Freightliner recall query RQ20001
SAM Cab Water Intrusion. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this recall query about the electrical system on 15 model years (2007–2021). Opened Aug 31, 2020, closed Jun 26, 2025 after 4.8 years without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn August 31, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a recall query, RQ20001, to investigate the allegations of water intrusion into the truck cab signal-detect and activation module (SAM cab).The investigation further evaluated the effectiveness of the original recall remedy, and the installation of an updated drip shield as it relates to continual water intrusion resulting in the loss of electrical functions and potential fire. The potential hazard was the increased risk of a crash and injury in certain model year (MY) 2007-2021 Freightliner Cascadia P3 vehicles manufactured by Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA). ODI sent DTNA an information request (IR) letter on September 29, 2020. DTNA's November 20, 2020, IR response detailed how the company had implemented various improvements through recall 09V024 and multiple technical service bulletins (TSBs) to mitigate water intrusion. The effectiveness of new windshield seals and revisions to the drip shield is evident by the downward trend in claims rate from an average high of 7.64% in the beginning product life of Cascadia P3 (MYs 2007-2009), to 1.79% average for MYs 2011-2018, and down to 0.49% towards the end of the Cascadia P3 production. Moreover, the data shows that most failures occurred within the first three years of service with a significant downward trend thereafter. In view of the current overall low failure rate, the nature of early-life failure, and failure rate trending downward since model year 2017, this Recall Query (RQ) is closed. The Agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
A Recall Query is a look at a recall that already exists — whether its remedy works, whether it reached every vehicle it should have, whether the manufacturer met its obligations. 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.
- Closing resume — ODI’s own summary of why it closed this, and what it concluded.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2020 | |
| Closing resume | INCLA | 2020 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2020 | |
| Manufacturer's response — data | INRD | 2020 | 16 files 12345678910111213141516 |
| Manufacturer's response — full submission | INRL | 2020 | |
| Memo to the investigation file | INME | 2020 | 6 files 123456 |
| Filed document | INCV | 2020 | |
| Confidential business information notice | INCBC | 2020 | |
| Confidential business information notice | INCCS | 2020 | 8 files 12345678 |
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 Aug 31, 2020, owners had filed 47 complaints with the agency about the model years above, of which 2 named the electrical system NHTSA went on to investigate. Owner complaints are the agency’s main early signal: ODI screens them, and a Preliminary Evaluation is usually where a pattern in them ends up.
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 closed. A recall query ends with NHTSA’s finding on the recall it examined — the remedy stands, is widened, or a new campaign follows; the file names the recall it concerned and NHTSA’s closing resume carries the reasoning.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2007 Freightliner Cascadia; 2008 Freightliner Cascadia; 2009 Freightliner Cascadia; 2010 Freightliner Cascadia; 2011 Freightliner Cascadia; 2012 Freightliner Cascadia; 2013 Freightliner Cascadia; 2014 Freightliner Cascadia; 2015 Freightliner Cascadia; 2016 Freightliner Cascadia; 2017 Freightliner Cascadia; 2018 Freightliner Cascadia; 2019 Freightliner Cascadia; 2020 Freightliner Cascadia; 2021 Freightliner Cascadia.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs RQ20001 a recall?
No. A recall query is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is RQ20001 still open?
No. It closed on Jun 26, 2025 without a recall.
Which vehicles does RQ20001 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 15 model years: 2007 Freightliner Cascadia, 2008 Freightliner Cascadia, 2009 Freightliner Cascadia, 2010 Freightliner Cascadia, 2011 Freightliner Cascadia, 2012 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.