John Deere Recalls Crossover Gator Utility Vehicles Due to Crash Hazard (Recall Alert)

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #18709) was formally reported on December 21, 2017. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Deere & Company, of Moline, Ill. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 68,300 units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: The steering shaft can separate from the steering rack assembly and result in a loss of vehicle steering control, posing a crash hazard. Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Consumers should stop using the recalled utility vehicles and contact an authorized John Deere dealer for a free repair. John Deere is contacting purchasers of the recalled utility vehicles directly. — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 1 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 9 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.