Chevrolet audit query AQ17002
BiCal Chevrolet/Loss of Power Steering. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this audit query about the electric power assist system on 1 model year (2014). Opened Mar 16, 2017, closed May 14, 2020 after 3.2 years without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedNHTSA opened AQ17-002 to determine whether BiCal Chevrolet of Valley Stream, New York (BiCal) has complied with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 (Safety Act) and its implementing regulations. The Safety Act requires, among other things, that a manufacturer notify its dealers of defects related to motor vehicle safety and non-compliances with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and, in turn, that a dealer not sell a new vehicle subject to a recall unless the recall remedy has been performed (49 U.S.C. ?30120(i)).NHTSA issued an information request (IR) letter to BiCal on March 15, 2017. BiCal responded to this request on November 8, 2017. On March 16, 2017, an IR letter was issued to General Motors LLC (GM) and a response was received from GM on April 28, 2017. In NHTSA?s view, it had difficulties in obtaining responses to IR letters from BiCal throughout the AQ investigation, including not receiving a response to the first IR until more than three months after the original deadline. Additionally, in NHTSA's view, BiCal failed to provide a full response to the second IR. BiCal does not contest NHTSA's conclusion that it violated the Safety Act by initially failing to provide full and complete responses to the IRs from NHTSA by their deadlines. NHTSA's investigation also indicated that BiCal sold and delivered at least 54 recalled vehicles that did not have the recall remedy completed at the time the vehicles were delivered to the customers. BiCal did not contest NHTSA?s conclusion that it violated the Safety Act by selling and delivering certain new motor vehicles that were subject to a recall before the vehicles were remedied. Under a Settlement Agreement dated March 11, 2019, BiCal agreed to pay compromised civil penalties in the amount of $40,000. This Audit Query is closed.
A Audit Query is an audit of the manufacturer's own reporting obligations — early-warning data, recall notices, remedy — rather than of a vehicle condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one is closed. A audit query ends with NHTSA’s finding on the recall it examined — the remedy stands, is widened, or a new campaign follows; the file names the recall it concerned and NHTSA’s closing resume carries the reasoning.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2014 Chevrolet Impala.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs AQ17002 a recall?
No. A audit query is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is AQ17002 still open?
No. It closed on May 14, 2020 without a recall.
Which vehicles does AQ17002 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2014 Chevrolet Impala. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.