Total Complaints
2 filings
Kenworth W900 · model year
2 NHTSA complaints, and 12 recall campaigns listed for this cohort. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The verdict
The 2004 Kenworth W900 posts above-average complaint volume among its own model-year siblings.
The 2004KenworthW900 carries 2 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 2 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 2004 W900 is electrical system:alternator/generator/regulator with 1 filings, followed by tires (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause. This cohort has 12 NHTSA recall campaigns listed below. Enter a VIN in NHTSA's official recall lookup to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA currently has 3 investigation files overlapping the 2004 W900. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
PlainCars' own composite of NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings and rollover-risk assessment, each dimension normalized against the federal scale or the full national model-year corpus. Not an official NHTSA figure, and not a substitute for a specific vehicle's VIN-level recall check.
Total Complaints
2 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | 1 |
| TIRES | 1 |
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR
KENWORTH IS RECALLING 3,423 MY 2004-2009 T2000, T800,T600, W900 AND T660 VEHICLES. INCREASED BRAKE EXCITATION IN A CERTAIN VEHICLE CONFIGURATION WHICH INCLUDES BENDIX DRUM BRAKES, WIDE BASE LOW PROFILE SINGLE TIRES, AND AN AG400 OR AG460 REAR SUSPENSION, DUE TO ITS UNIQUE BRAKE CLOCKING AND CAM TUB
SUSPENSION
ON CERTAIN HEAVY DUTY CLASS 8 TRUCKS, THE SUSPENSION HAS TRANSVERSE BEAM CASTINGS THAT MAY FRACTURE UNDER NORMAL LOADS. IF A CASTING BREAKS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS TRAVELING ON A ROADWAY THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR PIECES OF THE CASTING TO BECOME PROJECTILES AND THE SUSPENSION'S TRANSVERSE BEAM MAY DROP
SUSPENSION
PACCAR IS RECALLING 130 MY 2004-2009 T2000, T800, T600, W900 AND T660 KENWORTH TRUCKS BUILT WITH AN AG400 REAR SUSPENSION, LONG STROKE BRAKE CHAMBERS, AND WIDE BASE TIRES (SUPER SINGLES). THESE VEHICLES MAY DEVELOP AN INCREASE IN LATERAL AND VERTICAL AXLE MOVEMENT. THIS MOVEMENT MAY CAUSE PART OR
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
ON CERTAIN TRACTORS EQUIPPED WITH CATERPILLAR DIESEL ENGINES, THE VARIABLE VALVE ACTUATION OIL LINE MAY WEAR AGAINST THE SHARP EDGE OF THE CYLINDER HEAD IF NOT POSITIONED CORRECTLY.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH A COMBINATION OF CATERPILLAR C11/C13 ENGINES AND AN OPTIONAL LEECE NEVILLE BRUSHLESS ALTERNATOR, A CHAFFING POINT MAY EXIST BETWEEN A HEAT SHIELD ON THE ENGINE AND THE WIRING FOR THE ALTERNATOR.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS, THE WIRING, PARTS, OR TRANSMISSION PROGRAMMING REQUIRED FOR THE AUTO NEUTRAL FEATURE TO FUNCTION AS DESIGNED WERE EITHER NOT INSTALLED, CONNECTED, OR PROGRAMMED PROPERLY.
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
CERTAIN TRUCKS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 120, 'TIRE SELECTION AND RIMS FOR MOTOR VEHICLES OTHER THAN PASSENGER CARS.' THE TIRE PRESSURE WAS OMITTED FROM THE VEHICLE'S CERTIFICATION LABEL.
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:UNIVERSAL JOINT
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS BUILT WITH THE OPTIONAL DANA SPL DRIVELINE, THE U-JOINT FASTENERS AT THE OUTPUT YOKE OF THE TRANSMISSION WERE NOT PROPERLY TIGHTENED.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
CERTAIN TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH EATON FULLER ULTRASONIC TRANSMISSIONS FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 102, "TRANSMISSION SHIFT LEVER SEQUENCE, STARTER INTERLOCK AND TRANSMISSION BRAKING EFFECT." THE CAB TRANSMISSION HARNESS COULD HAVE BEEN INCORRECTLY
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS, THE POWER FEED HARNESS P92-1993 TERMINALS WERE NOT PROPERLY CRIMPED.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH WEBASTO HEATERS, THE BURNER TUBES ARE MADE OF MATERIAL THAT DOES NOT MEET SPECIFICATIONS AND COULD FAIL PREMATURELY.
STRUCTURE
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS, SOME OF THE HUCK BOLTS ON THE CAB MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PROPERLY INSTALLED.
2004 KENWORTH W9, WAS ENTERING ONTO THE OHIO TURNPIKE WHEN ITS RIGHT REAR TRAILER TIRE CAUGHT ON FIRE *BF THE DRIVER WAS ABLE TO PUT THE FIRE OUT, USING A FIRE EXTINGUISHER. (OHIO TRAFFIC CRASH REPORT # 10-0690-91). *JB UPDATED 01/14/11 *BF
THIS HAD HAPPENED TO MY PARENTS. MY DAD DRIVES A KENWORTH T2000 IT IS A BRAND NEW 2004. MY DAD WAS PARKING HIS TRUCK FOR THE NIGHT IN WACO, TX WHEN HE HAD SMELT SOMETHING BURNING. HE OPENED THE HOOD OF THE TRUCK AND THERE WAS A FIRE BETWEEN THE ENGINE AND THE FIREWALL. THEY BELIEVE THE FIRE STARTED WITH A WIRE ON THE ALTERNATOR. OUR CONCERN IS THE KENWORTH T2000 DOES NOT HAVE A DOOR ON THE SLEEPER BIRTH. WE BELIEVE THAT ALL SEMI TRUCKS NEED ONE. IF MY PARENTS HAD BEEN SLEEPING THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO WAY FOR THEM TO ESCAPE THE TRUCK IF THE FIRE HAD GOT BIG ENOUGH. I HAVE WROTE TO OTHER PEOPLE BUT NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE ABOUT IT WHICH SHOWS ME THAT NO ONE GIVES A [XXX] THING, BUT I BET IF THEY HAD DIED IN THAT TRUCK EVERYONE WOULD BE COMPLAINING THAT NO ONE HAD SAID A THING ABOUT IT. I AM BEGGING YOU SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE DOORS IN THE SLEEPER MANDATORY ON ALL SEMI TRUCKS WITH SLEEPER BIRTHS.*AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 2004 Kenworth W900; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.