Thomas Built Buses preliminary evaluation PE09023
EMERGENCY WINDOW HANDLES BREAK. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the structure on 1 model year (2010). Opened May 6, 2009, closed Aug 5, 2009 after 3 months. It led to safety recall 09V287000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedTHIS INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED AFTER ODI WAS INFORMED BY THE NEW YORK STATE DOT THAT HANDLES ON THE SIDE EMERGENCY PUSH OUT WINDOWS WERE BEING SNAPPED OFF AS PERSONNEL WERE PERFORMING TRANSIT BUS INSPECTIONS. DAIMLER'S INTERNAL INVESTIGATION FOUND THAT BUSES BUILT FROM OCTOBER 30, 2008 TO MARCH 25, 2009 HAD ASSEMBLY LINE PERSONNEL UNFAMILIAR WITH THE CORRECT WINDOW INSTALLATION PROCEDURES. THESE BUSES HAD WINDOWS INSTALLED WITHOUT PROPER SHIMMING, POTENTIALLY RESULTING IN BINDING OF THE WINDOW WHEN ATTEMPTING TO OPEN. DAIMLER HAS FILED A SAFETY RECALL TO INSPECT ALL AFFECTED BUSES AND WILL INSTALL SHIMS AS REQUIRED, ENSURING PROPER OPERATION OF THE WINDOW. THE ACTION TAKEN BY DAIMLER RESOLVES THE ISSUES RAISED BY THIS INVESTIGATION. ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.
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 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: 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 PE09023 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 09V287000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE09023 still open?
No. It closed on Aug 5, 2009 and led to recall 09V287000.
Which vehicles does PE09023 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 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.