Chevrolet audit query AQ18006
Sale of noncompliant school bus. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this audit query about the seats on 1 model year (2015). Opened Dec 1, 2018 and still open — 7.8 years so far. open
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedNHTSA's Office of Chief Counsel received a report from a private attorney representing the estate of a child passenger in a 15 passenger van who died in a crash allegedly occurring when the van was being employed by a school district for student transportation. The attorney provided the agency with a bill of sale and accompanying documentation indicating that the van was sold in August of 2015 by Wiesner Chevrolet of Huntsville, Texas to the Trinity County Texas Independent School District. Sale of a vehicle that does not comply with the Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standards (FMVSS) applicable to school buses when that vehicle is likely to be used significantly to transport preprimary, primary, and secondary school students to or from school or an event related to school constitutes a violation of Section 30112 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The purpose of this AQ is to investigate the potential violation of the Act's prohibition of sales of a school bus that is not compliant to FMVSS.
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 open. Nothing is owed on the vehicle today; if it becomes a recall, owners are written to and the repair is free. The moment to know is the day the campaign number appears — Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, or take a free one-line alert by model year.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2015 Chevrolet Express.
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 AQ18006 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 has not produced one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is AQ18006 still open?
Yes, as of NHTSA’s latest file: opened Dec 1, 2018, 7.8 years ago.
Which vehicles does AQ18006 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2015 Chevrolet Express. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.