Another PACCAR Recall-220,000 Trucks Affected

My current injectors didn’t make it a month, before they started acting up, which is ridiculous. I’ve dosed the heck out of the fuel, trying to get them to come back.

It being a Next Gen automatically guarantees it to be a lemon. They’re the worst trucks money can buy.

 

The new Paccar motors from 2022 to now just are no good. Major problems with multiple types of codes lighting up then dashboard like a Christmas tree. Now after they replace my Peterbilt with newer injector. The motor still has problem. I sincerely believe its the majority from the years mentioned. Hopefully the class action lawsuit kicks in eventually because all of the downtime I had since last year has added up to 4 month not being able to operate.

 

It’s the actual injector design. From my understanding, the pintle sticks into the seat. When I’ve added lubricity products, the injectors start straightening out. However, that only lasts so long, until they stop working. We haven’t found a definitive solution, using all the different injectors PACCAR has put out for shops to try. I’ve had every variant they’ve offered and I’ve tried several different additive products. From another fleet, Hot Shots EDT has been working for them on the trucks running it.

 

In the 2022 I had I didn’t use anything in the fuel from the time it was new (Jan 2022) up until the first injector cleaning (July 2023). Then once a month I’d dump in a gallon of Primrose treatment all at once, I wouldn’t treat the fuel each fill. Feb 2024 I got another cleaning. I can’t recall when I got 6 new injectors without looking, but I made it quite a while after the second cleaning. After the 6 new injectors I stopped using any fuel treatment up until I sold the truck.

Current 2026 I’m driving now has 72k on it, zero fuel treatment and zero issues. We don’t run all over and for the most part we all get fuel at the places we haul the fuel to so we know what we’re getting.

Some of the older 389’s have some Paccars that are getting up there in mileage, one of them is in the 870k mile range and never been opened up. Seems like there are good ones and bad ones, just like Cummins. My boss used to run about a 50/50 mix of the two, over the last couple years he’s been phasing out the Cummins after having a truck down 62 days because Cummins didn’t want to warranty an overhaul on a less than 2 year old truck.

 

Update: Mine is headed to the dealership on the hook.

The injectors had been getting progressively worse. Last Thursday, I stopped for fuel and a shower. When I started the truck, I went from the previous 5-1/2 or so cylinders firing to just five. There was a dead hole. After struggling to get up to highway speed and maintain it, I pulled off, dumped in my last 1/2gal bottle of Howe’s, and got back on the road. I gave the Howe’s about 10mi to mix, dropped two gears, put it on the governor, set the cruise, and left it for another 10mi. My theory was, if the injectors are firing at max frequency, the pintles will get really hot, and they just might clear up. And, sure enough, they did. The engine has been quiet and running perfectly. This morning, I start the engine and get an SCR message and immediate derate timer, despite it running fine. After 15sec or so, the warning message goes out. I take off and about 10min later I get a 40% derate message. I call overnight dispatch, discuss options, and decide I’m going back to the yard, because I’m most likely going to need a loaner, as my POS is still under warranty. The last thing I needed is to be stranded at a dealership and the load not moving. As I’m driving back, I notice my DEF level is rapidly decreasing. Once back, I go into the shop to layout a plan. When I restart the truck, it’s in “max derate”, which is 5mph max speed. While dropping the trailer and preparing to swap trucks, I notice DEF is spraying everywhere under the truck, but, not continuously. I can’t see squat, because of the skirts and really don’t care. It’s the shop’s problem, now. I’ll post an update, once I get the truck back.

 

Must be the week for truck problems. My truck blew the tip off the #6 injector and yeeted it into the engine. The spare truck I’m in now with an x15 got an injector last week. We have two owner ops with Cats that are down now, one of them broke the crank and locked up. And my brother down in Kansas had to replace two injectors and the injector harness on his x15.

 

I got the last loaner truck we have, if that tells you anything. PACCAR life.