Jeep engineering analysis EA12001
Inadvertent Air Bag Deployment. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the air bags on 2 model years (2002–2003). Opened Jan 23, 2012, closed Feb 21, 2013 after 13 months. It led to safety recall 12V527000, 13V029000, 13V040000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe investigation was opened based on reports of frontal air bag inadvertent deployments (ABIDs) on model year (MY) 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty vehicles. Data provided by Chrysler indicate that the air bag squib filter circuitry inside the Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) module can degrade and result in an inadvertent air bag deployment, without a crash or impact, while the vehicle is being operated on the roadway. As of Oct. 04, 2012, ODI is aware of 131 frontal ABIDs on the Jeep Liberty vehicles resulting in 62 injuries consisting of burns, cuts and bruises to the upper body region. There were no reports of loss of vehicle control or vehicle crashes. Some owners noted that the air bag warning light (ABL) and/or chime had activated just seconds prior to the air bag deployment, while others stated that they did not observe any prior ABL illumination. Chrysler's analysis found there were no reports of ABID on Liberty vehicles build after March 28, 2003, a date which coincides with a filter circuit design change in the ORC module. The Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Viper were identified as having the same basic circuit. ODI is aware of 61 frontal ABIDs with 31 injuries on the Grand Cherokee and none on the Dodge Viper. In its Nov. 07, 2012 letter (12V-527), Chrysler announced plans to recall 744,822 Jeep Vehicles (MY02-03 Liberty through 03/28/03 and MY02-04 Grand Cherokee through 5/23/03).The remedy consists of installing an in-line jumper harness with an integrated squib circuit electrical filter. In addition, in Feb 05, 2013 letter (13V-040), Chrysler added the MY03-04 Dodge Viper (through 6/30/04) with a similar remedy, bringing the total number of recalled vehicles to 748,482. During the investigation ODI contacted the ORC module supplier (TRW) to determine the usage of this circuitry in other manufacturers? vehicles. As a result, ODI sent peer Information Request (IR) letters to five other manufactures. Toyota's response identified 72 frontal ABIDs resulting in 31 injuries. The rate and failure mode/trend were consistent with the subject defective issue as reported by Chrysler. In a Jan. 30, 2013 letter (13V-029), Toyota announced plans to recall 897,709 MY2003-2004 Corolla/Matrix and Pontiac Vibe vehicles and will utilize a similar remedy to that of Chrysler consisting of adding an in-line noise filter to its air bag wire harness. Honda's IR response reported 126 unique ABIDs for both frontal, side impact and/or side curtain air bag deployments across 4 models and 800k vehicles. However upon further review, no more than 25 of the reports appeared to be frontal ABIDs. The remaining involved less aggressive non-frontal ABIDs mainly stemming from side sensors that trigger side and/or side curtain air bags upon undercarriage debris strike or heavy door slams. The Honda rates are lower than those from the recalled Liberty and Toyota models, and with the exception of the MY 2002-2003 Odyssey, the other Honda models' failure mode/trend was also less severe. ODI will continueto monitor the affected Honda models. There were no reports of ABIDs from the other three peer manufacturers. It should be noted that since the October 2012 data collection date, ODI has received 4 additional Jeep Liberty and 2 Jeep Grand Cherokee reports for frontal ABIDs with two reports alleging loss of vehicle control and crashes. To date, the ORC modules from the two crash vehicles have not been available for detailed analysis by Chrysler or ODI, so the cause of the ABIDs cannot be confirmed at this time. Accordingly the investigation is closed. The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAI
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: 2002 Jeep Liberty; 2003 Jeep Liberty.
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 EA12001 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 12V527000, 13V029000, 13V040000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is EA12001 still open?
No. It closed on Feb 21, 2013 and led to recall 12V527000, 13V029000, 13V040000.
Which vehicles does EA12001 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2002 Jeep Liberty, 2003 Jeep Liberty. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.