2020 Kenworth T680 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (5) · Vehicle Speed Control (1) · Service Brakes (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kenworth T680 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (8)
Service Brakes, Air:supply:reservoir/Tank 2024-02-23 · campaign 24V145000 · 936 vehicles
Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2009-2021 Kenworth C500, 2012-2021 Kenworth T440, 2009-2015 Kenworth T660, 2015-2024 Kenworth T680, 2009-2024 Kenworth T800, 2009-2020 Kenworth T370, 2014-2023 Kenworth T880, 2011-2016 Kenworth T470, 2023 Kenworth T480, and 2009-2019 Kenworth W900 vehicles. The air tanks have an insufficient volume of air for the brake system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 121, "Air
Risk: Insufficient air volume can reduce braking performance and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install the correct volume air tanks, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 12, 2024. Additional owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2025. Owners may contact PACCAR customer service at 1-425-828-5888. PACCAR's number for this recall is 24KWD.
Steering:critical Fasteners 2022-04-25 · campaign 22V277000 · 17,641 vehicles
Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Kenworth T270, T370, T440, T470, T660, T680, T880, T800, W900, W990; and 2018-2020 Peterbilt 330, 337, 348, 365, 367, 389, 520, 567, and 579 vehicles. The Dana D-Series axle steer arm fasteners that attach the steering arm to the steering knuckle may fail.
Risk: Fastener failure can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace and torque the steer arm fasteners, at no charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 8, 2022. Owners may contact Kenworth customer service at 1-425-828-5888 and Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4220. PACCAR's numbers for this recall are 22 PBB and 22 KWB.
Electrical System:wiring 2021-12-29 · campaign 21V00N000 · 1,107 vehicles
Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Peterbilt 567, 579, 2021-2022 Peterbilt 536, 2017-2021 Kenworth T880, 2016-2022 Kenworth T680, 2018-2020 Kenworth T440, 2020 Kenworth T270, and 2021 Kenworth T280 vehicles. The methane detection system will not function if the system loses power.
Risk: The operator may be unaware of a system malfunction or the presence of excessive methane levels, increasing the risk of injury or fire.
Fix: Dealers will re-wire the warning alarm, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 1, 2022. Owners may contact Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4220, and Kenworth customer service at 1-425-828-5888. PACCAR's numbers for this recall are 21KWH and 21PBN.
Service Brakes, Air:antilock 2020-09-28 · campaign 20V593000 · 1,416 vehicles
Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2016-2021 Kenworth T680 trucks equipped with a 2.1m Cab and WABCO 6S/6M ABS brake system with drum brakes. The brake systems were manufactured with a standard rear-brake ABS modulator valve instead of a quick release valve, which may exceed the intended service-brake release timing. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 121, "Air Brake Systems."
Risk: Longer than expected service-brake release timing may lengthen vehicle stopping distance, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: PACCAR will notify owners, and dealers will replace the standard rear-brake, ABS modulator valve with a quick release valve, free of charge. The recall began November 30, 2020. Owners may contact PACCAR customer service at 1-425-828-5888. PACCAR's number for this recall is 20KWD.
Electronic Stability Control (Esc) 2020-04-06 · campaign 20V199000 · 460,515 vehicles
Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2008-2019 Peterbilt 330, 335, 337, 340, 348, 365, 367, 384, 386, 387, 388, 389, 567, 579 and 587 vehicles and 2008-2020 Kenworth T170, T270, T370, T660, T680, T800, T880, and W900 vehicles equipped with NAMUX Software. In the event that the Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) loses battery and/or ignition power to the controller, the dash warning light for the ABS may not illuminate to warn the driver of the loss of ABS. As such, these vehicles fail
Risk: If the driver unknowingly operates the vehicle without the ABS functioning, there would be an increased risk of a crash.
Fix: PACCAR will notify owners, and dealers will update the NAMUX software within the cab control module, free of charge. PACCAR issued owners an interim notification on June 4, 2020. The recall began May 26, 2020. Owners may contact Kenworth customer service at 1-425-828-5888 or Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4220. PACCAR's number for this recall is 20pbc AND 20KWB.
Visibility:rearview Mirrors/Devices:exterior 2019-05-01 · campaign 19V340000 · 3,907 vehicles
Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2020 Peterbilt 520 and 579 vehicles and Kenworth T680, T880 and W990 vehicles. The mirror glass may detach from the mirror carrier plate due to inadequate adhesion.
Risk: If the mirror glass detaches, the driver may have reduced visibility and the mirror glass will become a road hazard that may strike another vehicle or pedestrian, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: PACCAR has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the upper mirror glass/mirror carrier, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 31, 2019. Kenworth owners may contact PACCAR customer service at 1-425-828-5888 and Peterbilt owners may call 1-940-591-4220. PACCAR's numbers for this recall is 19KWC and 19PBC.
Parking Brake 2019-04-05 · campaign 19V275000 · 1,837 vehicles
Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2018-2020 T680 and T880 tandem axle vehicles equipped with a parking brake on a single axle and certain models of automated manual transmissions. During cold temperatures, the signal from the park brake pressure switch to the transmission controller may be delayed possibly resulting in the vehicle moving unexpectedly.
Risk: Unexpected vehicle movement may increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: PACCAR will notify owners and dealers will replace the park brake pressure switch, free of charge. PACCAR issued owners and interim notification on June 3, 2019. The recall began August 6, 2019. Owners may contact PACCAR customer service at 1-918-259-3258. PACCAR's number for this recall is 19KWB.
Suspension:rear:axle:non-Powered Axle Assembly 2019-03-05 · campaign 19V176000 · 93 vehicles
Defect: PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR) is recalling certain 2020 Kenworth T680, T800, T880, W900 and W990 trucks. The rear axles may not contain oil.
Risk: Without lubricating oil, the bearings, hub and axle shafts may wear, resulting in the separation of a wheel end from the axle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Paccar will notify owners, and Kenworth dealers will inspect all of the rear axles for the presence of oil. If no oil is present, the wheels ends will be removed and the bearings, hub and axle shaft will be inspected for damage. If excessive wear or heat damage is evident, the components will be replaced, as necessary. Oil will then be added per the axle specifications. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began April 16, 2019. Owners may contact Kenworth customer serv
Service bulletins (67)
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.
Electrical System 2026-09-23 · 32-014 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin, the troubleshooting procedure, and the bms troubleshooting checklist have been updated to show that the autometer tool test results can be used in place of the midtronics tool test results for fulfilling service and warranty requirements.
Engine 2026-09-11 · P001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
"kenworth: dealers should check the chassis list and sir weekly for vin changes. 2 chassis added to the chassis list. peterbilt: dealers should check the chassis list and sir weekly for vin changes. 10 chassis added to the chassis list."
Engine 2026-09-05 · E343 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
an exhaust manifold slip joint seal kit is now available for epa 2017-2024 paccar mx-13 engines.
Engine 2026-08-13 · 43-088 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the procedure has been updated to include additional steps for verifying the software level on the vehicle electronic control unit (vecu2) and digital display (dd). steps have also been added to the paccar common rail injection 2 (pci2) software verification.
Engine 2026-07-21 · 43-088 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this optional software update is now available for chassis equipped with emy 2021b-2023 paccar mx-11 and mx-13 engines. this update provides customers with additional time to service their trucks before a def-related derate occurs. the software is being offered to customers in alignment with recentl
Engine 2026-07-18 · 41-029 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
incorrect air filters may be inadvertently installed in certain chassis equipped with under-hood donaldson air filter housings.
Showing the 6 most recent of 67 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-12-08 · Power Train“right-hand shift stalk between the shifter and the transmission is causing the vehicle to become disabled while stopped and unable to go from forward to reverse. also getting spn 639 pop-up when communication has been lost between the engine control module (ecm) and sae j1939 data link. the check engine light illuminates, and the ecm immediately…”
2024-12-04 · Power Train“the clutch spring on these trucks have been failing heavily. we have a couple more of these trucks and they all have the same issue. the housing for the clutch springs are cracked or damaged at less than 500,000 miles on a heavy duty truck. these clutches are supposed to last over 1mm miles. its not a coincidence that every truck we have is failing…”
2024-09-30 · Power Train“my circumstances are exactly as described in a release 12/19/2019 tech service bulletin a002 i experienced the vibration in my steering wheel that caused me to be suspect that there was something wrong in the drive train. upon further investigation. i noticed that an oil seal was leaking, and when i dug a little deeper, i noticed gears that were b…”
2024-07-26 · Power Train“throw out bearing failed prematurely. truck only has 491,000 miles and has had a catastrophic failure resulting in a $29,000 repair bill. i have 4 other trucks like this and they are all showing signs of the same thing.…”
2024-07-26 · Power Train“the clutch has a loose spring, fork is damaged. throwout bearing worn. …”
2024-03-18 · Unknown Or Other“when driving, the truck will not go into gear. for example, if i am trying to shift gears in the automatic, it will stay in that gear. when traveling down the highway, it stays in a gear. i have to find a safe place to pull over and put it in neutral, then proceed. i have already changed the right hand stalk once before and it didnt go into rever…”
2022-10-28 · Service Brakes“this truck was breaking automatically, and no one was front of the truck, it was scary, i almost crashed with loaded trailer on my back, it has done it multiple times, and my traction light and stability light is on all the time and adaptive cruise control had turned off completely abs light comes on and off frequently, …”
2020-04-04 · Vehicle Speed Control · 47,000 mi“on sunday, the 22nd of march, i was traveling south on us hwy 45. the sky was clearing and the road was dry. i had my cruise set to 65 mph. as i approached an overpass, the distance sensor on the front of the truck mistook the shadow of the overpass as a stopped vehicle. warning lights and buzzers went off and the vehicle did a hard brake. luckily,…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.