Freightliner engineering analysis EA16001
CNG Fuel System Integrity. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the fuel system, other on 2 model years (2014). Opened Feb 3, 2016, closed Sep 10, 2021 after 5.6 years without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is only aware of the one subject fuel container rupture incident on the subject vehicles that first prompted this investigation. The subject CNG fuel system and fuel container design, material, manufacture, assembly and performance appear to be consistent with certain other manufacturers of CNG vehicles and related items of motor vehicle equipment, and in accordance with standards in effect at the time of manufacture. Since the subject incident, new and revised industry standards have advanced CNG fuel system and fuel container integrity and safety. In 2019, NHTSA noted an extremely low failure rate of CNG fuel containers, in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the visual inspection labeling requirement in FMVSS 304. NHTSA also entered a strategic partnership project (SPP) with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to assess fuel system and fuel container integrity requirements in an effort to update FMVSS Nos. 303 and 304. In NREL's report, they provided several considerations that reflect minimum safety standards, as well as industry best practices, to harmonize applicable light-, medium-, and heavy-duty natural gas and propane fuel vehicle codes and standards. Given these activities and the low rate of CNG fuel container ruptures in general, and the lack of other incidents among the subject vehicle population, indicating a lack of a safety defect trend, NHTSA is closing this investigation. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances. Please see the Engineering Analysis closing report for more information.
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 closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2014 Freightliner Business Class M2; 2014 Freightliner M2.
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 EA16001 a recall?
No. A engineering analysis is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is EA16001 still open?
No. It closed on Sep 10, 2021 without a recall.
Which vehicles does EA16001 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2014 Freightliner Business Class M2, 2014 Freightliner M2. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.