Recall · 20V487000
Kovatch Mobile Equipment recalled 12 models over exterior lighting
38
Vehicles covered
12
Models
28
Model years
August 18, 2020
Filed with NHTSA
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
- The defect
- Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp. (KME) is recalling certain 2017-2020 Commercial Pumper and Predator SS Rescue, 2018 Predator Panther Pumper and Commercial Skid, 2018-2020 Predator SS Aerial, 2020 Predator Panther Tanker, 2016 Predator Panther Aerial and Commercial Rescue, 2015-2019 Commercial Tanker, 2018-2019 Commercial Wildland, 2017 Predator SS Chassis and 2018-2021 Predator SS Pumper vehicles equipped with certain Code 3 7x9 Stop-Tail-Turn Reverse All-in-One LED stop, tail, turn, and reverse lights. The lights may be too bright, exceeding the maximum light output allowed which may adversely affect the vision of drivers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
- What it can cause
- The excessive brightness may affect the vision of other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.
- What the dealer does
- KME will notify owners, and dealers will instruct vehicle owners to contact Code 3 to obtain a filter kit (Part No. CZ0199), free of charge. The recall began October 9, 2020. Owners may contact KME customer service at 1-800-235-3928.
- NHTSA's note
- Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.
Which vehicles
A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup.
| Vehicle | Model years | Safety record |
|---|---|---|
| KME Commercial Pumper | 2017 to 2020 | Not published here |
| KME Commercial Rescue | 2016 | Not published here |
| KME Commercial Skid | 2018 | Not published here |
| KME Commercial Tanker | 2015 to 2019 | Not published here |
| KME Commercial Wildland | 2018 to 2019 | Not published here |
| KME Predator Panther Aerial | 2016 | Not published here |
| KME Predator Panther Pumper | 2018 | Not published here |
| KME Predator Panther Tanker | 2020 | Not published here |
| KME Predator SS Aerial | 2018 to 2020 | Not published here |
| KME Predator SS Chassis | 2017 | Not published here |
| KME Predator SS Pumper | 2018 to 2021 | Not published here |
| KME Predator SS Rescue | 2017 to 2020 | Not published here |
How this campaign compares
At 38 vehicles this is a small campaign: 82% of the 14,279 vehicle recalls with a published size filed from 1995 up to this one are as large or larger. The middle campaign among them covers 491. It covers model years 2015 to 2021, so the oldest vehicles on it were 5 model years old when the defect was reported to NHTSA.
KME vehicles have been recalled over the exterior lighting once before this, most recently in September 2018 as 18V622000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
The vehicles on this campaign carry 2 other recalls published here: 21V097000 (suspension), 20V051000 (electrical system).
Check your own car
A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.
Filed by Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp. with NHTSA on August 18, 2020 as campaign 20V487000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes. Data last checked 2020-08-18.
Independent developer and analyst