Buell preliminary evaluation PE10004
SUDDEN FUEL EXPULSION. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the tank assembly on 6 model years (2008–2010). Opened Jan 25, 2010, closed May 10, 2010 after 3 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedWe opened this PE based on a single complaint of rapid fuel expulsion while re-fueling from the owner of a Buell 1125CR. After opening this PE, we contacted other owners, Buell dealer service departments and monitored activity of various Buell-related web forums. While Harley Davidson (Buell was a subsidiary) has no owner complaints, it did receive four warranty claims related to this issue. Two involve the fuel line check valve, one a pinched fuel vent hose, and one saturated charcoal cannister due to over-fill. Currently, the data does not indicate a trending safety defect exists. We will continue to monitor this issue and take action as appropriate.
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 Buell 1125; 2009 Buell 1125CR; 2010 Buell 1125CR; 2008 Buell 1125R; 2009 Buell 1125R; 2010 Buell 1125R.
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 PE10004 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 PE10004 still open?
No. It closed on May 10, 2010 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE10004 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 6 model years: 2009 Buell 1125, 2009 Buell 1125CR, 2010 Buell 1125CR, 2008 Buell 1125R, 2009 Buell 1125R, 2010 Buell 1125R. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.