Spartan and TSE equipment query EQ12004
TSE Brakes, Inc. Hill Hold Requirements. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this equipment query about the service brakes, air on 2 model years (2012). Opened Apr 2, 2012, closed May 25, 2012 after 2 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn March 22, 2012, Spartan Motors Chassis, Inc. (Spartan) notified the NHTSA that it had decided a defect exists in certain model year 2012 K2 and MG chassis manufactured from December 15, 2011, through January 31, 2012, and equipped with 3030 brake chambers. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 121, Air Brake Systems because they do not meet the park brake and draw bar requirements. The park brake may not hold the vehicle in place and if the vehicle moves, injury or property damage could occur without warning. NHTSA assigned recall number 12V-125 to this matter. Spartan reported that the manufacturer of the noncompliant brake chambers was TSE Brakes, Inc. (TSE).On April 9, 2012, the Recall Management Division (RMD) mailed an information request (IR) letter to TSE requesting a list of purchasers who received the noncompliant brake chambers, and also inquiring if TSE sold any affected brake chambers in the replacement market. In a letter dated April 20, 2012, TSE responded to RMD?s IR letter by explaining their non-concurrence with Spartan?s noncompliance decision. TSE noted that, to date, Spartan has provided three draw bar test results. The first test, dated November 29, 2011, ?significantly failed? while two tests dated February 7, 2012, ?significantly passed.?TSE concluded that these results ?ruled out the TSE actuator as an explanation? due to the actuators displaying the same output force yet having different test results. Also, TSE made note that there is no FMVSS requirement for actuator performance as FMVSS 121 compliance only relates to vehicle braking performance. The actuators used on Spartan?s 13 recalled chassis, according to TSE, meet industry standards per SAE J2318. TSE noted that these brake chambers are ?produced in Mexico and shipped to the U.S. for Spartan Motors only.?Irrespective of the differing views between TSE and Spartan, all chassis that could have been impacted by the reported noncompliance have been recalled. This EQ is closed.
A Equipment Query is a query about a piece of equipment — a component, a tire, a child seat — rather than a whole vehicle. 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: 2012 Spartan K2; 2012 Spartan MG.
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 EQ12004 a recall?
No. A equipment query 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 EQ12004 still open?
No. It closed on May 25, 2012 without a recall.
Which vehicles does EQ12004 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2012 Spartan K2, 2012 Spartan MG. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.