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 resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
- Closing resume — ODI’s own summary of why it closed this, and what it concluded.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2010 | |
| Closing resume | INCLA | 2010 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2010 |
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
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.