Repair Kits for Brake Valves Being Delivered, Bendix Says
This story appears in the March 26 print edition of Transport Topics.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Permanent repair kits for defective ATR-6 traction-relay brake valves are moving to truck makers, executives of Bendix Commercial Vehicle System said.
When the stockpiles reach about 50% of the total needed, original equipment manufacturers will notify fleets that repairs on 2011 trucks can begin, which is expected to happen soon, but no specific date was given.
A manufacturer of safety and air-handling systems and brakes for trucking, Bendix also said that its sales of stability-control systems and air disc brakes are expanding strongly, as limited-trial purchases in the recent past are turning into more widespread purchases.
The comments were made at the Mid-America Trucking Show here March 21.
“Consistent with [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] rules, the original equipment manufacturers are administering the recalls and Bendix is coordinating with them,” said Scott Burkhart, a general manager in Bendix’s controls division. Bendix has increased its manufacturing capacity by 250% for the traction-relay valves after taking 45 days to ramp up its supply chain, Burkhart said.
The ATR-6 valves are part of Bendix’ stability-control system and the malfunction has caused brakes to activate spontaneously when temperatures drop below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Some 67,000 North American trucks are affected, most of them built in 2011 by Navistar Inc., Paccar Inc. and Volvo Group.
Bendix has had to address the replacements on four levels: complete valves for truck makers building new vehicles to be sold this year; replacements for trucks made but not delivered to fleets; replacements for trucks in service that need to be repaired; and replacements for aftermarket sales.
Despite the ATR-6 problems, sales of the stability systems are expanding, Bendix executives said.
Company manager Fred Andersky said sales of stability systems grew to 100,000 in North America between the 2005 rollout and 2010 and should get to 200,000 this year.
Andersky said he expects NHTSA will issue a rule, perhaps by the end of April, requiring stability systems on heavy-duty trucks. He said the Bendix systems are currently in place on 17% of the North American Classes 6-8 truck market.
Andersky said fleet testing comes first, then large-scale buying.
“People who tried out the systems on 10 trucks are now putting them in all of their trucks,” Andersky said. The stability-control systems monitor swerve, rollover potential and steering direction. When computer analysis shows an accident is likely, the system activates brakes as needed.
In the wake of the August 2011 reduced stopping-distance rule from NHTSA, Bendix sales of air brakes have soared. Traditional drum brakes sales for North American trucks rose by 87% from 2010 to 2011, but disc sales jumped 120%, said Bendix’s Gary Ganaway.
While it is possible to meet the new rule with all drum brakes, Ganaway said, some customers are putting discs on the steer axle, while others are going with all discs.
Also at the briefing, Bendix said it will market a new traction system starting in the third quarter that would improve traction in difficult situations for trucks with 4-by-2 rear axles. Many truck owners are specifying only one tractor axle for power rather than two. While that saves on weight and fuel, it also can lessen traction; Bendix manager T.J. Thomas said the company’s e-Trac system monitors traction with sensors and can shift weight toward the drive axle when traction slips.
