PETERBILT 579 · model year

2018 PETERBILT 579

12 NHTSA complaints, and 14 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2018PETERBILT579 carries 12 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 3 fires, 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 2018 579 is electrical system with 4 filings, followed by service brakes (3) and steering (2). 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 14 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 2018 579. 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.

12
Complaints
0
Crashes
3
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

12 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM4
SERVICE BRAKES3
STEERING2
SUSPENSION1
ENGINE1
FIRERELATED1

Recalls (14)

21V00N00029/12/2021

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING

PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Peterbilt 567, 579, 2021-2022 Peterbilt 536, 2017-2021 Kenworth T880, 2016-2022 Kenworth T680, 2018-2020 Kenworth T440, 2020 Kenworth T270, and 2021 Kenworth T280 vehicles. The methane detection system will not function if the system loses

22V27700025/04/2022

STEERING:CRITICAL FASTENERS

PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Kenworth T270, T370, T440, T470, T660, T680, T880, T800, W900, W990; and 2018-2020 Peterbilt 330, 337, 348, 365, 367, 389, 520, 567, and 579 vehicles. The Dana D-Series axle steer arm fasteners that attach the steering arm to the steering

17V84000022/12/2017

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)

PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2018 Peterbilt 567, 579, Kenworth T680, and T880 trucks, equipped with certain Eaton Endurant and PACCAR AMT transmissions. The transmission control module (TCM) may allow the engine to crank briefly even if the transmission shifter is not in neutra

18V93100021/12/2018

POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY

PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Peterbilt 337, 348, 365, 367, 389, 567, 579 and 587 trucks and 2018-2019 Kenworth C500, T270, T370, T440, T660, T680, T800, T880 and W900 trucks equipped with automated manual transmissions. An internal component in the clutch assembly may

18V65700021/09/2018

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:DIESEL

PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Kenworth C500, T600, T660, T680, T800, T880 and W900 trucks, as well as Peterbilt 367, 386, 389, 567, 579 and 587 trucks, equipped with Cummins ISX15 or X15 diesel engines. In certain driving conditions, such as on a long down-hill grade,

19V65700017/09/2019

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

Transportation Power, Inc. (TransPower) is recalling certain 2017-2018 electric trucks built on Peterbilt 579 chassis. The vehicles do not have stabilization hardware and software that interacts with the braking system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor

18V81600016/11/2018

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Kenworth T680 and T880 and Peterbilt 579 trucks, greater than 30 feet long and equipped with side extender mounted intermediate marker lamp/turn signals that do not include a reflex reflector. Since both intermediate side marker lamps and

17V10300015/02/2017

FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Kenworth K370, T680, T880 and 2017-2018 Peterbilt 567 and 579 trucks. The plastic fuel tee fittings on these trucks may leak fuel.

17V44300013/07/2017

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL

PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Peterbilt 367, 389, 567, 579 and 587 trucks, and 2018 Kenworth C500, T680, T800, T880 and W900 trucks equipped with Cummins ISX 15L engines. These engines have a fuel pump whose drive gear could possibly slip on its drive shaft, causing a

18V87000007/12/2018

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2018 Kenworth T680 and T880, and Peterbilt 567 and 579 trucks. The seat belt buckle assemblies on these vehicles may have been glued and not sewn during manufacturing, possibly causing the assembly to come apart under load, such as in the event of a

20V19900006/04/2020

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

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-lo

20V13000004/03/2020

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY:CABLES

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

18V09200002/02/2018

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Kenworth T680 and T880 trucks, and Peterbilt 567 and 579 trucks, all equipped with an automated Eaton UltraShift Plus or Eaton Advantage Transmission with right hand stalk shifter. The display that indicates which transmission gear the dri

18V36800001/06/2018

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Peterbilt 567 and 579 trucks and 2015-2018 Kenworth T660, T680, T800, T880 and W900 trucks. In the event that the Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) loses battery and/or ignition power to the controller, the dash warning light for the ABS may no

Recent Complaints

20250509FireSERVICE BRAKES

See attached document for complaint.

20250509FireFIRERELATED

See attached document for complaint.

20241108SERVICE BRAKES

This vehicle about 6-8 weeks ago started throwing codes for all systems above (over 100 codes). This issue affected all systems of the vehicle including but not limited to the speed and braking of the vehicle, plus the fuel system and adaptive driving systems. We took it to the dealer Performance Peterbilt in Tifton, GA. They cleared the codes and said they resolved it by replacing a NOX sensor. We left the repair shop and within 50-100 miles the exact same issue started up again. We took it back to the same shop, they worked with Paccar and determined it needed a new ECM (Computer), this was changed out and still did not resolve issue. They then changed out the main wire harness. This resolved some issues but not all issues. Now the repair dealer is stating it needs a dash wire harness. This vehicle has relatively low miles 500K and has only been serviced by Peterbilt dealers through it's life. This issue causes the vehicle to accelerate and brake randomly plus many other issues by st

20241108ENGINE

This vehicle about 6-8 weeks ago started throwing codes for all systems above (over 100 codes). This issue affected all systems of the vehicle including but not limited to the speed and braking of the vehicle, plus the fuel system and adaptive driving systems. We took it to the dealer Performance Peterbilt in Tifton, GA. They cleared the codes and said they resolved it by replacing a NOX sensor. We left the repair shop and within 50-100 miles the exact same issue started up again. We took it back to the same shop, they worked with Paccar and determined it needed a new ECM (Computer), this was changed out and still did not resolve issue. They then changed out the main wire harness. This resolved some issues but not all issues. Now the repair dealer is stating it needs a dash wire harness. This vehicle has relatively low miles 500K and has only been serviced by Peterbilt dealers through it's life. This issue causes the vehicle to accelerate and brake randomly plus many other issues by st

20241108ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

This vehicle about 6-8 weeks ago started throwing codes for all systems above (over 100 codes). This issue affected all systems of the vehicle including but not limited to the speed and braking of the vehicle, plus the fuel system and adaptive driving systems. We took it to the dealer Performance Peterbilt in Tifton, GA. They cleared the codes and said they resolved it by replacing a NOX sensor. We left the repair shop and within 50-100 miles the exact same issue started up again. We took it back to the same shop, they worked with Paccar and determined it needed a new ECM (Computer), this was changed out and still did not resolve issue. They then changed out the main wire harness. This resolved some issues but not all issues. Now the repair dealer is stating it needs a dash wire harness. This vehicle has relatively low miles 500K and has only been serviced by Peterbilt dealers through it's life. This issue causes the vehicle to accelerate and brake randomly plus many other issues by st

20240812ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

On 8/10/2024 our sleeper berth hvac fans abruptly quit working. After checking fuses we noticed the fan control switch was hot. After removing the panel that the switch is held in we noticed the HVAC Fan Control switch (Part# 599-5000) was charred, upon removing the switch from the plug we observed the actual plug is melted, and one of the wires on the wire harness has charring of the plastic insulation. This could have very well caught fire. I am going to have to replace the wiring harness as re-pining the plug will not solve the issue of the wire being burned and the insulation being charred. There was no warning lamps, occasionally the fan would turn off then resume.

20230519SUSPENSION

Front axle begins popping and making metal to metal noises when hitting bumps and or turning. We took it to the shop and they found the nuts to the U-bolts that hold the leaf springs to the front axle had begun backing off and were out of torque spec. Upon receiving the truck back the front end no longer made this noise. Approximately 8 months later we are hearing the same metal on metal and popping noises that we heard previously. We have also noticed similar year Peterbilt 579's with this same noise and popping so this isn't specific to our vehicle.

20230519STEERING

Front axle begins popping and making metal to metal noises when hitting bumps and or turning. We took it to the shop and they found the nuts to the U-bolts that hold the leaf springs to the front axle had begun backing off and were out of torque spec. Upon receiving the truck back the front end no longer made this noise. Approximately 8 months later we are hearing the same metal on metal and popping noises that we heard previously. We have also noticed similar year Peterbilt 579's with this same noise and popping so this isn't specific to our vehicle.

20200113FireELECTRICAL SYSTEM

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 PETERBILT 579. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE DRIVER WAS DRIVING, THE REAR BRAKES AND TURN SIGNALS FAILED TO FUNCTION. THE NEXT DAY THE RUNNING LIGHTS ON THE DRIVERS SIDE FAILED, THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE TURN SIGNAL AND BRAKE ALSO FAILED TO FUNCTION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MAIN ELECTRICAL HARNESS COMING OUT OF THE MAIN COMPUTER AND RUNNING THE ENTIRE SPAN UNDERNEATH THE CAB HAD LITTLE TO NO PROTECTIVE SHEATHING/ CORD WRAP/ ALUMINUM WRAP PROTECTING THE WIRES. THE HARNESS WAS ROUTED THROUGH A U-BOLT TYPE FLANGE AS WELL AS HANGS NEAR SEVERAL METAL PARTS THAT, WHILE IN MOTION, RUB AGAINST THE WIRE CAUSING THEM TO FRAY. AS A RESULT, SEVERAL ITEMS BEGAN TO SHORT OUT AND ALSO CAUSED NUMEROUS WIRES TO HEAT UP AND MELT. IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE RUNNING LIGHT BRAKE LIGHTS INTERN SIGNALS BEGAN TO FAIL. THE HARNESS COULD CAUSE FRAYING AND A POTENTIAL FIRE AS WELL AS SEVERAL MODULES TO FAIL. THE CONTACT CALLED NORTHERN OHIO PETERBILT DEALER, (1330 W TRENTON AV

Mileage: 36,375

20190421SERVICE BRAKES

BENDIX WINGMAN COLLISION MITIGATION SYSTEM, THIS SYSTEM AS AM TRYING TO BRAKE THE VEHICLE DETERMINED THAT THE VEHICLE IN FRONT WAS CLOSER THAN IT REALLY WAS AND LOCKED THE BRAKES AND STEERING, AT SUCH TIME THE DRIVER LOOSES CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY, THIS WAS THE FOURTH TIME IT DID THIS, THE THIRD TIME IT LOCKED THE BRAKES I WAS TRYING TO BRAKE WHILE A CAR WAS DRIVING OUT OF A DRIVEWAY, SECOND TIME I WAS TRYING TO PASS A CAR AND IT DETECTED THE CAR TO CLOSE AND LOCKED THE BRAKES, FIRST TIME BUMPER TO BUMPER IT WAS RAINING, ON A HIGHWAY A VEHICLE CUT IN FRONT OF ME TRIED TO APPLY THE BRAKES AND THE SYSTEM LOCKED UP THE BRAKES AND STEERING, THERE WAS PLENTY OF ROOM FOR ME TO STOP WITHOUT THIS SYSTEM HAVING TO LOCK THE BRAKES UP ON ME

Mileage: 20,000

20190421STEERING

BENDIX WINGMAN COLLISION MITIGATION SYSTEM, THIS SYSTEM AS AM TRYING TO BRAKE THE VEHICLE DETERMINED THAT THE VEHICLE IN FRONT WAS CLOSER THAN IT REALLY WAS AND LOCKED THE BRAKES AND STEERING, AT SUCH TIME THE DRIVER LOOSES CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY, THIS WAS THE FOURTH TIME IT DID THIS, THE THIRD TIME IT LOCKED THE BRAKES I WAS TRYING TO BRAKE WHILE A CAR WAS DRIVING OUT OF A DRIVEWAY, SECOND TIME I WAS TRYING TO PASS A CAR AND IT DETECTED THE CAR TO CLOSE AND LOCKED THE BRAKES, FIRST TIME BUMPER TO BUMPER IT WAS RAINING, ON A HIGHWAY A VEHICLE CUT IN FRONT OF ME TRIED TO APPLY THE BRAKES AND THE SYSTEM LOCKED UP THE BRAKES AND STEERING, THERE WAS PLENTY OF ROOM FOR ME TO STOP WITHOUT THIS SYSTEM HAVING TO LOCK THE BRAKES UP ON ME

Mileage: 20,000

20190306ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

THE MAIN ELECTRICAL HARNESS COMING OUT OF THE MAIN COMPUTER AND RUNNING THE ENTIRE SPAN UNDERNEATH THE CAB HAD LITTLE TO NO PROTECTIVE SHEATHING/CORD WRAP/ALUMINUM WRAP PROTECTING THE WIRES. THE HARNESS IS ROUTED THROUGH A U-BOLT TYPE FLANGE AS WELL AS HANGS NEAR SEVERAL METAL PARTS THAT, WHILE IN MOTION, RUB AGAINST THE WIRES CAUSING THEM TO FRAY. THIS IN TURN CAUSED SEVERAL ITEMS TO BEGIN TO SHORT OUT AND ALSO CAUSED NUMEROUS WIRES TO HEAT UP AND MELT. IT WAS DISCOVERED WHEN THE DRIVERS SIDE HEADLIGHT FAILED AND THE SAME SIDE RUNNING LIGHTS CAME ON AND STAYED ON. THIS ALSO CAUSED THE WASHER FLUID PUMP TO TURN ON AND RUN CONSTANTLY, HEATING IT TO THE POINT OF SCALDING TO THE TOUCH. NOT HAVING ANY TYPE OF PROTECTIVE WRAP AROUND THE HARNESS COULD CAUSE FRAYING AND A POTENTIAL FIRE AS WELL AS SEVERAL MODULES TO FAIL AS IT DID IN THIS CASE. *DT CONSUMER STATED PETERBILT WARRANTY(1 YEAR/100,000 MILES) WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY.*JB

Mileage: 60,000

Compare 2018PETERBILT579 to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2018 PETERBILT 579 have?
The 2018 PETERBILT 579 has 12 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 3 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2018 PETERBILT 579?
Yes, the 2018 PETERBILT 579 has 14 recall(s). The most common affected component is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2018 PETERBILT 579?
The most-complained component for the 2018 PETERBILT 579 is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM with 4 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include SERVICE BRAKES and STEERING.
Is the 2018 PETERBILT 579 safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

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.