Kalmar Solutions is recalling 16,127 Ottawa T2 terminal tractors, the yard trucks that shuttle trailers inside freight facilities, because a printed circuit board can short and start a fire while the truck sits parked with the ignition off. Until a repair is done, owners are advised to park the tractors outside and away from structures.
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The recall is registered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as campaign 26V648. Kalmar’s remedy is to rewire the cabin power and add a 5-amp fuse to the circuit board, at no charge to the owner.
Damaged insulation on a printed circuit board
The federal recall record describes the defect as damage to the insulation on a printed circuit board, which can produce a short circuit. NHTSA’s consequence statement says the short “increases the risk of a fire even when the vehicle is parked and the ignition is in the ‘Off’ position.” That last phrase is what separates this campaign from the usual stalled-engine or lighting recall: the hazard does not need a driver, a key or a running motor to develop.
A WBIW roundup published on Oct. 19 listed the Kalmar filing under the subject line “Park Outside: Printed Circuit Board May Short Circuit and Cause Fire,” and gave the affected range as Ottawa T2 trucks from model years 2014 through 2026. The roundup does not explain the fault any further, so the details of how the insulation fails come from the agency’s own record rather than from the news summary.
Which tractors are on the list
Kalmar’s filing is specific about configuration. It covers certain 2014 to 2026 Ottawa T2 4X2 terminal tractors and certain 2016 to 2026 T2 6X4 tractors, all built to DOT and EPA specifications, meaning they are the on-highway-compliant version of a vehicle usually seen working inside a yard. NHTSA split the campaign into one entry for each model year from 2014 through 2026, thirteen in all, with the same defect and remedy text in each, so a fleet that mixes older and newer tractors should look at each unit’s VIN rather than assume a single model year decides coverage.
The unit count of 16,127 is larger than the high-profile recalls of the day for heavy pickups such as Ford’s 2,276 F-150 seat check, though it concerns a niche type of equipment. Because the fault needs no ignition, the risk is present whenever one of these tractors is parked, including inside a building or next to one. That is why the instruction is about location rather than operation, and why a fleet manager has to think about where every covered unit sits overnight and over weekends, not only about how it is driven. The recall record gives no count of fires and does not say how many of the 16,127 tractors have already been seen with the damaged insulation.
Park outside until the rewiring is done
The interim instruction is unusually direct. NHTSA’s record says owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until their vehicle is repaired. For a fleet operator, that can mean rearranging a depot: tractors that normally sit in a maintenance bay or beside a warehouse dock need a spot with open space around it. The WBIW subject line carries the same words, “Park Outside,” as the first thing a reader sees about this recall, and it is the only precaution the record asks owners to take before the work is done.
Kalmar will rewire the cabin power and add a 5-amp fuse to the circuit, a change that pairs new wiring with a fuse on the board’s circuit. The fuse is a standard protective part, rated for 5 amps in this fix,, though the record does not spell out the engineering reasoning behind the choice. The agency received the manufacturer’s report on May 10, 2026, and owner notification letters are expected by Dec. 4, 2026. Kalmar is the manufacturer named in the filing, and the work is performed at no cost to the owner. Operators who want to confirm coverage sooner can use the NHTSA recall lookup with a VIN or call Kalmar at 1-888-229-6300, choosing option 4 and then option 2.
The reporting and notice rules behind that timetable sit in 49 CFR part 573, which governs the defect report a manufacturer files, and part 577, which governs the owner letter. A fleet with several covered tractors needs to check each VIN separately, because the 16,127 total spans thirteen model years and two axle configurations. Neither the federal record nor the WBIW summary mentions a reported fire, injury or crash tied to the defect, so the recall reads as a preventive action on a known failure path. Because letters may not arrive until early December, the NHTSA lookup and the phone line are the quickest routes to a confirmed answer for any specific tractor in a fleet.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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