2008 Sterling Acterra: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2008 Sterling Acterra
Only 1 defect report has been filed with NHTSA about the 2008 Sterling Acterra, which is too few to compute mileage percentiles or a risk score. The report reported fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure.
When each failure gets reported
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure | fuel | 1 | 1 | — | 4k | — | 1.0 | $250–$1,800 | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure
Air dryer on 2008 acterra trucks. The new system on the engine allows exhaust soot into the intake manifold and the air compressor receives its air from the bottom side on the intake. The problem is this soot is building in the purge valve on the ad9 air dryer and causing air to leak out of bottom of dryer. We have had this problem on both 2008 trucks and causing problem with air pressures. I have reported this problem to dealer and he said he would take it up with freightliner. *tr
Recalls on the 2008 model year
NHTSA has issued 13 recall campaigns covering the 2008 Sterling Acterra, affecting an estimated 3,067 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover engine and engine cooling:engine and engine and engine cooling. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
43 vehicles 2011-08-31- Defect
- Daimler trucks north america is recalling certain model year 2005 through 2012 freightliner m2, sterling acterra, 7500 & 8500, and thomas built hdx vehicles manufactured from june 23, 2004, through march 15, 2011, equipped with specific mbe900 epa04 and epa07 model engines. The intake air grid heater may short circuit and fail due to excessive internal temperatures.
- Consequence
- A short circuited grid heater could result in a vehicle fire and injury to vehicle occupants.
- Remedy
- Daimler trucks will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. Repairs will be performed by detroit diesel corporation authorized repair facilities. The safety recall began on september 12, 2011. Owners may contact daimler trucks toll-free at 1-800-547-0712. This recall is an expansion of a previous recall, campaign number 10v-341.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
50 vehicles 2011-03-15- Defect
- Daimler trucks is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2009 freightliner business class m2 and sterling acterra emergency vehicles manufactured from august 18, 2006, through july 7, 2010, equipped with epa 2007 mbe 900 detroit diesel engines. Engine software may not react properly to certain aftermarket treatment device fault codes. The software may unnecessarily shutdown a vehicle or may fail to shutdown a vehicle with an aftermarket device over-temp fault.
- Consequence
- Unexpected shutdown of a vehicle may increase the risk of a crash. Overheating of the aftertreatment device without engine shutdown may result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Daimler trucks will notify owners and repairs will be performed by detroit diesel free of charge. The safety recall began on march 25, 2011. Owners may contact daimler trucks at 1-800-547-0712. This safety recall campaign is an expansion of a previous recall (please see 10v-472).
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
58 vehicles 2010-10-08- Defect
- Daimler trucks is recalling certain model year 2007 through 2010 freightliner business class m2, custom chassis mt45, s2 chassis, and stering acterra vehicles manufactured from october 5, 2006, through may 24, 2010, equipped with epa 2007 mbe 900 detroit diesel engines. Engine software may not react properly to certain aftermarket treatment device fault codes. The software may unnecessarily shutdown a vehicle or may fail to shutdown a vehicle with an aftermarket device over-temp fault.
- Consequence
- Unexpected shutdown of a vehicle may increase the risk of a crash. Overheating of the aftertreatment device without engine shutdown may result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Daimler trucks will notify owners and repairs will be performed by detroit diesel free of charge. The safety recall began on december 30, 2010. Owners may contact daimler trucks at 1-800-547-0712.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
5,743 vehicles 2010-07-27- Defect
- Daimler trucks is recalling certain model year 2007 through 2011 freightliner, fccc, sterling, and western star heavy trucks manufactured from september 5, 2006, through june 30, 2010, equipped with specific mbe900 epa04 and epa07 model engines. The intake air grid heater may short circuit and fail due to excessive internal temperatures.
- Consequence
- A short circuited grid heater could result in a vehicle fire and injury to vehicle occupants.
- Remedy
- Daimler trucks will notify owners and dealers will repair the buses free of charge. Repairs will be performed by detroit diesel corporation authorized repair facilities. The safety recall is expected to begin on or about july 29, 2011. Owners may contact daimler trucks toll-free at 1-800-547-0712.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
101 vehicles 2009-11-24- Defect
- Daimler trucks is recalling certain model year 2008 through 2010 freightliner m2, custom chassis mt55, and sterling acterra vehicles manufactured between april 4, 2007 and july 15, 2009, equipped with cummins isc cm2150 and isl cm2150 model diesel engines. The vehicles may be designed with a hard wired, dash-mounted switch that enables the vehicle operator to inhibit aftertreatment diesel particulate filter regeneration in environments where the operator believes it may be unsafe for elevated exhaust temperatures. Due to an issue with the logic in the ECM software in…
- Consequence
- This condition will permit hot exhaust gases to exit the vehicle tailpipe, increasing the risk of melting or burning of nearby surfaces, or a fire.
- Remedy
- Daimler trucks is working with cummins to repair the engines free of charge. Please see cummins' defect report 09e-046. The safety recall is expected to begin during november 2009. Owners may contact cummins at 1-800-diesels (1-800-343-7357) or daimler trucks at 1-800-547-0712.
EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER
269 vehicles 2009-11-19- Defect
- Cues, inc. Is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 service vehicles built on various chassis equipped with carrier airv ceiling units, model nos. 68rv0010ba, 68rv0012ca, and 68rv0010ea. The heater element in these assemblies may be defective which could cause the unit to create smoke or sparks.
- Consequence
- This defect could result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Cues is working with carrier to remedy the affected vehicles. Repairs will be made by carrier free of charge. Please see carrier's defect report 09e-053. The safety recall began on january 5, 2010. Owners may contact carrier at 1-877-584-7059 or cues at 1-407-849-0190.
PARKING BRAKE:CONVENTIONAL:AIR
900 vehicles 2008-04-09- Defect
- Daimler trucks is recalling 900 my 2008 freightliner argosy, argosy rhd, cascadia, columbia, century st, coronado, sterling acterra, l-line and western star 4900 trucks equipped with bendix mv-3 dash control valves. The molded valve body has an incorrect core pin in the injection mold causing the valve body to be oversized in the double check valve area. This condition can allow the rubber double check valve to become lodged in the body opening under certain circumstances.
- Consequence
- If the double check valve becomes lodged, in the event of a primary reservoir failure, air pressure can leak past the lodged double check valve thereby depleting the secondary reservoir, causing reduced ability for modulating the service emergency brakes increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the mv-3 dash valve for the production date code. Valves in the affected production lots will be replaced free of charge. The recall began on october 9, 2008. Owners may contact daimler trucks at 1-800-547-0712.
POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY
28,764 vehicles 2008-03-25- Defect
- Daimler trucks is recalling 28,764 my 2001 through 2008 fccc b2 and fs65 school bus chassis, fccc fb65 conventional buses, and sterling acterra, freightliner fln, and business class m2 heavy trucks, built from january 26, 2000, through march 24, 2008, manufactured with arvinmeritor or axle alliance company 6,000 through 8,000 pound front axles utilizing a four piece spindle-nut set. These axle assemblies may have been produced with a thin spindle nut which may lead to incorrect end play, cone spin, excessive heat, degradation of lubrication, wear of the spindle nut and…
- Consequence
- Continued operation may lead to wheel separation and possibly a vehicle crash.
- Remedy
- Daimler trucks will notify owners and will repair the vehicles free of charge. The recall began on january 8, 2009. Owners may contact daimler trucks at 1-800-547-0712.
TRAILER HITCHES:FIFTH WHEEL ASSEMBLY
38,000 vehicles 2007-11-13- Defect
- On certain truck-tractors equipped with holland simplex se or se ii fifth wheels, the latch lever pivot bolt assembly may have been over-tightened which could distort the pivot bolt spacer sleeve. Corrosion or contaminates in the pivot may cause it to bind and prevent the fifth wheel jaw from latching securely around the trailer king pin.
- Consequence
- There is a possibility that the fifth wheel may fail to latch without the driver's knowledge. When the occurs, the driver could drive away and the trailer could become disengaged increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the pivot bolt and sleeve with a hex head shoulder bolt and washer. The recall began on january 3, 2008. Owners may contact freightliner at 1-800-547-0712.
WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS
1,042 vehicles 2007-08-01- Defect
- On certain trucks built with axilok rear wheel spindle nuts, the nuts may have been improperly installed, with one or both locking clip tabs not properly engaged or damaged.
- Consequence
- This may reduce the nut's ability to resist rotation, potentially allowing the nut to back off and the dual wheel set to separate from the vehicle, resulting in a crash without prior warning.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the axilok nuts for locking clip engagement or damage. They will be adjusted or replaced free of charge. The recall began on august 10, 2007. Owners may contact freightliner at 800-547-0712.
SUSPENSION:REAR
1,200 vehicles 2007-07-24- Defect
- On certain trucks equipped with tuftrac rear suspensions, the center casting brackets may be out of specification. An out of square casting may have unacceptable stress in the bracket when it is installed and may cause it to crack in service.
- Consequence
- The drive axle may not be held in position if a cracked bracket fractures completely. This will affect vehicle control and may cause a crash without warning.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and castings that are out of specification will be replaced free of charge. The recall began on december 12, 2007. Owners may contact freightliner at 1-800-547-0712.
STEERING
18,000 vehicles 2007-07-18- Defect
- Freightliner is recalling certain school bus chassis, heavy trucks, van chassis, rv motorhome chassis manufactured from january 5 to may 17, 2007, equipped with axle alliance company (aac) front axles. During the front axle assembly, the fasteners that attach the steering arm or tie rod arms to the spindle may be over or under tightened.
- Consequence
- Incorrectly tightened steering arm fasteners may fatigue and fracture which could cause a crash without warning.
- Remedy
- Thomas built will notify owners, inspect the fasteners, and replace the steering arm if necessary. The recall began on december 21, 2007. Owners can contact freightliner at 1-800-547-0712.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
Every year of the Sterling Acterra
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
What the reports on file say
The complaints recorded against the 2008 Sterling Acterra are fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure (1 report, around 4k miles). With a sample this size these are anecdotes rather than a pattern, and they are shown because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see them than nothing.
Why this page is short
A model year needs about 8 reports before percentiles mean anything, and this one does not have them. Complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road, so a thin page usually means a rare car, a new car, or a car whose owners do not file.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed