Ford engineering analysis EA10007
Front Subframe Corrosion Failures. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the frame and members on 5 model years (1999–2003). Opened Dec 20, 2010, closed Mar 17, 2011 after 3 months. It led to safety recall 11V030000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn a January 26, 2011 Defect Information Report, Ford Motor Company (Ford) notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it will conduct a safety recall to address corrosion related fractures in the front lower control arm rear attaching brackets and body mount attachments at the rear of the front subframe in approximately 425,288 model year (MY) 1999 through 2003 Ford Windstar vehicles manufactured from April 1998 to July 2003 and either sold or currently registered in the following high corrosion (Salt-Belt) states:Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin (NHTSA Recall No. 11V-030, Ford Recall No. 11S16).According to Ford, separation of a front lower control arm rear attaching bracket may result in a lower control arm separation and separations of both front subframe rear body mounts may result in separation of the steering intermediate shaft. Either condition could result in diminished vehicle directional control, increasing the risk of a crash. Dealers will inspect the lower control arm rear attachment flanges and the rear body mount sections of the subframe on the right (passenger) and left (driver) sides of the vehicle. Owners of vehicles that pass the inspection will be notified when to return for installation of reinforcement brackets to extend the durability of the front subframe assembly in affected areas in the presence of corrosion. Owners of vehicles that do not pass inspection, but can be repaired, will be offered transportation until parts become available. Repurchase offers will be extended to owners of vehicles that cannot be repaired with the reinforcement brackets. This investigation is 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: 1999 Ford Windstar; 2000 Ford Windstar; 2001 Ford Windstar; 2002 Ford Windstar; 2003 Ford Windstar.
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 EA10007 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 11V030000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is EA10007 still open?
No. It closed on Mar 17, 2011 and led to recall 11V030000.
Which vehicles does EA10007 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 5 model years: 1999 Ford Windstar, 2000 Ford Windstar, 2001 Ford Windstar, 2002 Ford Windstar, 2003 Ford Windstar. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.