2021 Proterra ZX5
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Proterra › ZX5 › 2021
These records cover every 2021 Proterra ZX5. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
6 recalls name the 2021 Proterra ZX5. Newest first.
Phoenix Motorcars (Phoenix) is recalling certain 2019-2021 800V Catalyst and 2020-2022 ZX5 transit buses. The vehicle controller software may allow the electrical circuit for the radiator fan to overheat.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Electrical circuits that overheat increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy
Dealers will update the vehicle software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 15, 2024. Owners may contact Phoenix customer service at 1-909-987-0815.
Proterra Operating Company, Inc. (Proterra) is recalling certain 2019-2022 40' and 35' Catalyst 800V transit buses equipped with ProDrive 1.0, and 40' and 35' ZX5 800V transit buses equipped with ProDrive 1.0. A transistor inside the inverter may overheat and fail, which can result in a loss of power steering and drive power.
Risk and remedy
Risk
A loss of power steering and/or drive power increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the inverter, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 16, 2023. Owners may contact Proterra customer service at 1-864-438-0000.
Proterra Operating Company, Inc. (Proterra) is recalling certain 2020-2022 35" Catalyst, 35" ZX5, and 40" ZX5 vehicles. The windshield wiper motors may operate intermittently or may fail to operate. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 104, "Windshield Wiping and Washing Systems."
Risk and remedy
Risk
Inoperative windshield wipers can reduce visibility in certain driving conditions, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the wiper motors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 3, 2023. Owners may contact Proterra customer service at 1-864-438-0000.
Proterra Operating Company, Inc. (Proterra) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Catalyst and 2019-2022 ZX5 transit buses. Back pressure in the shared air exhaust for the pneumatic ride height system and parking brake control valve may engage the parking brake while the vehicle is in motion.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Unintentional engagement of the parking brake increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Proterra will install a redesigned air circuit, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on December 21, 2022. Owners may contact Proterra's customer service at 1-864-438-0000.
Proterra, Inc. (Proterra) is recalling certain 2017-2019 35 foot Catalyst E2, 2017-2019 40 foot E2, 2020-2021 35 foot RR, 2019-2020 40 foot RR, 2019-2022 40 foot ZX5, and 2020-2022 35 foot ZX5 buses. The plexus adhesive between the torque limiter plate and the bus body may be insufficient, causing the bolts that secure the steering gearbox to loosen.
Risk and remedy
Risk
A loose steering gearbox can cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will install a mechanical fastener and new bolts on the steering gearbox, and install a new torque plate, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 7, 2022. Owners may contact Proterra's customer service at 1-864-438-0000.
Proterra, Inc. (Proterra) is recalling certain 2020-2021 40' ZX5 vehicles. These vehicles have a front fender flare which may cause mud, dirt, debris, rain and snow to splash onto the driver's side window and mirror.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Driver visibility may become impeded, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Proterra will notify owners, and dealers will install a retrofit fender flare, free of charge. The recall began February 9, 2021. Owners may contact Proterra customer service 1-864-438-0000. Proterra's number for this recall is SC-21-13.
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 11011362Service bulletin fleet check for the transit buses due to potential missing split blocks on DuoPower Vehicles.
- 11011355Bulletin instructions for transit buses to support customers aligning vehicles to the OEM specs.
- 11011320Service Bulletin for an alternative coolant temp sensor for transit buses as the original sensor installed is challenging to purchase due to supply constraints.
- 11011235Service Bulletin for Transit Vehicles to reduce the gearboxes PMI interval due to failing filters.
- 11011007Service Bulletin Instructions for a torque verification due to a supplier issue on the steering gearbox housing.
- 11011004Service Bulletin for transit vehicles to offset the ride height manifold to prevent the manifold from contacting a airline.
- 11011003Service Bulletin for 35 foot transit bus vehicles experiencing CAN noise, overlay harness to directly connect the brake pedals power and CAN to the pedal.
- 11011001Service Bulletin for select transit buses to incorporate an overlay harness bus buses with high CAN noise.
- 11010953Bulletin Instruction for upgrading the body and vehicle controllers software on transit buses. Update to fault thresholds and additional parameters added from customer requests.
- 11010949Repair instructions for transit buses master switch. This repair kit allows for the vehicle to transition to a 4 position master switch due to part shortages of the 5 position.
- 11010912Bulletin instructions for rotating the ambient temp sensor 180deg on transit buses to reduce road debris from accumulating on the temp sensor.
- 11010895Bulletin to update Transit bus body controllers for improved diagnostics and two new parameters to accommodate customer requests.
- 11010725Bulletin instructions to update the horns electrical relay for transit buses.
- 11010723Bulletin Instructions to switch out stanchion fittings that attach the vertical rails to ceiling system on transit buses.
- 11010720Instructions to relocate back up alarm on specific transit customer vehicles. The original orientation allowed for water to accumulate causing it to fail.
- 11010713Instructions updating the Powertrain Controller on select Transit buses for improved powertrain performance.
- 11010711Instructions for a vehicle controller update on the transit buses to fix bugs and protect components, specifically overhead charging, compressor and inverter. Improving diagnostics of these units.
- 11010671Service Bulletin Instructions for battery ancillary bay to add an external ground strap to the battery pack.
- 11010666Service Bulletin Instructions to update the vehicle controller software, bug fixes ands improvements to the vehicle.
- 11010663Replacement connectors and upgraded heat shrink to prevent UV damage to the wiring.
- 11010662Bulletin to update ADA ramp software. The vendor provided new software to support the ramp deploying and retracting at normal speed. Prior to the software the ramps were functioning slower than expected.
- 11010656This Procedure describes the addition of a fitting to the fire suppression system to better secure the discharge hose.
- 11010653Repair instructions for ADA ramp brackets that have come debonded due to water intrusion.
- 11010630Instructions to add spacers to the aux heat tank to reduce stress acted on.
- 11010619Instruction to replace a coolant hose to the radiator with a reinforced hose.
- 11010618DriveTrain software update to improve diagonstics and shifting for the vehicle.
- 11010441DuoPower Axle Shaft Failure repair procedure due defective batch of shafts.
- 11010439Software upgrade to allow vehicle to precondition the AC while charging the vehicle.
- 11010425Bulletin to add shim under the steering TLP due to build variances of the bodies and bond gaps.
- 11009754Updates the body controller on select vehicles to address bugs and upgrades from the past quarter.
- 11009072Replaces DuoPower Drive Motor when a failure occurs on the streetside electric motor.
- 11009063Relocation of the air compressors intake as well as adding a preliminary filter at the top of the air intake.
- 11009062Relocation of the air compressors intake as well as adding a preliminary filter at the top of the air intake..
- 11008991The procedure describes the process of replacing the overhead bracket and brackets between hat bracket overhead to a more robust design.
- 11007833This procedure describes the process for updating the 800V DuoPower Body, Vehicle and Powertrain Controllers software to the latest version.
- 11007829The procedure describes the process of updating the gearboxes from a dual turn to a single turn snap ring on Duopower buses.
- 11007757This procedure describes the process for updating the Vehicle and Body Controller software to the latest version on 800v RR Prodrive buses.
- 11007755This procedure describes the process for updating the 800VRR Prodrive Vehicle, Powertrain, Body Controller, ESM and Charge Controller software to BuSCoM 2.0.
- 11007754This procedure describes the process for updating the 800VvRR DuoPower Vehicle, Powertrain, Body Controller, ESM and Charge Controller software to BuSCoM 2.0.
- 11006603Software update for the 800vRRs Vehicle and Body Software to reduce the radiator fan current draw to 80%. Additionally corrects a bug to properly route ESM faults away from the coolant light icon.
Every Proterra ZX5 model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.