Paccar ships 13- and 15-inch digital displays standard in 2027 trucks

What screens are Paccar putting in 2027 Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks?

Most new Peterbilt and Kenworth Class 8 trucks will ship with digital displays standard in 2027. Peterbilt displays are 13-inch screens in portrait orientation. Kenworth displays are 15-inch screens in landscape orientation. Both run the Paccar Connect platform, which includes voice commands and integrations for vehicle software and third-party apps.

The move makes digital displays standard equipment rather than an upcharge option. Fleet managers ordering 2027 model-year trucks will get the screens by default unless they spec a base cab configuration that excludes them.

What the Paccar Connect platform includes

Paccar Connect bundles the display hardware with software integrations and voice-command capability. The platform ties into vehicle systems and supports third-party apps, though Paccar has not disclosed which apps will be available at launch or whether the platform uses Android Automotive, a proprietary OS, or another architecture.

The portrait orientation on Peterbilt screens mirrors the layout used in some passenger vehicles and may suit vertically stacked menus. The landscape orientation on Kenworth screens offers more horizontal real estate for map displays and multi-window layouts. Neither OEM has published screen resolution, brightness specs, or whether the displays are capacitive touch or resistive.

Service and replacement cost unknowns

Paccar has not released pricing for replacement screens or whether the displays can be swapped in the field without dealer calibration. Standard digital displays in passenger vehicles typically cost $800 to $2,500 to replace after warranty, depending on size and integration depth. Commercial-truck displays may run higher if they require proprietary connectors or software pairing to the truck's CAN bus.

Fleets that operate in high-vibration or extreme-temperature environments will want to know the display's operating-temperature range and whether the screen is bonded to the bezel or uses a separate glass layer that can crack independently. Paccar has not published durability specs or MTBF (mean time between failures) data.

MX-13 fuel-injector lawsuit heads to trial in 2027

A Washington court is processing a class-action lawsuit against Paccar over fuel-system defects in EPA 2021 MX-13 engines. The lawsuit claims fuel injectors in those engines failed at higher-than-normal rates and rendered trucks inoperable. Plaintiffs allege Paccar knew or should have known about the defect and did not disclose it.

About 30 companies are registered as plaintiffs. The case is scheduled for trial around October 2027.

The MX-13 is Paccar's medium-displacement engine, used in vocational and regional-haul applications. Fuel-injector failures typically strand a truck until the injector is replaced, and if multiple injectors fail in a pattern, the repair bill can exceed $5,000 per truck when labor and towing are included. Fleets running EPA 2021 MX-13 engines should track injector-replacement frequency and compare it to Paccar's published service intervals. If failures cluster before the expected service life, document the pattern for potential warranty or legal claims.

What this means for 2027 truck orders

Fleets ordering 2027 Peterbilt or Kenworth trucks will receive digital displays as standard equipment unless they opt for a stripped cab. The screens add no upfront cost if they replace analog gauge clusters that were previously standard, but replacement cost and service complexity are unknowns until Paccar publishes parts pricing and field-service procedures.

The MX-13 lawsuit does not affect 2027 model-year engines, which run EPA 2027 emissions hardware. However, the case is a reminder to track injector-replacement intervals on any Paccar engine and compare actual service life to the published spec. If a pattern emerges, document it before the warranty window closes.