Western Star 49xYears to avoid, problems & recalls

NHTSA has 2 owner complaints and 32 safety recalls on record for the Western Star 49x.

Years to avoidNoneBased on weighted complaints Best years—Fewest complaints for their age Owner complaints2Top: Engine Safety recalls322020–2027 model years

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports. Updated daily. How we score years.

Best & worst years

Western Star 49x years to avoid

Complaints by model year, colored by the CarFlaw verdict: complaints weighted for crashes, fires and injuries, adjusted for years on the road and compared with the 49x median. Tap a year for its full report.

0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

'20'21'22'23'24'25'26'27

Avoid
Caution
Solid
Best
Not rated

2027Too new–/1001 complaint · 3 recalls 2026Too new–/1000 complaints · 6 recalls 2025Too new–/1000 complaints · 13 recalls 2024Not rated–/1000 complaints · 6 recalls 2023Not rated–/1000 complaints · 14 recalls 2022Not rated–/1001 complaint · 17 recalls 2021Not rated–/1000 complaints · 13 recalls 2020Not rated–/1000 complaints · 10 recalls

Complaints by system

Most common Western Star 49x problems

All model years combined: 2 complaints grouped by the system owners reported.

1Engine

1Steering1 crash/fire/injury

Box size = number of complaints naming that system. Darker = larger share. One complaint can name more than one system.

Complaints by system
System	Complaints	Crash, fire or injury
Engine	1	0
Steering	1	1

32 recalls

Western Star 49x recalls

Newest first. The ring shows the share of affected vehicles repaired, from the manufacturer's latest report to NHTSA.

Other: labels26V-736 · 2027 · Nov 6, 2026 · 7 vehicles Power train: driveline26V-737 · 2027 · Nov 6, 2026 · 3,894 vehicles Electronic stability control (ESC)26V-583 · 2022 · Sep 9, 2026 · 2,404 vehicles Electrical system: 12v/24v/48v battery26V-079 · 2020–2027 · Feb 11, 2026 · 26,960 vehicles Suspension: critical fasteners25V-760 · 2020–2026 · Nov 4, 2025 · 18,783 vehicles Service brakes, air: critical fasteners25V-601 · 2025–2026 · Sep 11, 2025 · 402 vehicles Steering: critical fasteners25V-603 · 2025–2026 · Sep 11, 2025 · 343 vehicles Electrical system: 12v/24v/48v battery25V-326 · 2020–2026 · Jun 23, 2025 · 22,271 vehicles Supply: reservoir/tank25V-295 · 2025 · May 7, 2025 · 68 vehicles Exterior lighting: brake lights25V-187 · 2025–2026 · Mar 25, 2025 · 1,968 vehicles Delivery: fuel pump24V-736 · 2025 · Oct 1, 2024 · 620 vehicles Exterior lighting: brake lights24V-668 · 2020–2025 · Sep 10, 2024 · 16,890 vehicles

Showing the 12 newest of 32 recalls. Each model-year page lists all recalls for that year.