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Sterling 8500 Recalls & Complaints by Model Year

NHTSA lists 5 safety recalls and 1 owner complaint across 8 model years of the Sterling 8500 (2005–2012). The most-complained-about year is 2009.

5
safety recalls, all years
1
owner complaints, all years
2009
year with most recalls
2009
year with most complaints

Pick your Sterling 8500 model year

Model yearRecallsComplaints
2012 Sterling 850010
2011 Sterling 850020
2010 Sterling 850050
2009 Sterling 850051
2008 Sterling 850040
2007 Sterling 850040
2006 Sterling 850020
2005 Sterling 850010

What Sterling 8500 owners complain about

Across all model years, owners have filed 1 complaint with NHTSA. The 2009 model year has the most, with 1.

All Sterling 8500 recalls (5)

Every NHTSA safety campaign that lists a Sterling 8500, most recent first, with the model years each one covers.

  1. Engine (engine and engine cooling)

    NHTSA 11V455000 Reported 43 vehicles potentially affected DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA

    Daimler trucks north america is recalling certain model year 2005 through 2012 freightliner m2, sterling acterra, 7500 & 8500, and thomas built hdx vehicles manufactured from june 23, 2004, through march 15, 2011, equipped with specific mbe900 epa04 and epa07 model engines. The intake air grid heater may short circuit and fail due to…

    Remedy: Daimler trucks will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. Repairs will be performed by detroit diesel corporation authorized repair facilities. The safety recall began on september 12,…

    Model years: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

  2. Engine and engine cooling

    NHTSA 10V341000 Reported 5,743 vehicles potentially affected DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA

    Daimler trucks is recalling certain model year 2007 through 2011 freightliner, fccc, sterling, and western star heavy trucks manufactured from september 5, 2006, through june 30, 2010, equipped with specific mbe900 epa04 and epa07 model engines. The intake air grid heater may short circuit and fail due to excessive internal temperatures.

    Remedy: Daimler trucks will notify owners and dealers will repair the buses free of charge. Repairs will be performed by detroit diesel corporation authorized repair facilities. The safety recall is expected to begin on or…

    Model years: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

  3. Engine and engine cooling

    NHTSA 09V400000 Reported 18,067 vehicles potentially affected DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA

    Daimler trucks is recalling model year 2007-2010 freightliner, sterling and western star vehicles equipped with detroit diesel dd15 epa07 engines which were manufactured with grid heaters. Increased internal grid heater resistance caused by improperly tightened screws may melt the solder on the grid heater circuit board leading to a…

    Remedy: The engine control logic will be reprogrammed free of charge by detroit diesel authorized repair facilities and direct warranty customers to provide cold weather starting without the need of a grid heater. The safety…

    Model years: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

  4. Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings (fuel system)

    NHTSA 09V391000 Reported 10,185 vehicles potentially affected DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA

    Daimler trucks is recalling certain model year 2006 through 2010 heavy trucks manufactured between january 17, 2006 and march 31, 2009, equipped with epa07 model mbe4000 engines built with plastic low pressure fuel lines. The plastic lines may experience leaks due to fatigue cracks caused by stress and vibration combined with high…

    Remedy: Daimler trucks will notify owners and the remedy will be performed by detroit diesel corporation authorized repair facilities and direct warranty customers. The safety recall began on may 7, 2010. Owners may contact…

    Model years: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

  5. Quick release valve (service brakes)

    NHTSA 09V220000 Reported 1,460 vehicles potentially affected DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA

    Daimler trucks is recalling 1,460 model year 2009 and 2010 heavy duty trucks and fccc chassis (used on thomas built school buses) manufactured from june 11 through december 16, 2008, equipped with certain haldex quick release valves (qrv). The rubber diaphragm inside the qrv may experience delamination resulting in significant levels of…

    Remedy: Daimler trucks will notify owners and repair the buses free of charge. Repairs will be performed by daimler trucks north america. The safety recall began on august 12, 2009. Owners may contact daimler trucks toll-free…

    Model years: 2009, 2010

Other Sterling models

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.