Thomas Built Buses preliminary evaluation PE09050
REAR SPRING TRAILING ARM BOLT LOOSE. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the hanger/bracket on 4 model years (2008–2011). Opened Oct 7, 2009, closed Jan 7, 2010 after 3 months. It led to safety recall 09V458000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedTHIS INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED AFTER ODI WAS INFORMED BY TWO SCHOOL BUS FLEETS THAT THEY HAD FOUND LOOSE BOLTS ON THE REAR SUSPENSION TRAILING ARMS OF THE AIR RIDE SUSPENSION ON SEVERAL OF THEIR BUSES. ODI VISITED THE LOCAL DEALER AND CONFIRMED THE LOOSE BOLTS. IF THESE BOLTS FAIL AND SEPARATE, THE REAR SUSPENSION CAN SHIFT, ALLOWING THE REAR END HOUSING TO MOVE FORWARD OR BACKWARD. THIS COULD HAVE A DETRIMENTAL IMPACT ON VEHICLE CONTROL. IN LATE NOVEMBER2009, DAIMLERFILED A SAFETY RECALL (09V-458) OUTLINING THEIRREMEDY PROGRAM. DAIMLER WILL INSPECT AND TORQUE ALL THE REAR SUSPENSION FASTENERS AS NEEDED. A COPY OF THE RECALL NOTIFICATION IS ATTACHED. THE ACTION TAKEN BY DAIMLER RESOLVES 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: 2008 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2; 2009 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2; 2010 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2; 2011 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2.
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 PE09050 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 09V458000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE09050 still open?
No. It closed on Jan 7, 2010 and led to recall 09V458000.
Which vehicles does PE09050 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 4 model years: 2008 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2, 2009 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2, 2010 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2, 2011 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.