2023 Spartan Fire Gladiator problems, complaints & recalls
Safety recalls (11)
Latches/Locks/Linkages:doors:latch 2025-09-06 · campaign 25V584000 · 1,261 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC (Spartan) is recalling certain 2023-2026 Gladiator, Metrostar, FC-94, KME Panther, and 2024-2025 Predator vehicles. The actuator lever arm in the cab door latch may bind or become wedged, preventing the door from opening.
Risk: A door that cannot be opened may trap occupants inside the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the door latches as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 20, 2025. Owners may contact Spartan customer service at 1-517-543-6400. Spartan's number for this recall is 25010.
Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Arm 2024-07-02 · campaign 24V507000 · 48 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC (Spartan Fire) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Gladiator, 2024-2025 Metro Star and 2024 KME Panther vehicles equipped with certain independent front suspension assemblies. The lower control arm retention bolts could become brittle and break after being tightened.
Risk: A broken bolt head can become a projectile, increasing the risk of an injury.
Fix: Spartan Fire will replace the bolts, 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 24010.
Seats:critical Fasteners 2024-05-10 · campaign 24V323000 · 100 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC (Spartan Fire) is recalling certain 2022-2024 Gladiator, Metro Star, and 2023-2024 FC-94 vehicles. The seat mount fastener may be undersized and could break. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 207, "Seating Systems."
Risk: A broken fastener can allow the seat to move, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the fastener as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 27, 2024. Owners may contact Spartan Fire customer service at 1-517-543-6400. Spartan Fire's number for this recall is 24007.
Electrical System 2024-03-07 · campaign 24V181000 · 42 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC (Spartan Fire) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Gladiator, MetroStar, 2024 Commercial, FC-94, and KME Panther trucks equipped with Hercules HC 1.7 multiplex nodes. In the event of a short circuit or wiring failure, the firmware in the node may fail to shut off the output pin, resulting in overloaded electrical circuits.
Risk: Overloaded electrical circuits can overheat, increasing the risk of fire.
Fix: Weldon will update the firmware, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 8, 2024. Owners may contact Spartan Fire customer service at 1-517-543-6400. Spartan Fire's number for this recall is 24003.
Parking Brake 2023-11-07 · campaign 23V747000 · 10 vehicles
Defect: Custom Fire Apparatus, Inc (Custom Fire) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Spartan Gladiator, MetroStar, and FC-94 emergency vehicles. A defect in the inversion valve may delay the park brake setting after engagement, which could allow the vehicle to move unintentionally.
Risk: Unintentional vehicle movement can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Custom Fire will inspect and replace the faulty inversion valve, if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 16, 2023. Owners may contact Custom Fire customer service at 1-715-294-2555. Custom Fire's number for this recall is 23V-631/TC 2023-512.
Parking Brake 2023-09-12 · campaign 23V631000 · 660 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC (Spartan Fire) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Gladiator, Metro Star, 2022-2024 FC-94, 2022-2023 KME Panther, and 2023 KME Predator emergency vehicles. A defect in the inversion valve may delay park brake engagement, which could allow the vehicle to move unintentionally. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 121, "Air Brake Systems."
Risk: Unintentional vehicle movement can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the inversion valve, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 2, 2023. Owners may contact Spartan Fire customer service at 1-800-867-6478. Spartan Fire's number for this recall is 23017.
Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (Tcm/Pcm/Tecm) 2023-03-23 · campaign 23V156000 · 166 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire LLC (Spartan Fire) is recalling certain 2022-2024 Gladiator, Metro Star, FC-94 and KME Panther firetrucks. After the vehicle is reversed, the transmission control module (TCM) may fail to achieve the 4th gear lockup needed to initiate the water pump.
Risk: A firetruck that is unable to pump water increases the risk of injury during a fire.
Fix: Dealers will update the TCM software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 27, 2023. Owners may contact Spartan Fire customer service at 1-517-543-6400. Spartan Fire's number for this recall is 23007.
Steering:critical Fasteners 2023-03-23 · campaign 23V192000 · 12 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC (Spartan Fire) is recalling certain 2020, 2022 and 2023 Gladiator and 2023 MetroStar vehicles. The front-drive steer axle fasteners may loosen, resulting in a complete separation of the axle assembly joints.
Risk: Steer axle assembly separation can result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the pro-torque nut keeper on the steer axle assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 10, 2023. Owners may contact Spartan Fire customer service at 1-517-543-6400. Spartan Fire's number for this recall is 23009.
Steering:linkages:tie Rod Assembly 2022-11-23 · campaign 22V871000 · 6 vehicles
Defect: Marion Body Works Inc. (Marion) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Spartan Fire Gladiator, MetroStar, FC-94 and KME Panther fire trucks. The tie rod clamps may have been improperly heat-treated, causing them to fail and allowing the tie rods to separate.
Risk: Tie rod separation can result in a sudden loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace both tie rod clamps, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on December 13, 2022. Owners may contact Marion's customer service at 1-715-754-5261. Marion's number for this recall is 22V-778.
Steering:linkages:tie Rod Assembly 2022-10-17 · campaign 22V778000 · 225 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC (Spartan Fire) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Gladiator, MetroStar, FC-94, and KME Panther emergency vehicles. The tie rod clamps may have been improperly heat-treated, causing them to fail and allowing the tie rods to separate.
Risk: Tie rod separation can result in a sudden loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the tie rod clamps, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on December 2, 2022. Owners may contact Spartan Fire's customer service at 1-517-543-6400. Spartan Fire's number for this recall is 22007.
Equipment:emergency:siren/Lighting/Strobes:wiring 2022-05-24 · campaign 22V373000 · 27 vehicles
Defect: Spartan Fire, LLC (Spartan Fire) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Gladiator, MetroStar, and 2022-2023 FC-94 fire trucks. An additional resistor was incorrectly installed on the printed circuit board, which can disrupt CAN network communication and cause vehicle lighting to fail.
Risk: Inoperable vehicle lighting can reduce visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the modules, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 18, 2022. Owners may contact Spartan Fire's customer service at 1-800-543-6400. Spartan Fire's number for this recall is 22001.
Service bulletins (21)
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 2026-03-18 · TSB26-520-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin is about certain vehicles equipped with a lcp80 kussmaul charger that may fail to initiate the charging operation and instructions on how to inspect and potentially replace the charger.
Electrical System 2026-02-12 · TSB26-410-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin is about certain vehicles equipped with zerorpm that may possess default settings that do not prioritize the charging of the chassis equipped lead acid batteries.
Unknown Or Other 2026-02-05 · TSB26-270-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin is about certain vehicles that may incorrectly experience a low coolant level alarm and fault code when the coolant is full.
Unknown Or Other 2026-01-27 · TSB26-150-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin is about certain vehicles that may experience leaks through the cab roof seams into the cab interior and instructions on how to repair the leak.
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.
Electrical System 2025-12-19 · CSB25-500-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin is about certain vehicles equipped with a weldon hercules hc 1.8 node giving timing errors when combined with the whelen core and core r and instructions on how to update the os version on the node.
Showing the 6 most recent of 21 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.