smart engineering analysis EA17003
Engine Compartment Fire. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the engine on 5 model years (2008–2009). Opened Sep 1, 2017, closed Aug 21, 2018 after 12 months. It led to safety recall 18V273000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn April 30, 2018, Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, (Mercedes-Benz) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA regarding a defect that could result in a vehicle fire starting from the engine compartment in 42,781 model year (MY) 2008 and 2009 Smart Fortwo cabrio and coupe vehicles (451 platform).According to Mercedes-Benz?s DIR, ?the rear insulation mat within the engine compartment might deform, deteriorate, loosen and over time, subsequently be able to contact hot components of the exhaust system. This could lead to an ignition of the insulation mat and possible fire in the engine compartment.?The US-specification exhaust system has an external catalytic converter packaged close to the insulation mat, where temperatures in the vicinity of the insulation mat reach high values. Over time, these temperatures can lead to a change in the insulation mat's material characteristics and ultimately allow the material to deform. Depending on the magnitude and the specific location of the deformation, the insulation mat could contact hot components of the exhaust system and ignite. Mercedes-Benz will replace the rear insulation mat on the affected vehicles with the improved mat first implemented in the United States in MY 2010 vehicles. ODI?s analysis of fire incident field data reported to NHTSA and Mercedes-Benz show an increasing trend of non-crash fires in the subject vehicles that begins after 4 years of service and accelerates after 7 years of service. The analysis shows that this trend is driven by fires occurring in the engine compartment. Forensic investigations of fires occurring in the past year identified the insulation mat as a likely or possible cause of most of the fires originating in the engine compartment. This investigation is closed based on Mercedes-Benz insulation mat recall. For more information about field data trends and fire investigations, see the closing resume in the document file for this investigation.
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: 2008 smart Fortwo; 2009 smart Fortwo; 2008 smart Fortwo Cabrio; 2009 smart Fortwo Cabrio; 2008 smart Fortwo Coupe.
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 EA17003 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 18V273000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is EA17003 still open?
No. It closed on Aug 21, 2018 and led to recall 18V273000.
Which vehicles does EA17003 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 5 model years: 2008 smart Fortwo, 2009 smart Fortwo, 2008 smart Fortwo Cabrio, 2009 smart Fortwo Cabrio, 2008 smart Fortwo Coupe. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.