Mack Anthem Common Problems & What to Check

Safety notice

Recall on record for this model family

NHTSA 21V233000 — ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC):CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE NHTSA recall: official notice
NHTSA 24V398000 — STEERING:LINKAGES:DRAG:LINK:CONNECTION NHTSA recall: official notice

Verify the unit's serial number against the official notice before purchase.

Buy-Risk Verdict

Inspect before buying · moderate confidence

Short answer: Used pricing varies; see sources. Biggest documented cost risk: turbo and actuator failure with DPF fouling. Buy only after inspection. Basis: truckpaper.com.

Last verified against the primary source on Sep 11, 2026.

Decision status

inspect

Used pricing varies; see sources. Biggest documented cost risk: turbo and actuator failure with DPF fouling. Buy only after inspection.

Confidence 55%

Market context

Not yet verified

Comparable set not yet verified

As of Aug 19, 2026

Next-150k-Mile Exposure

What can make the cheap machine expensive?

Component	Severity	Documented repair cost
Turbo and actuator	medium	not yet verified
Leaking injectors	medium	not yet verified

Turbo and actuatormedium

Turbo + actuator failure with DPF fouling, full cost breakdown documented on camera by the truck's owner: labor $837.50, parts about $5,787, DPF cleaning/shipping $312.50, totaling $9,136.54 including 4 nights hotel.

Cost not yet verified

Leaking injectorsmedium

Injector leaking down causes loss of prime, leading to a no-start condition.

Cost not yet verified

Mack Trucks, Inc. (Mack) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Anthem (AN), Granite (GR/GU), and Pinnacle (CHU/CXU/PI) vehicles equipped with "camelback" rear suspension and electronic stability control. The vehicles may not stay in their lane at certain speeds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 136, "Electronic Stability Control Systems on Heavy Vehicles."

— NHTSA recall 21V233000 (ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC):CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE), accessed 2026-09-11

Common questions

What fails on the Mack Anthem?

The most cited concerns in our evidence record: Turbo and actuator, Leaking injectors. See the risk breakdown above for details and sources.

Is the Mack Anthem under recall?

A safety recall exists for this model family. Verify the unit's serial number against the official notice linked on this page before buying.

Evidence excerpts

From the research record

PRICE: - Mack Anthem asking prices pulled from truckpaper.com (https://www.truckpaper.com/listings/for-sale/mack/anthem/sleeper-trucks, fetched 2026-08-19), partial sample of 7 listings with explicit dollar prices out of 721 total listed on the site: | Year | Mileage | Asking price | |------|-----------|--------------| | 2024 | 125,000mi | $129,900 | | 20
FAILURES: - Turbo + actuator failure with DPF fouling, full cost breakdown documented on camera by the truck's owner: labor $837.50, parts approx. $5,787 (transcript cuts off before the figure fully resolves — "five thousand seven hundred and eighty seven[...]"), DPF filter cleaning/shipping $312.50, total breakdown cost $9,136.54 including 4 nights hotel an
REPAIR: - Turbo/actuator/DPF breakdown total: $9,136.54 (labor $837.50 + parts ~$5,787 + DPF cleaning $312.50 + car rental $105 + 4 nights hotel). video transcript: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLraFkmb6E0 @ 00:05:00-00:08:26. - 2022 Anthem transmission shift-panel software upgrade (EAC automated-manual setting change) quoted at "8 to 900 bucks" (video
VIDEO (00:07:28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTD-LEFyBSk): "it and the payment for the driver is going to be $1,500 a month for a a short"
VIDEO (00:07:32 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTD-LEFyBSk): "going to be $1,500 a month for a a short"
VIDEO (00:07:32 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTD-LEFyBSk): "going to be $1,500 a month for a a short period of time and then he'll own the"
RECALL (21V233000, ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC):CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE): Mack Trucks, Inc. (Mack) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Anthem (AN), Granite (GR/GU), and Pinnacle (CHU/CXU/PI) vehicles equipped with "camelback" rear suspension and electronic stability control. The vehicles may not stay in their lane at certain speeds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply ...
RECALL (24V398000, STEERING:LINKAGES:DRAG:LINK:CONNECTION): Mack Trucks, Inc. (Mack) is recalling certain 2025 Mack AN, GR, and TE trucks. The drag link may contain an improperly heat-treated ball stud that can fail, resulting in a sudden loss of steering control.

Reference list

Sources

truckpaper.comweb · research-cited · accessed 2026-08-19
youtube.comweb · research-cited · accessed 2026-08-19
youtube.comweb · research-cited · accessed 2026-08-19
youtube.comweb · research-cited · accessed 2026-08-19
youtube.comweb · research-cited · accessed 2026-08-19
NHTSA recall 21V233000 (ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC):CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE)nhtsa-recall · verified-primary · accessed 2026-09-11
NHTSA recall 24V398000 (STEERING:LINKAGES:DRAG:LINK:CONNECTION)nhtsa-recall · verified-primary · accessed 2026-09-11

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