Freightliner engineering analysis EA17001
Windshield Wiper Motor Failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the visibility on 2 model years (2015–2016). Opened Apr 3, 2017, closed Apr 8, 2020 after 3.0 years without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn April 3, 2017, the Office of Defects investigation (ODI) opened Engineering Analysis (EA17-001) as an upgrade to a Preliminary Analysis (PE16-005). The investigation focused on alleged windshield wiper failures on 2015-2016 MY Freightliner Cascadia trucks. ODI received Early Warning Reporting (EWR) field reports from the manufacturer describing wipers that intermittently failed to operate, causing a loss of visibility for the driver while driving in rain or snow. Several of the reports alleged multiple vehicles experiencing the failure, while multiple failures also happened on the same vehicle. Many of the field reports indicated the windshield wiper problem was resolved once the wiper motor was replaced. Following a detailed analysis of data collected by ODI it was determined that a low failure rate for a complete loss of wiper function existed on the subject vehicles. Given this low failure rate and the Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) to address this issue released by DTNA, this investigation is closed. 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. For a detailed summary of the investigation see attached closing resume document. The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID using the following complaint identification number: 11141519
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 resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
- Closing resume — ODI’s own summary of why it closed this, and what it concluded.
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
What owners had already reported
Source: complaints on file the day it openedWhen NHTSA opened this on Apr 3, 2017, owners had filed 1 complaint with the agency about the model years above. Owner complaints are the agency’s main early signal: ODI screens them, and a Preliminary Evaluation is usually where a pattern in them ends up.
This is what the complaint file held on that date, not a claim about which reports prompted the investigation — NHTSA’s complaint records carry no investigation number, so nobody can make that link from the data alone. The opening resume linked above names the reports ODI itself cited. Complaint records on this site begin with 2016.
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: 2015 Freightliner Cascadia; 2016 Freightliner Cascadia.
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 EA17001 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 EA17001 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 8, 2020 without a recall.
Which vehicles does EA17001 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2015 Freightliner Cascadia, 2016 Freightliner Cascadia. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.