Pony.ai audit query AQ22001
NHTSA SGO 2021-01 Reporting Requirements. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this audit query about the autonomous/self driving. Opened Mar 24, 2022, closed Jan 16, 2025 after 2.8 years without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn October 28, 2021, a vehicle equipped with an automated driving system (ADS) manufactured and operated by Pony.ai crashed in Fremont, California (subject crash). After learning of the crash, NHTSA engaged with Pony.ai regarding the company’s recall and reporting responsibilities under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Safety Act). This engagement led Pony.ai to submit three reports under NHTSA’s Standing General Order 2021-01 (SGO), which requires reporting of certain crashes involving ADS or Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems equipped vehicles. Pony.ai �led the �rst such report for the subject crash on November 17, 2021, and it �led updates to this report on November 29, 2021, and December 15, 2021. After further engagement with NHTSA regarding the company’s software changes following the crash, Pony.ai �led a Part 573 Safety Recall Report on March 3, 2022 (Recall No. 22E-016). NHTSA subsequently opened two investigations to assess Pony.ai’s response to the crash, including the timeliness of the company’s crash reporting and the sufficiency of the recall. Speci�cally, Audit Query AQ22001 was opened on March 24, 2022, to consider whether Pony.ai complied with the crash reporting requirements of the SGO when reporting the subject crash. Recall Query RQ22001 was opened on April 10, 2022, to evaluate the scope of the population affected by Recall No. 22E-016 and the remedy described in the recall. NHTSA issued a detailed Special Order to Pony.ai under RQ22001, requesting more information about the subject crash and Pony.ai’s response to it. Pony.ai’s response to the Special Order was voluminous, spanning a series of rolling productions. After assessing this material, NHTSA closed RQ22001 on October 30, 2023, explaining that ODI believes that the company’s recall properly identi�ed both the ADS software error that precipitated the crash and the vehicles affected by the defect. Based on the available information, Pony.ai has implemented process and procedural changes that are designed to prevent the recurrence of the specific problems that arose with the ADS in the subject crash, as well as the company’s response and reporting for such incidents. NHTSA has engaged extensively with Pony.ai regarding the company’s responsibilities under the Safety Act, including its reporting responsibilities under the SGO. The company has continued to submit reports under the SGO since the subject crash, mostly consisting of monthly reports that no new crashes or updates to prior crashes exist. NHTSA has not identified any other concerns regarding Pony.ai’s SGO reporting since the subject crash. The available information does not warrant further action at this time. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA regarding Pony.ai’s compliance with the Safety Act. NHTSA will continue to monitor Pony.ai’s reporting and reserves the right to take additional action as warranted by future circumstances.
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 themNHTSA filed this action against Pony.ai without naming a model year — an equipment or manufacturer-level query.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs AQ22001 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 AQ22001 still open?
No. It closed on Jan 16, 2025 without a recall.
Which vehicles does AQ22001 cover?
NHTSA filed it against Pony.ai without naming a model year.