Toyota and Pontiac engineering analysis EA10006
Engine Stall. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the engine and engine cooling on 12 model years (2005–2008). Opened Aug 18, 2010, closed Sep 16, 2010 after 29 days. It led to safety recall 10V384000, 10V387000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn August 26, 2010, Toyota submitted a Defect Information Report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding problems with Engine Control Modules that could result in engine stall while driving in certain model year (MY) 2005 through 2008 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix and Pontiac Vibe vehicles equipped with the 1ZZ-FE engine and two-wheel drive and manufactured between April 19, 2004 and January 2, 2008. Toyota's report indicated that cracks may develop at certain solder point or on varistors on the ECMs. According to Toyota, such cracks generally resulted in engine warning lamp illumination, harsh shifting or engine no-start. In some cases, if the cracking occurs on particular solder points or varistors, the engine could stop while the vehicle is being driven. Toyota will notify owners of subject vehicles that they should return their vehicles to a Toyota or Pontiac dealer. Dealers will be instructed to inspect the production number of the ECM for each vehicle and replace the ECM if necessary. On November 30, 2009, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE09-054) to investigate alleged engine stall while driving in model year (MY) 2006 Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles. In its response to ODI's information request, submitted on March 2, 2010, Toyota indicated that it had identified two possible conditions with ECMs used in MY 2005 through 2007 Toyota Corolla and Matrix vehicles:1) cracks forming between the IC and the board caused by an improperly cured conformal coating applied to the circuit boards after the soldering process is completed; and 2) cracks occurring in a variable resistor (varistor) due to overheating. During the manufacturing process a glass coating is created on the surface of the varistor. Between March and August 2010, Toyota began collecting ECMs from the field to further investigate failure modes that may result in engine stall. Toyota also conducted durability testing on ECMs collected from in-use vehicles to assess whether the problems may be a continuing trend. In addition, they conducted durability testing in order to assess whether this problem was a continuing trend. Toyota found that 4 of 32 collected ECMs malfunctioned after thermal shock testing. Toyota also confirmed that cracking could develop at solder points on the ECM circuit board that could lead to engine stall while driving and that this trend was likely to continue. The manufacturer failure data in this resume is limited to MY 2005 through 2007 Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles. Based on Toyota's recall, this Engineering analysis has been closed.
A Engineering Analysis is the deeper stage, usually upgraded from a Preliminary Evaluation: NHTSA tests, requests engineering documents and decides whether a safety defect exists. 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 became a recall. The campaign page carries the manufacturer’s filed defect, risk and remedy, the build window and every model year covered; whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2005 Pontiac Vibe; 2006 Pontiac Vibe; 2007 Pontiac Vibe; 2008 Pontiac Vibe; 2005 Toyota Corolla; 2006 Toyota Corolla; 2007 Toyota Corolla; 2008 Toyota Corolla; 2005 Toyota Corolla Matrix; 2006 Toyota Corolla Matrix; 2007 Toyota Corolla Matrix; 2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix.
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 EA10006 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 10V384000, 10V387000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is EA10006 still open?
No. It closed on Sep 16, 2010 and led to recall 10V384000, 10V387000.
Which vehicles does EA10006 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 12 model years: 2005 Pontiac Vibe, 2006 Pontiac Vibe, 2007 Pontiac Vibe, 2008 Pontiac Vibe, 2005 Toyota Corolla, 2006 Toyota Corolla 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.