most susceptible to front brake air hose leakage by issuing a service bulletin alerting those owners to the potential for front brake air hose leakage to occur. See attached report for full technical details.
PE03005
Integral hub and bearing assembly
Freightliner submitted a defect report on march 21, 2003 in which they identified approximately 5000 trucks as possibly beingaffected by this problem.arvinmeritor (front axle mfr) submitted a defect report onapril 16, 2003, which identifies 6098 freightliner trucks asbeing affected by this recall and 1191 axles sold to freightliner in the aftermarket. Odi notes that there are twointegral hub and bearing assemblies per front axle.freightliner identified vehicles includingfreightliner,sterling, and western star brand name as beingaffected by this recall.see attached summary report for additional details.
PE02088
Technical service bulletins for the 1998 Freightliner Century 4
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
What 1998 Freightliner Century owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
1998 century class model trailer experiencing multiple problems.*mr the manufacturer informed the consumer that one of the u-joints had gone bad, the flex line had rotted away which connected to the exhaust manifold which caused a leak. The vehicle experienced a power steering leak, also the air filter was replaced. The consumer was assigned another tractor, however it was a 2001 model and he soon discovered the fan blades were completely black and he had to tape a filter over the air intake. *jb
Consumer applied brakes firmly and axle fell off. Vehicle is a century classic, 2000. Cosumer may not be aware of the federal safety agency recall 99v35 9000/ manufacturer's recall f l-251 concerning tie rod end. Will try and contact consumer to inform system was down.
Consumer felt a vibration in the drivetrain, the driveshaft and connecting components came flying out from under the vehicle, the yoke on the back of the front drive axle was cracked and came apart causing all the parts to come off, the consumer feels that if there were grease fittings on these parts the cracking would have been spotted when doing a grease job.
Driver side wiper arm fell off. Yh
Intake manifold leaks fuel. Yh
Exhaust system flex pipe within the turbo cracked, allowing exhaust leaks into the clean air and firewall, which then went into the air conditioner and into the cab ofthe truck.
The windshield wipers keep blowing off the truck . The dealer response was "thats a piss poor way to make a wiper" . This as you know did not fix the problems I have 25 trucks with the same problems . My concern is that when it blows off it will hit another vehicle and cause an accident . Your help would greatly be appreciated.
Air leak around fifth wheel.
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Questions about the 1998 Freightliner Century
Is the 1998 Freightliner Century reliable?
Owners have filed 9 complaints about the 1998 Freightliner Century, 2.3 times a typical Century model year.
What is the most common problem with the 1998 Freightliner Century?
Engine and cooling, with 3 complaints. Next is fuel system (2).
How many recalls does the 1998 Freightliner Century have?
5 recalls, covering suspension, service brakes, air and steering.
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