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NHTSA defect investigation · Defect Petition

Mazda and Ford defect petition DP12005

Cruise Control Cable. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this defect petition about the accelerator pedal on 7 model years (2001–2004). Opened Jul 17, 2012, closed Jul 17, 2012 after 0 days without a recall. closed

What NHTSA says

Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filed

On July 8, 2012, The Center for Auto Safety has petitioned NHTSA to open defect investigations on Model Year (MY) 2002 ? 2004 Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute vehicles with certain cruise control cables. The Center for Auto Safety has also petitioned for a hearing to address whether Ford Motor Company (Ford) and Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) met their obligations to notify owners and correct a defect in certain Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute vehicles. The petitions to open investigations are denied as unnecessary and the petitions to conduct hearingsare denied. ODI IDs referenced above are: 10109921, 10116267, 10116574,10121108, 10125928, 10128545, 10130133,10137520, 10153327, 10155295, 10155817, 10159048, 10164205, 10165007, 10177337, 10184382, 10195378,10199728, 10201424, 10203178, 10204179, 10207677, 10214472, 10218668, 10222869, 10229600, 10255417,10256387, 10258046, 10259777, 10260591, 10266150, 10273613, 10291508, 10303282, 10303434, 10316154,10321828, 10323339, 10325817, 10331278, 10334038, 10335779, 10341773, 10342450, 10345004, 10363982,10370338, 10379444, 10432635, 10451652, 10466261, 891605, 10053779, 10125132, 10146998, 10149101,10160004, 10161052, 10170988, 10178811, 10204780, 10215610, 10222996, 10239609, 10252790, 10253666,10262773, 10264280, 10280669, 10289784, 10294932, 10312464, 10316440, 10343662, 10354530, 10413665,10461195

Stage Defect Petition — NHTSA works to complete one within four months Opened Jul 17, 2012 Closed Jul 17, 2012 Manufacturer Ford Motor Company Components Vehicle Speed Control › Accelerator Pedal, Vehicle Speed Control › Cables, Vehicle Speed Control › Cruise Control, Vehicle Speed Control, Vehicle Speed Control › Linkages, Vehicle Speed Control › Springs

A Defect Petition is a petition from a member of the public asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; the agency grants or denies it and publishes the reasons. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.

The paperwork NHTSA filed

Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov
DocumentCodeFiledAt NHTSA
Opening resumeINOA2012PDF
Closing resumeINCLA2012PDF
Filed documentINDA2012PDF

These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.

What this means for an owner

Source: and what happens next

An 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 closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.

Model years it names

Source: as NHTSA filed them

Also named: 2002 Ford Escape; 2003 Ford Escape; 2004 Ford Escape; 2001 Mazda Tribute; 2002 Mazda Tribute; 2003 Mazda Tribute; 2004 Mazda Tribute.

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 Investigation

Is DP12005 a recall?

No. A defect petition 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 DP12005 still open?

No. It closed on Jul 17, 2012 without a recall.

Which vehicles does DP12005 cover?

NHTSA opened it on 7 model years: 2002 Ford Escape, 2003 Ford Escape, 2004 Ford Escape, 2001 Mazda Tribute, 2002 Mazda Tribute, 2003 Mazda Tribute and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.