Total Complaints
2 filings
PETERBILT 387 · model year
2 NHTSA complaints, and 2 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2001PETERBILT387 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, 1 fire, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2001 387 is suspension with 1 filings, followed by service brakes, air:drum (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 2 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 3 investigation files overlapping the 2001 387. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
2 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:DRUM | 1 |
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:SUPPLY:CHECK VALVE
ON CERTAIN HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH MERITOR WABCO PNEUMATIC ANITLOCK BRAKE SYSTEM (ABS) VALVE PACKAGES, THE ASSEMBLY BOLTS ON THESE VALVE PACKAGES WERE NOT TIGHTENED CORRECTLY.
SUSPENSION:FRONT:HUB
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH TRUCK HUB UNITS MANUFACTURED BY SKF EXCLUSIVELY FOR USE ON ARVINMERITOR'S FF98X SERIES NON-DRIVE STEER AXLES, THE HUB UNIT BEARINGS CAN WEAR PREMATURELY.
VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE SUDDENLY WHILE TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE, THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE FIRE RESULTED FROM A BRAKE DRUM FAILURE CAUSING A TIRE FIRE WHICH SPREAD THROUGH THE VEHICLE RESULTING IN A TOTAL LOSS OF TRACTOR, AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT MANUFACTURER WAS AWARE DEFECTS SUCH AS ELECTRICAL AND BRAKE MISHAPS.(ATTORNEY ON BEHALF OF CLIENT)*YD
SUSPENSION WAS WRONG TYPE, AND VEHICLE MADE TO PULL TRAILER. TRAILER HEIGHT WAS 13'9, " NOT LEGAL 13'6". DEALER WOULD NOT TAKE VEHICLE BACK, CONSUMER TRADED VEHICLE.*AK
Data as of 2025. 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.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.