Freightliner and Western Star engineering analysis EA25006
Automatic Emergency Braking Errors. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the dynamic brake support/brake assist on 12 model years (2017–2022). Opened Oct 23, 2025 and still open — 12 months so far, against NHTSA’s goal of eighteen months for a engineering analysis. open
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn May 26, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE23010) to assess reports of false positive activation of the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system in model year (MY) 2017-2022 Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) vehicles. The reports alleged that activation of the AEB system occurred while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. DTNA indicated that it received of a total of 315 reports that may relate to the alleged defect in MY 2017-2022 DTNA vehicles. DTNA stated that the vast majority of false positive activation of the subject systems occur in very limited durations and result in a five mile per hour deceleration. ODI considered four AEB systems offered by DTNA: Detroit Assurance 2.0, Detroit Assurance 4.0, Detroit Assurance 5.0, and Wabco OnGuard. ODI’s analysis shows that of the Detroit Assurance versions, all are failing at similar rates. The OnGuard AEB systems equipped on the same model and model year vehicles have experienced a significantly lower claim rate. To date, ODI has received a total of 32 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of AEB in MY 2017-2022 DTNA vehicles. In total, ODI reviewed 347 unique (i.e., non-duplicative Vehicle Identification Numbers) reports that may relate to the alleged defect, which include 24 reports involving a crash, 13 reports involving an alleged injury and one report with a fatality. PE23010 has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations in MY 2017-2022 DTNA vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
A Engineering Analysis is the deeper stage, usually upgraded from a Preliminary Evaluation: NHTSA tests, requests engineering documents and decides whether a safety defect exists. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2025 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2025 | |
| Manufacturer's response — full submission | INRL | 2025 | |
| Memo granting a response extension | INRE | 2025 | 2 files 12 |
| Filed document | INOV | 2025 | |
| Confidential business information notice | INCCS | 2025 | 11 files 1234567891011 |
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
What owners had already reported
Source: complaints on file the day it openedWhen NHTSA opened this on Oct 23, 2025, owners had filed 177 complaints with the agency about the model years above, of which 52 named the forward collision avoidance NHTSA went on to investigate. Owner complaints are the agency’s main early signal, and more can be filed while an action is open.
This is what the complaint file held on that date, not a claim about which reports prompted the investigation — NHTSA’s complaint records carry no investigation number, so nobody can make that link from the data alone. The opening resume linked above names the reports ODI itself cited. Complaint records on this site begin with 2016.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one is open. Nothing is owed on the vehicle today; if it becomes a recall, owners are written to and the repair is free. The moment to know is the day the campaign number appears — Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, or take a free one-line alert by model year.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2017 Freightliner Cascadia; 2018 Freightliner Cascadia; 2019 Freightliner Cascadia; 2020 Freightliner Cascadia; 2021 Freightliner Cascadia; 2022 Freightliner Cascadia; 2017 Western Star 5700; 2018 Western Star 5700; 2019 Western Star 5700; 2020 Western Star 5700; 2021 Western Star 5700; 2022 Western Star 5700.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
An investigation is not a recall. Yet.
If NHTSA’s questions become a recall, the campaign lands in the federal file first. Recall Watch checks your VINs against every new campaign the night it is filed.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs EA25006 a recall?
No. A engineering analysis is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one has not produced one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is EA25006 still open?
Yes, as of NHTSA’s latest file: opened Oct 23, 2025, 12 months ago.
Which vehicles does EA25006 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 12 model years: 2017 Freightliner Cascadia, 2018 Freightliner Cascadia, 2019 Freightliner Cascadia, 2020 Freightliner Cascadia, 2021 Freightliner Cascadia, 2022 Freightliner Cascadia and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.