The Used Car Index

2015 Peterbilt 389 problems

NHTSA lists 7 complaints for the 2015 Peterbilt 389, 1 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 1 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as PETERBILT 389.

At a glance

Complaints
7
With crash
1
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
1
Recalls
10
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
460,515
Investigations
1
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
37

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
WHEELS457.1%
STRUCTURE228.6%
TIRES228.6%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM114.3%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)114.3%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER114.3%
VISIBILITY/WIPER114.3%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
STRUCTUREBODY2

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
fire or overheating457.1%0.67
electrical electronic114.3%0.87
mechanical failure114.3%0.97
visibility or lighting114.3%0.99
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate685.7%0.85
critical114.3%0.99

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 7 tagged complaints of 7 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

10 recalls.

20V199000

Date: 2020-04-06. Systems: ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC), SERVICE BRAKES, AIR.

Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2008-2019 Peterbilt 330, 335, 337, 340, 348, 365, 367, 384, 386, 387, 388, 389, 567, 579 and 587 vehicles and 2008-2020 Kenworth T170, T270, T370, T660, T680, T800, T880, and W900 vehicles equipped with NAMUX Software. In the event that the Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) loses battery and/or ignition power to the controller, the dash warning light (excerpt)

Consequence: If the driver unknowingly operates the vehicle without the ABS functioning, there would be an increased risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: PACCAR will notify owners, and dealers will update the NAMUX software within the cab control module, free of charge. PACCAR issued owners an interim notification on June 4, 2020. The recall began May 26, 2020. Owners may contact Kenworth customer service at 1-425-828-5888 or Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4220. PACCAR's number for this recall is 20pbc AND 20KWB. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

20V130000

Date: 2020-03-04. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Peterbilt 365, 389, 567, and 579 vehicles equipped with a left-hand under hood jumper terminal (option code 2539410). The positive battery jumper terminal cable may be too long, allowing it to chafe against the left front suspension spring and result in an electrical short circuit.

Consequence: An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy: PACCAR will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the battery jumper terminal cables, and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 30, 2020. Owners may contact PACCAR customer service at 1-940-591-4220. PACCAR's number for this recall is 20PBA.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V740000

Date: 2015-11-09. Systems: TIRES.

Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 Peterbilt 340, 2010, 2012, and 2015-2016 Peterbilt 337, 2010 Peterbilt 335, 2011-2016 Peterbilt 348, 2009 and 2011-2016 Peterbilt 365, 2009 and 2012-2013 Peterbilt 386, 2009-2015 Peterbilt 388, 2015-2016 Peterbilt 389, and 2015 Peterbilt 567 auto hauler vehicles. The affected trucks are equipped with Michelin 295/60R22.5 XZA-2 (excerpt)

Consequence: Higher vehicle speeds and other factors such as tire load and road temperatures may result in premature tire failure, increasing the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Peterbilt will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the engine's vehicle speed parameters to limit the maximum vehicle speed to the tire speed rating, free of charge. The recall began on January 4, 2016. Owners may contact Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4000. PACCAR's number for this recall is 1115P. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V456000

Date: 2015-07-22. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain model year 2012-2016 Peterbilt 365, 367, 384, 386, 388, 389, 567, 579, and 587 trucks manufactured January 13, 2011, to April 20, 2015. The affected trucks, equipped with extended-body Leece Neville alternators, have alternator charge cables that may chafe against a formed metal freon discharge line.

Consequence: If the alternator cable rubs through its insulation, an electrical short may occur, increasing the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Peterbilt will notify owners, and dealers will reroute the alternator charge cable away from the metal freon line and install a plastic insulator on the cable end, free of charge. The recall began on September 23, 2015. Owners may contact Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4000. Peterbilt's number for this recall is 715-K.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V270000

Date: 2015-05-08. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Kenworth T660, T680, T880 trucks manufactured February 18, 2013, to April 10, 2015, and 2011-2016 Peterbilt 386, 389, 567, 579, and 587 trucks manufactured December 13, 2010, to April 20, 2015. The affected trucks, equipped with PACCAR MX-13 engines and Delco-Remy 40SI alternators, have alternator charge cables that may chafe (excerpt)

Consequence: If the alternator cable rubs through its insulation, an electrical short may occur, increasing the risk of a fire. (excerpt)

Remedy: PACCAR will notify owners, and dealers will reroute the alternator charge cable away from the metal freon line, free of charge. PACCAR issued an interim notification to owners on July 10, 2015. The recall began on September 16, 2015. Owners may contact Kenworth customer service at 1-425-828-5000 or Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4000. PACCAR's numbers for this recall are 15KWE and 515- (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V132000

Date: 2015-03-06. Systems: EQUIPMENT, TIRES.

Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain model year 2006-2016 Peterbilt 587, 579, 567, 389, 388, 387, 385, 382, 379, 378, 367, 365 and 357 trucks manufactured July 25, 2005, to February 26, 2016. The affected vehicles may be equipped with Tire and Rim Certification Labels that list a tire pressure below the actual correct amount. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requireme (excerpt)

Consequence: If the tires are underinflated due to the incorrect inflation pressure listed on the label, the truck may not be able to carry the maximum gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) load listed without experiencing tire failure which would increase the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Peterbilt will notify owners and mail them a corrected Tire and Rim certification label, free of charge. The recall began on June 19, 2015. Owners may contact Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4000. PACCAR's number for this recall is 215-D. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V108000

Date: 2015-02-24. Systems: STEERING.

Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain model year 2009-2015 Peterbilt 320, 365, 367, 388, and 389 trucks manufactured July 21, 2008, to February 28, 2014. The front axle tie rod end clamp bolts may be improperly torqued.

Consequence: Undertorqued tie rod end clamp bolts are susceptible to corrosion, which may cause loose bolts to separate resulting in a loss of vehicle control and an increased risk of a crash.

Remedy: PACCAR will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front axle tie rod assembly on any vehicle where the factory installed assembly has not been previously replaced, free of charge. Owners were mailed interim notices on May 11, 2015. The recall began on April 4, 2016. Owners may contact Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4220. PACCAR's number for this recall is 215-C.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V036000

Date: 2015-01-27. Systems: ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC).

Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain model year 2015 Peterbilt 389 Pride and Class edition vehicles manufactured October 1, 2014, to December 4, 2014, and equipped with electronic stability control (ESC). The affected vehicles were manufactured with an incorrect horn contact plate that may damage the ESC steering angle sensor.

Consequence: If the steering angle sensor is damaged, the ESC sensor may malfunction, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

Remedy: Peterbilt will notify owners, and dealers will replace the horn contact plate and the ESC steering angle sensor, free of charge. The recall began on March 6, 2015. Owners may contact Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4000. PACCAR's number for this recall is 115A.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

14V810000

Date: 2014-12-29. Systems: PARKING BRAKE.

Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain model year 2015 Peterbilt 367, 389, 567, 579, and 587 trucks manufactured from May 23, 2014, to February 13, 2015, and 2015 Kenworth T270, T370, T440, T470, T660, T680, T800, T880, and W900 trucks manufactured from May 23, 2014, to February 13, 2015, equipped with certain air brake actuators. The affected vehicles may experience brake drag due to (excerpt)

Consequence: Brake drag may result in a wheel end fire. (excerpt)

Remedy: Kenworth and Peterbilt will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the brake chamber, as necessary, free of charge. An interim notice was mailed to owners March 3, 2015. The recall began on May 14, 2015. Owners may contact PACCAR customer service at 1-425-828-5000 (Kenworth), or 1-940-591-4000 (Peterbilt). PACCAR's number for this recall is 14KWP (Kenworth), and 1214L (Peterbilt). (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

14V731000

Date: 2014-11-13. Systems: STEERING.

Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain model year 2015 Peterbilt 389 "Pride and Class" edition trucks manufactured September 30, 2014, to November 3, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the steering wheel may have been installed with an incorrect attachment nut, or the nut may not be have been properly torqued.

Consequence: An incorrect or improperly torqued steering wheel attachment nut could allow the steering wheel to come loose, resulting in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: PACCAR will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the steering wheel attachment nut, and replace it and/or tighten it, as necessary, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact PACCAR customer service at 1-940-591-4220 (Peterbilt). PACCAR's number for this recall is 1114K.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

1 investigations; 0 open.

PE20006

Opened: 2020-05-01. Closed: 2024-03-27.

Intermittent Loss of Power Steering Assist

On May 1, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE20006 to investigate complaints of intermittent loss of power steering assist in Daimler Truck North America (DTNA), Volvo Trucks of North America (Volvo) and PACCAR vehicles equipped with a ZF/TRW (TRW) THP60 steering gear.A The investigation focused on 2010-2020 DTNA Freightliner Cascadia, M2 and WST; Volvo VN, VAH and VHD and P

Systems: STEERING.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

Manufacturer communications

37 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM12
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING9
EQUIPMENT7
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY4
ENGINE3
STRUCTURE3
POWER TRAIN2
SERVICE BRAKES2

11037541

Date: 2026-09-11. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

"Kenworth: Dealers should check the chassis list and SIR weekly for VIN changes. 2 chassis added to the chassis list. Peterbilt: Dealers should check the chassis list and SIR weekly for VIN changes. 10 chassis added to the chassis list."

11010926

Date: 2024-11-22. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Info Only Unnecessary starter replacements can result from customer complaints regarding engine starting issues. A new Starter Troubleshooting Guide has been created to provide a comprehensive list of starting system checks, which should reduce unnecessary starter replacements and associated warran

11010896

Date: 2024-11-11. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

Fix-As-Fail The window switch fails prematurely due to excessive amperage flowing through the window switch circuit. A new door harness design has been developed to prevent failures. Fix-As-Fail start date is 11/11/2024.

10227181

Date: 2022-11-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: VISIBILITY.

Certain model 389 chassis are experiencing freezing of the A/C evaporator or frosting of the compressor and suction line. A field resolution is available to solve this issue.

10227167

Date: 2022-11-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

34-093 Model 389 78-inch Sleeper 12V Power Port Supplier Change

10222269

Date: 2022-09-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SUSPENSION.

Fix-As-Fail On certain chassis with Low Air Leaf Suspension or Low-Low Air Leaf Suspension, the Height Control Valve (HCV) arm may be rubbing on other components when the bend in the arm is facing outboard. Flipping the bend in the HCV arm inboard prevents the rub.

10219235

Date: 2022-08-03. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES.

The service information for Bendix Air Dryer maintenance is being updated to include new procedures.

10198760

Date: 2021-06-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

An engine software update is required to resolve OBD system readiness, DEF doser diagnostics, and otherOBD system software related issues.

10188550

Date: 2021-02-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT, EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY, VISIBILITY.

Information Only A?A A Windshield washer pumps have a high No Trouble Found rate. Washer pumps may fail to spray due to a clogged filter.

10179370

Date: 2020-08-25. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EQUIPMENT, EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY, STRUCTURE.

Fix as Fail: Peterbilt has determined that certain model 348, 365, 367, 382, 384, 386, 388, 389, 567, 579, and 587 trucks, built between 4/13/2010 and 3/16/2020 and equipped with a flush mounted battery box, utilized rubber washers that could rub through and cause the aluminum box mounting tabs to

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
3897

Same model, other years

All model years | All Peterbilt models

Other Peterbilt models, 2015

Sources

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