Thomas Built Buses preliminary evaluation PE09021
SIDE WHEELCHAIR DOOR AJAR. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the door on 2 model years (2009–2010). Opened May 4, 2009, closed Aug 7, 2009 after 3 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedTHIS INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED AFTER ODI LEARNED THAT DURING IN SERVICE INSPECTIONS CONDUCTED BY THE NEW YORK DOT, THEY IDENTIFIED BUSES ON WHICH THE SIDE WHEELCHAIR DOORWOULD BECOME AJAR DURING THE DRIVING PORTION OF THE INSPECTION. ALLEGEDLY, UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, WHEN THE DOOR BECOMES AJAR, THE SERVICE BRAKES APPLY AND THE BUS CANNOT BE MOVED UNTIL THE DRIVER GETS OUT OF THE BUS AND SECURES THE DOOR. DAIMLER STATES THAT THE ISSUE STEMS FROM A MISADJUSTED DOOR LATCH SWITCH WHICH RESULTS IN AN OVERLY SENSITIVE AND FALSE LATCH SIGNAL. THIS CONDITION WOULD CAUSE THE BUZZER IN THE DRIVER'S COMPARTMENT TO SOUND, BUT WOULD NOT CAUSE THE VEHICLE'S BRAKES TO BE APPLIED WHILE THE BUS IS BEING OPERATED. FIELD WORK SHOWS THE DOOR IS NOT ACTUALLY OPEN, RATHER IT IS IN A POSITION THAT WOULD ACTIVATE THE SWITCH AND SEND A FALSE DOOR AJAR WARNING. THIS WAS THE RESULT OF AN IMPROPERLY ADJUSTED DOOR LATCH INTERLOCK SWITCH. FIELD WORK ALSO SHOWS THAT THE BRAKES WILL NOT APPLY UNLESS THE DRIVER SHIFTS THE VEHICLE OUT OF DRIVE INTO NEUTRAL AND IS GOING LESS THAN 5 MILES PER HOUR. DAIMLER REPORTED THATALLDOORS AND SWITCHES ON THE NEW YORKFLEET HAVE BEEN INSPECTED AND ADJUSTED AS NEEDED. BASED ON DAIMLER'S DATA AND FURTHER REVIEW INTO THIS ISSUE, A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF THE AGENCY RESOURCES ARE NOT CURRENTLY WARRANTED. THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT NO SAFETY DEFECT EXISTS. THE AGENCY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION ON THE VEHICLES IF WARRANTED.
A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. 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: 2009 Thomas Built Buses EF; 2010 Thomas Built Buses EF.
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 PE09021 a recall?
No. A preliminary evaluation 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 PE09021 still open?
No. It closed on Aug 7, 2009 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE09021 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2009 Thomas Built Buses EF, 2010 Thomas Built Buses EF. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.