U.S. public vehicle records

Sterling A-LINE problems and owner complaints

Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.

Key facts

2 owner complaints analyzed

17 distinct recall campaigns

152,494 mi median reported failure mileage

Scope: 2001 to 2012 model years. Data updated: 2026-10-01 (October 1, 2026). 2 complaints include usable failure mileage. View data status.

This selection has limited data. It remains available for lookup but is excluded from search indexing.

Owner-reported patterns

Most common problems

Fuel System, Diesel is the most frequently named component, appearing in 1 of 2 complaints (50.0%). A complaint can name multiple components.

Component breakdown

Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.

Fuel System, Diesel

Steering

Fuel System, Diesel: 1; Steering: 1

Reported problems by failure mileage

Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.

Under 25,000

25,000 to 49,999

50,000 to 74,999

75,000 to 99,999

100,000 to 149,999

150,000 and above

Under 25,000: 1; 25,000 to 49,999: 0; 50,000 to 74,999: 0; 75,000 to 99,999: 0; 100,000 to 149,999: 0; 150,000 and above: 1

Under 25,000 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (1). 0 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.

Complaints over time

Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.

2006

2008

2006: 1; 2008: 1

Pattern summary

Fuel System, Diesel leads the component reports. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.

Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.

Complaint evidence

Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.

Compare model years

Recalls by model year

All campaigns in the snapshot affecting each model year, including recalls announced years later.

From yearThrough year

Recall campaigns

Shared campaigns appear once in each affected model year.

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2001: 1; 2002: 1; 2003: 2; 2004: 6; 2005: 6; 2006: 8; 2007: 9; 2008: 11; 2009: 5; 2010: 3; 2011: 1; 2012: 1

First model yearSecond model year

Year-by-year records

Sterling A-LINE model-year comparison
Model year	Complaints	Recalls	Change in recalls
2001	0	1	Not available
2002	0	1	0
2003	1	2	+1
2004	0	6	+4
2005	0	6	0
2006	0	8	+2
2007	0	9	+1
2008	1	11	+2
2009	0	5	-6
2010	0	3	-2
2011	0	1	-2
2012	0	1	0

Explore the data

Vehicle analysis explorer

Inspect model-year patterns, reported mileage, monthly activity and the evidence behind each signal.

Data completeness

2 unique complaints in this selection. Analysis snapshot: 2026-10-01.

100.0%Usable mileage2 / 2 records

100.0%Valid incident date2 / 2 records

100.0%Valid filing date2 / 2 records

100.0%Ordered incident and filing dates2 / 2 records

Missing, zero and invalid mileage is excluded. Dates after the snapshot are excluded. Examples are limited selections, not a representative sample.

Problems by model year

Model-wide comparison of the eight most reported components across the model. Cells show counts and shares within each model year. Open a cell for source examples.

From model yearThrough model year

Component complaint heatmap
Component	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Fuel System, Diesel	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	1100.0% ODI 10170684 · 303,087 mi DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE FUEL LINE ASSEMBLY BURST WITHOUT WARNING SPRAYING DIESEL FUEL ONTO THE VEHICLE AND THE HIGHWAY. THE CONTACT MANAGED TO PARK THE VEHICLE ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. THE CONTACT INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND DETERMINED THE FUEL LINES WERE FRACTURED INTO AND NEEDED REPLACED. A NHTSA RECALL, #05V469000 REMEDY REPAIR TO THE ENGINE BY EMC RECALIBRATION AND REPLACEMENT OF THE FUEL LIFT PUMP WAS PERFORMED WHICH PERTAINED TO THE FUEL SYSTEM. HOWEVER, THE RECALL DID NOT REM… Look up ODI 10170684 at NHTSA ↗	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.
Steering	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	00.0% No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	1100.0% ODI 10223535 · 1,900 mi THREE WEEKS AGO OUR COMPANY PURCHASED TWO STERLING BULLIETS FROM JENKINS DIESEL IN SPRINGFIELD MO WHEN OUR DRIVERS BROUGHT THE TRUCKS IN THEY STATED THE TRUCKS WERE HARD TO HANDLE, AS THESE WERE CAB AND CHASSIS UNITS THE DEALER SAID WHEN WE PUT THE BEDS ON THEY WOULD BE FINE. WE OUTFITTED A BED ON THE FIRST TRUCK AND MADE A TRIP (1900) MILES THESE TWO DRIVER'S WERE EXHAUSTED WHEN THEY RETURNED. THE TRUCK WAS EXTREMELY HARD TO KEEP ON THE ROAD. WE CALLED THE DEALER AND HE PICKED THE TRUCK THAT DAY, THEY HAVE NOW HAD IT FOR TEN DAYS AND THE THE… Look up ODI 10223535 at NHTSA ↗	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.

Darker cells indicate a larger share of submitted complaints. Components overlap. This measures complaint composition, not failure probability.

Failure mileage by component

Median and middle 50% of usable owner-reported mileages. Ranges require at least five records.

Component failure mileage distribution
Component	Mileage range (25th–75th percentile)	Median	Usable records	Examples
Fuel System, Diesel	Too few reports for a range	303,087 mi	1 (sparse)	ODI 10170684 · 303,087 mi DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE FUEL LINE ASSEMBLY BURST WITHOUT WARNING SPRAYING DIESEL FUEL ONTO THE VEHICLE AND THE HIGHWAY. THE CONTACT MANAGED TO PARK THE VEHICLE ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. THE CONTACT INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND DETERMINED THE FUEL LINES WERE FRACTURED INTO AND NEEDED REPLACED. A NHTSA RECALL, #05V469000 REMEDY REPAIR TO THE ENGINE BY EMC RECALIBRATION AND REPLACEMENT OF THE FUEL LIFT PUMP WAS PERFORMED WHICH PERTAINED TO THE FUEL SYSTEM. HOWEVER, THE RECALL DID NOT REM… Look up ODI 10170684 at NHTSA ↗
Steering	Too few reports for a range	1,900 mi	1 (sparse)	ODI 10223535 · 1,900 mi THREE WEEKS AGO OUR COMPANY PURCHASED TWO STERLING BULLIETS FROM JENKINS DIESEL IN SPRINGFIELD MO WHEN OUR DRIVERS BROUGHT THE TRUCKS IN THEY STATED THE TRUCKS WERE HARD TO HANDLE, AS THESE WERE CAB AND CHASSIS UNITS THE DEALER SAID WHEN WE PUT THE BEDS ON THEY WOULD BE FINE. WE OUTFITTED A BED ON THE FIRST TRUCK AND MADE A TRIP (1900) MILES THESE TWO DRIVER'S WERE EXHAUSTED WHEN THEY RETURNED. THE TRUCK WAS EXTREMELY HARD TO KEEP ON THE ROAD. WE CALLED THE DEALER AND HE PICKED THE TRUCK THAT DAY, THEY HAVE NOW HAD IT FOR TEN DAYS AND THE THE… Look up ODI 10223535 at NHTSA ↗

Complaint and recall timeline

Explore monthly filing activity alongside recall announcements. Up to ten years of monthly history is available.

ComponentPeriod

Solid line: filed complaints. Dashed amber lines: recall announcement dates for this vehicle selection; markers include all recall components. The latest month is partial. Temporal proximity does not establish causation.

Monthly counts, recall campaigns and complaint examples

Monthly complaint and recall timeline
Month	Campaigns announced	Examples
2024-11	None	No examples available for this selection.
2024-12	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-01	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-02	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-03	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-04	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-05	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-06	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-07	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-08	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-09	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-10	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-11	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-12	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-01	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-02	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-03	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-04	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-05	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-06	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-07	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-08	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-09	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-10 (partial)	None	No examples available for this selection.

Emerging complaint spikes

Complete months in the latest six months with at least 10 complaints, at least twice the preceding 12-month average, and at least three square-root deviations above that average.

This is a descriptive screening rule, not a statistical defect finding. Publicity and reporting changes can increase submissions.

No complete months meet the spike thresholds for this selection.

Equal-age model-year comparison

Model-wide cumulative reports during the first three or five calendar years, starting with the model year (age 0). Only fully elapsed windows are compared.

Observation windowFirst model yearSecond model year

2011: 0 complaints · 2012: 0 complaints

Equal observation windows
Model year	Through age 0	Through age 1	Through age 2
2011	0	0	0
2012	0	0	0

Date coverage across each selected cohort

Date basis for all complaints in selected model years
Year	Incident dates used	Filing date fallbacks	Excluded dates
2011	0	0	0
2012	0	0	0

Incident date is preferred when valid and no later than filing; otherwise filing date is used. Model year approximates age. Equal observation time does not adjust for sales, distance driven or reporting delays. One complaint linked to multiple model years can appear in each cohort.

Components reported together

Each cell counts unique complaints naming both components. Open a nonzero cell for examples.

Component co-occurrence matrix
Component	Fuel System, Diesel	Steering
Fuel System, Diesel	—	0
Steering	0	—

Co-reporting does not establish that one component caused another concern.

Recurring narrative patterns

Specific keyword mentions beyond broad component labels. Matching includes negations and comparisons and does not confirm a diagnosis.

Search patterns

0 patterns with matching reports.

No narratives match the published patterns.

Complaints over time data
Category	Count
2006	1
2008	1