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NHTSA defect investigation · Engineering Analysis

Hyundai engineering analysis EA12008

Headliner Bracket Detachment. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the side/window on 3 model years (2011–2013). Opened Sep 13, 2012, closed Dec 9, 2013 after 15 months. It led to safety recall 13V115000. became a recall

What NHTSA says

Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filed

In March 2013, Hyundai issued a safety recall to reinforce the attachment of the metal support brackets to the headliner assembly in approximately 186,254 model year 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra vehicles built in Korea and sold in the U.S. (see NHTSA recall 13V-115 for more information).The recall covers vehicles built up to March 5, 2013. After that date, Hyundai began using headliners with reinforced bracket attachments in the Korea-built Elantra vehicles. ODI has opened a Recall Query (RQ13-004) to investigate model year 2009-2012 Hyundai Elantra Touring vehicles. During EA12-008, ODI found these vehicles are equipped with a support bracket design and layout similar to that in the above-mentioned Elantra vehicles. Also, the headliner manufacturing processes used were similar for both models. Like the Elantra vehicles built before the recall, the Elantra Touring model headliner does not contain reinforced bracket attachments. This Engineering Analysis is closed. See attached report for additional information. The ODI report cited above can be reviewed online at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification number: 10457696

Stage Engineering Analysis — NHTSA works to complete one within eighteen months Opened Sep 13, 2012 Closed Dec 9, 2013 Manufacturer Hyundai Motor America Components Air Bags › Side/Window, Structure › Body › Roof And Pillars, Unknown Or Other Resulting recall 13V115000

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 next

An 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 them

Also named: 2011 Hyundai Elantra; 2012 Hyundai Elantra; 2013 Hyundai Elantra.

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 Investigation

Is EA12008 a recall?

No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 13V115000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.

Is EA12008 still open?

No. It closed on Dec 9, 2013 and led to recall 13V115000.

Which vehicles does EA12008 cover?

NHTSA opened it on 3 model years: 2011 Hyundai Elantra, 2012 Hyundai Elantra, 2013 Hyundai Elantra. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.