Thomas Built Buses preliminary evaluation PE10003
Inoperative 8-Way Warning Lamps. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the electrical on 4 model years (2008–2011). Opened Jan 20, 2010, closed Apr 5, 2010 after 2 months. It led to safety recall 10V100000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThis investigation was opened after ODI received a complaint from a school bus fleet stating they had experienced warning lamps failing upon opening the front entrance door. After completing their evaluation, Daimler Trucks North America, the parent company of Freightliner and Thomas Built Buses, decided to conduct a safety recall to replace the reed switch on the front entrance door with a more robust switch. All repairs will be made by Thomas Built Buses dealers and direct warranty customers. The action taken by Daimler and Thomas Built Buses 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 PE10003 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 10V100000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE10003 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 5, 2010 and led to recall 10V100000.
Which vehicles does PE10003 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.