Dodge engineering analysis EA24003
Vehicle entrapment. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the latches/locks/linkages on 14 model years (2009–2020). Opened Aug 1, 2024 and still open — 2.3 years so far, against NHTSA’s goal of eighteen months for a engineering analysis. open
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE23-008 on May 1, 2023 to investigate an incident involving a 2009 Dodge Journey alleging occupant entrapment during a vehicle fire that resulted in a fatality. During the investigation, ODI collected information from the manufacturer and involved parties to confirm or refute the defect allegation. ODI has determined that additional reports of vehicle entrapment exist for other model year Dodge Journey vehicles. ODI continues to explore the cause of the thermal event and its potential effect on the actuation of the door locks. ODI also continues to explore other potential causes for door lock malfunction. ODI has determined that an upgrade to an Engineering Analysis (EA) is necessary to continue the review of the investigative material and to assess the risk to motor vehicle safety . To review the ODI report cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
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.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2024 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2024 | |
| Manufacturer's response — data | INRD | 2024 | 38 files 1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738 |
40 of 2527 documents shown; the rest are under this number at nhtsa.gov.
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 Aug 1, 2024, owners had filed 1,089 complaints with the agency about the model years above. Owner complaints are the agency’s main early signal, and more can be filed while an action is open.
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 is open. Nothing is owed on the vehicle today; if it becomes a recall, owners are written to and the repair is free. The moment to know is the day the campaign number appears — Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, or take a free one-line alert by model year.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named on model years this site has no page for: 2009 Dodge Journey; 2010 Dodge Journey; 2011 Dodge Journey; 2012 Dodge Journey; 2013 Dodge Journey; 2014 Dodge Journey; 2015 Dodge Journey; 2009 Dodge Journey AWD; 2010 Dodge Journey AWD.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
An investigation is not a recall. Yet.
If NHTSA’s questions become a recall, the campaign lands in the federal file first. Recall Watch checks your VINs against every new campaign the night it is filed.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs EA24003 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 has not produced one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is EA24003 still open?
Yes, as of NHTSA’s latest file: opened Aug 1, 2024, 2.3 years ago.
Which vehicles does EA24003 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 14 model years: 2020 Dodge Journey, 2019 Dodge Journey, 2018 Dodge Journey, 2017 Dodge Journey, 2016 Dodge Journey, 2009 Dodge Journey 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.