Porsche defect petition DP21001
Backup Lights Fail To Illuminate. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this defect petition about the switch on 1 model year (2013). Opened Jan 15, 2021, closed Jul 9, 2021 after 6 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has completed its review of a defect petition received on November 20, 2020 requesting an investigation into the failure of reversing lights to illuminate in certain Model Year (MY) 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera vehicle with manual transmissions. The reversing lights fail to illuminate when the subject vehicles are shifted into reverse. The reversing lights provide a warning to other drivers and pedestrians when the vehicle is reversing. The reversing lights also provide some illumination for the driver when reversing at night. Failure of the reversing lights can cause an increased hazard to the vehicle, its occupants, surrounding vehicles and nearby pedestrians. As of April 14, 2021, NHTSA has identified only one consumer complaint alleging a failure of the reversing lights in NHTSA's database. This complaint was received from the petitioner. Neither NHTSA nor Porsche have received any allegations of crashes or injuries associated with the failure of the reversing lights to illuminate. Porsche determined that the reversing lights on the MY 2012-2015 Porsche Carrera vehicles were becoming inoperative due to the failure of the transmission side actuation mechanism. Porsche determined the weld between the shift rod and the stopper plate was below manufacturing specifications in some vehicles due to production weld process variations. Porsche modified production weld specifications to improve the strength and consistency of the weld joint between the shift rod and stopper plate. In January 2021, Porsche initiated a Service Action (228/20) on MY 2012-2015 Porsche Carrera vehicles with active notification of potentially affected customers to remedy the reversing light failure in the affected vehicles. Warranty coverage on the affected components has been extended to 15 years from the new vehicle delivery date with unlimited mileage. Porsche will replace the transmission in the affected vehicles with a new transmission with the modified weld specifications for the shift rod - stopper plate joint. NHTSA believes there is a high likelihood that many affected vehicles will be remedied with this action. After thoroughly assessing the material submitted by the petitioner, information already in NHTSA's possession, information submitted by Porsche in response to an Information Request letter and the potential risks to safety implicated by the petitioner's allegation, as well as Service Action (228/20) initiated by Porsche offering extended warranty coverage, NHTSA does not believe that a formal investigation is warranted. After full consideration of appropriate factors, the petition is denied. A denial report will be posted in the Federal Register. The ODI report cited above can be viewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI number 11376617
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 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 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 themAlso named: 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera.
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 DP21001 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 DP21001 still open?
No. It closed on Jul 9, 2021 without a recall.
Which vehicles does DP21001 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.