Total Complaints
1 filings
STERLING A-LINE · model year
1 NHTSA complaints, and 11 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2008STERLINGA-LINE carries 1 consumer safety complaint in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 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 2008 A-LINE is steering with 1 filings. 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 11 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 1 investigation file overlapping the 2008 A-LINE. 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
1 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| STEERING | 1 |
SUSPENSION:REAR
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH TUFTRAC REAR SUSPENSIONS, THE CENTER CASTING BRACKETS MAY BE OUT OF SPECIFICATION. AN OUT OF SQUARE CASTING MAY HAVE UNACCEPTABLE STRESS IN THE BRACKET WHEN IT IS INSTALLED AND MAY CAUSE IT TO CRACK IN SERVICE.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
DAIMLER TRUCKS IS RECALLING MODEL YEAR 2004-2010 TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH CATERPILLAR C15 ENGINE. THE VARIABLE VALVE ACTUATION OIL LINE MAY RUB AGAINST THE P-CLIPS RETAINING THE OIL LINE, CAUSING AN OIL LEAK.
STEERING:GEAR BOX:SHAFT SECTOR
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH TRW STEERING GEARS, MODELS TAS85 AND RCS85, THESE STEERING GEARS CONTAIN POTENTIALLY DEFECTIVE SECTOR SHAFTS WITH AN INCORRECT GEAR TOOTH WHICH MAY INTERFERE WITH THE RACK-PISTON TEETH, RESULTING IN A STICK OR BIND CONDITION.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY:CABLES
DTNA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008-2012 FREIGHTLINER; CASCADIA, CENTURY CLASS, COLUMBIA, AND CORONADO, CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008-2009 STERLING; A-LINE AND L-LINE AND CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009-2012 WESTERN STAR CONSTELLATION VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED FROM JANUARY 14, 2008, THROUGH JUNE 15, 2011, BUIL
STEERING
FREIGHTLINER IS RECALLING CERTAIN SCHOOL BUS CHASSIS, HEAVY TRUCKS, VAN CHASSIS, RV MOTORHOME CHASSIS MANUFACTURED FROM JANUARY 5 TO MAY 17, 2007, EQUIPPED WITH AXLE ALLIANCE COMPANY (AAC) FRONT AXLES. DURING THE FRONT AXLE ASSEMBLY, THE FASTENERS THAT ATTACH THE STEERING ARM OR TIE ROD ARMS TO THE
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
DAIMLER TRUCKS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004 THROUGH 2008 HEAVY TRUCKS MANUFACTURED FROM JULY 11, 2003, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 28, 2007, EQUIPPED WITH EPA04 MODEL MBE4000 ENGINES BUILT WITH PLASTIC LOW PRESSURE FUEL LINES AND FUEL FILTERS MOUNTED NEAR THE CENTER OF THE ENGINE ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:SUPPLY:CHECK VALVE
CERTAIN FREIGHTLINER SCHOOL BUS CHASSIS, HEAVY TRUCKS, AND THOMAS BUILT SCHOOL BUSES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN JULY 2002 AND JULY 3, 2007, EQUIPPED WITH BENDIX SR-7 SPRING BRAKE CONTROL VALVES. THE PARKER SCV BRASS 90 DEGREE SINGLE CHECK VALVES (SCV) WHICH ATTACH TO THE SUPPLY PORT OF A BENDIX SR-7 SPRI
TRAILER HITCHES:FIFTH WHEEL ASSEMBLY
ON CERTAIN TRUCK-TRACTORS EQUIPPED WITH HOLLAND SIMPLEX SE OR SE II FIFTH WHEELS, THE LATCH LEVER PIVOT BOLT ASSEMBLY MAY HAVE BEEN OVER-TIGHTENED WHICH COULD DISTORT THE PIVOT BOLT SPACER SLEEVE. CORROSION OR CONTAMINATES IN THE PIVOT MAY CAUSE IT TO BIND AND PREVENT THE FIFTH WHEEL JAW FROM LATCH
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:DIESEL
CATERPILLAR IS RECALLING 14 MY 2008-2009 STERLING A-LINE & L-LINE TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH CATERPILLAR ENGINE. THE AFTERTREATMENT REGENERATION DEVICE (ARD) MAY DEVELOP A HOLE AND HEAT AND FLAME MAY ESCAPE DURING A REGENERATION OF THE DIESEL PARTICULAR FILTER.
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
DAIMLER TRUCKS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2006-2012 FREIGHTLINER BUSINESS CLASS M2, CASCADIA, CENTURY, COLUMBIA, CORONADO AND STERLING A-LINE VEHICLES BUILT WITH MERITOR WABCO ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) SYSTEM MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 15, 2005 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 1, 2011. UNDER CERTAI
WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS BUILT WITH AXILOK REAR WHEEL SPINDLE NUTS, THE NUTS MAY HAVE BEEN IMPROPERLY INSTALLED, WITH ONE OR BOTH LOCKING CLIP TABS NOT PROPERLY ENGAGED OR DAMAGED.
THREE WEEKS AGO OUR COMPANY PURCHASED TWO STERLING BULLIETS FROM JENKINS DIESEL IN SPRINGFIELD MO WHEN OUR DRIVERS BROUGHT THE TRUCKS IN THEY STATED THE TRUCKS WERE HARD TO HANDLE, AS THESE WERE CAB AND CHASSIS UNITS THE DEALER SAID WHEN WE PUT THE BEDS ON THEY WOULD BE FINE. WE OUTFITTED A BED ON THE FIRST TRUCK AND MADE A TRIP (1900) MILES THESE TWO DRIVER'S WERE EXHAUSTED WHEN THEY RETURNED. THE TRUCK WAS EXTREMELY HARD TO KEEP ON THE ROAD. WE CALLED THE DEALER AND HE PICKED THE TRUCK THAT DAY, THEY HAVE NOW HAD IT FOR TEN DAYS AND THE THERE RESPONSE IS WE HAVE MADE SOME IMPROVEMENT TO THE WAY IT HANDLES BUT NO NEAR ENOUGH. THESE TRUCKS ARE BRAND NEW ON THE MARKET. THE DEALER HAS AGREED TO REFUND OUR MONEY , BUT AS AN INDIVIDUAL I THINK THESE TRUCKS NEED TO BE PULLED OFF THE MARKET UNTIL THE HANDLING PROBLEM CAN BE ADDRESSED IN THE PROPER MANNER. THE DEALER REFUNDING OUR MONEY AND SAYING THAT THE IMPROVEMENT IS MINIMAL MAKE ME THINK THERE ARE GOING TO BE ACCIDENTS PILING UP. THANK
Mileage: 1,900
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.