2018 Spartan Fire Gladiator problems, complaints & recalls
Safety recalls (8)
Service Brakes, Air 2024-06-18 · campaign 24V453000 · 17 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC (Spartan Fire) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Gladiator and 2018-2019 Metro Star fire trucks. The service brake may take longer than expected to engage. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 121, "Air Brake Systems."
Risk: A delayed brake engagement can extend the distance required to stop, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and either replace the fittings and plumbing or the quick release valve as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 5, 2024. Owners may contact Spartan Fire customer service at 1-517-543-6400. Spartan Fire's number for this recall is 24009.
Equipment 2023-06-01 · campaign 23V389000 · 5 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC (Spartan Fire) is recalling certain 2018-2019, 2021 Gladiator and 2020 MetroStar emergency vehicles. The rope rescue anchor point (hoist ring) may have been improperly assembled, which can allow a hinge pin to separate from the ring.
Risk: Hinge pin separation from the hoist ring can result in hoist ring failure and increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the hoist rings, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 20, 2023. Owners may contact Spartan Fire customer service at 1-517-543-640. Spartan Fire's number for this recall is 23011.
Equipment:emergency:fire Supression 2021-07-26 · campaign 21V567000 · 52 vehicles
Defect: Marion Body Works Inc. is recalling certain 2009-2021 Gladiator and MetroStar emergency vehicles. The pump shift solenoid may corrode internally, causing a loss of power to the pump control module.
Risk: A loss of power to the pump control module can cause a loss of water pressure for fighting fires, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the solenoids, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 13, 2021. Owners may contact Marion Body Works customer service at 1-715-754-5261. Marion Body Works number for this recall is 21V-329.
Fuel System, Diesel:fuel Injection System:fuel Rail 2021-07-02 · campaign 21V507000 · 52 vehicles
Defect: Marion Body Works Inc. is recalling certain 2017-2020 Spartan Gladiator and MetroStar vehicles. The sealing washer may not seat correctly in the pilot boreholes, allowing the high-pressure fuel rail assembly to leak.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the rail threads and fuel lines, and replace the rail as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 26, 2021. Owners may contact Marion Body Works' customer service at 1-715-754-5261. Marion Body Works' number for this recall is 21V-032.
Electrical System 2021-05-10 · campaign 21V329000 · 2,130 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC is recalling certain 2009-2021 Gladiator and MetroStar emergency vehicles. The fire water pump solenoid may corrode internally, causing a loss of power to the pump control module.
Risk: A loss of power to the pump control module can cause a loss of water pressure for fighting fires, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace suspect solenoids, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 9, 2021. Owners may contact Spartan Fire customer service at 1-517-543-6400.
Fuel System, Diesel:fuel Injection System:fuel Rail 2021-05-06 · campaign 21V323000 · 1,447 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC is recalling certain 2017-2020 Gladiator and MetroStar vehicles. The sealing washer may not seat correctly in the pilot bore holes, allowing the high pressure fuel rail assembly to leak.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the rail threads and fuel lines, and replace the rail as necessary, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a schedule for recall notification. Owners may contact Spartan Fire customer service at 1-517-543-6400.
Electrical System 2020-09-29 · campaign 20E072000 · 10 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC is recalling certain Ametek gauges, part number 2101-NN1, sold as replacement parts for the Advanced Protection System (APS) in Gladiator and MetroStar vehicles. The Ametek gauges are not a direct replacement for the Pacific Insight gauges and may result in the APS not engaging.
Risk: If the APS is not engaged, there would be an increased risk of occupant injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: Spartan Fire will notify owners and send a remedy kit with instructions and a jumper wire, free of charge. The recall began November 23, 2020. Owners may contact Spartan Fire customer service at 1-866-582-2376.
Exterior Lighting 2020-08-19 · campaign 20V492000 · 1 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC (Spartan) is recalling one 2018 Gladiator vehicle equipped with Code 3 7x9 Stop-Tail-Turn Reverse All-in-One LED stop, tail, turn, and reverse lights. The lights may be too bright, exceeding the maximum light output allowed which may adversely affect the vision of drivers. As such, this vehicle fails to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: The excessive brightness may affect the vision of other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Spartan will notify the owner and instruct them to contact Code 3 to obtain a filter kit (part number CZ0199), free of charge. The recall began January 13, 2021. Owners may contact Spartan customer service at 1-866-582-2376. Spartan's number for this recall is 20-10.
Service bulletins (19)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-09-17 · CSB26-940-004 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin is about certain vehicles with low side bodies and equipped exterior unistruts where the body was plug welded instead of skip welded and instructions on how to skip weld the unistrut.
Unknown Or Other 2025-12-24 · TSB25-110-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin is about certain vehicles with cab tilt crossbar tubes that may crack adjacent to the cab pivot mounts and instructions on how to remove and weld in a replacement tube.
Suspension 2025-03-27 · TSB25-240-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin provides instructions to replace the steering gear cover fasteners if the ifs steering gear cover develops a leak as a result of the cover fastener loosening.
Unknown Or Other 2024-07-17 · CSB24-600-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin is about certain vehicles that may have water intrusion in the aerial rung rail, which may settle into the rung rail and freeze resulting in a bulge or split. the bulletin also provides instructions on how to inspect the rung rail and add drain holes.
Interior Lighting 2023-12-21 · TSB23-540-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin is about certain vehicles equipped with 92 inch or longer roof mounted light bars that could experience fracture of the light bar mounting brackets, as well as provides instructions to replace the light bar bracket with improved bracket design.
Steering 2023-12-11 · TSB23-260-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin is about the power steering fluid level sensor could exhibit leaks where sensor seals against power steering reservoir and provides instructions on replacing current power steering level sensor with improved sensor design.
Showing the 6 most recent of 19 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
No detailed complaint narratives on file.
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.