MCI and Motor Coach engineering analysis EA12007
MCI Drive Shaft Safety Loop Failures. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the driveline on 199 model years (1992–2012). Opened Sep 13, 2012, closed Dec 3, 2015 after 3.2 years. It led to safety recall 14V335000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn the fall of 2011, network contacts made ODI aware of four (4) incidents of drive shaft failure on the subject buses involving a loss of vehicle control. Two of the incidents were relatively low speed non-crash events; and two resulted in motor coach rollovers. All four events showed signs of a common failure mode. The incidents and crashes studied during this investigation all resulted from a series of complex events that began with the the yoke journal ears on the drive shafts fracturing. Once the drive shaft failed. it was not adequately contained by a drive shaft safety loop or structure. The spinning and unrestrained drive shaft caused severe damage to components on the steerable tag axle at the rear of the vehicle and created a forced steering condition. Once the rear of the bus was being forcibly steered by the tag axle, the driver lost control of the vehicle. These conclusions are based on the forensics evidence and testing conducted by the Vehicle Research and Test Center (VRTC).The VRTC test report is attached to this closing resume that provides details on how the test center was able to conclusively identify the defective components on the buses and demonstrate the sequence of events that caused the buses to crash. Prior to the drive shaft failure events, there were no indications of improper maintenance or that maintenance was required that would have prevented the incidents. Additionally, the U-joints on the incident vehicles were found to be in good working condition at the time of the failure. Finally, records of driver interviews indicated a sudden onset of the failure with no warning. Following the VRTC testing, MCI issued recall 14V-335 involving certain model year 1993-1995 102DL3 motor coaches manufactured November 1992 to January 1995, and 2006 and 2008 D4505 motor coaches manufactured June 2005 to April 2008. The affected buses are equipped with a drive shaft with a compressed length of 30 inches or less (allowing it to escape containment if it fails), a steerable trailing tag axle equipped with a system that changes the axle caster when the vehicle is in reverse travel and no electronic stability control (ESC).Recall 14V-335 addresses the concerns of this investigation. The ODI report cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID: ODI Number 10447575.
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: 1992 MCI 102A3; 1993 MCI 102A3; 1998 MCI 102A3; 1992 MCI 102B3; 1993 MCI 102B3; 1998 MCI 102B3; 1992 MCI 102C3; 1993 MCI 102C3; 1992 MCI 102D3; 1993 MCI 102D3; 1994 MCI 102D3; 1995 MCI 102D3; 1996 MCI 102D3; 1997 MCI 102D3; 1998 MCI 102D3; 1999 MCI 102D3; 2000 MCI 102D3; 2001 MCI 102D3; 2002 MCI 102D3; 2003 MCI 102D3; 2004 MCI 102D3; 2005 MCI 102D3; 2006 MCI 102D3; 1992 MCI 102DL3; 1993 MCI 102DL3; 1994 MCI 102DL3; 1995 MCI 102DL3; 1996 MCI 102DL3; 1997 MCI 102DL3; 1998 MCI 102DL3; 1999 MCI 102DL3; 2000 MCI 102DL3; 2001 MCI 102DL3; 2002 MCI 102DL3; 2003 MCI 102DL3; 2004 MCI 102DL3; 2005 MCI 102DL3; 2006 MCI 102DL3; 1997 MCI 102DL3SS; 1998 MCI 102DL3SS; 1999 MCI 102DL3SS; 2000 MCI 102DL3SS; 2001 MCI 102DL3SS; 2002 MCI 102DL3SS; 2003 MCI 102DL3SS; 2004 MCI 102DL3SS; 2005 MCI 102DL3SS; 2006 MCI 102DL3SS; 1992 MCI 102DLC3; 1993 MCI 102DLC3; 1992 MCI 102DLH3; 1993 MCI 102DLH3; 1998 MCI 102DLS3; 1999 MCI 102DLS3; 2000 MCI 102DLS3; 2000 MCI 102EL3; 2001 MCI 102EL3; 2002 MCI 102EL3; 2003 MCI 102EL3; 2004 MCI 102EL3 and 139 more.
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 EA12007 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 14V335000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is EA12007 still open?
No. It closed on Dec 3, 2015 and led to recall 14V335000.
Which vehicles does EA12007 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 199 model years: 1992 MCI 102A3, 1993 MCI 102A3, 1998 MCI 102A3, 1992 MCI 102B3, 1993 MCI 102B3, 1998 MCI 102B3 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.