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NHTSA defect investigation · Equipment Query

Hercules equipment query EQ15001

Hercules All Trac A/T tires. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this equipment query about the tires. Opened Mar 10, 2015, closed Oct 23, 2015 after 7 months. It led to safety recall 15T011000. became a recall

What NHTSA says

Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filed

The Closing Resume Summary is attached.

Stage Equipment Query Opened Mar 10, 2015 Closed Oct 23, 2015 Manufacturer Hercules Tire & Rubber Company Components Tires Resulting recall 15T011000

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 next

An 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 them

NHTSA filed this action against Hercules Tire & Rubber Company without naming a model year — an equipment or manufacturer-level query.

Common questions

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Is EQ15001 a recall?

No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 15T011000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.

Is EQ15001 still open?

No. It closed on Oct 23, 2015 and led to recall 15T011000.

Which vehicles does EQ15001 cover?

NHTSA filed it against Hercules Tire & Rubber Company without naming a model year.