Chevrolet and Pontiac preliminary evaluation PE10005
Electric Power Steering Failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the electric power assist system on 11 model years (2005–2010). Opened Jan 27, 2010, closed Jul 19, 2010 after 6 months. It led to safety recall 10V073000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn a March 1, 2010 letter, General Motors Corporation (GM) provided a defect information report to NHTSA regarding a problem that could result in sudden loss of power steering assist in certain model year (MY) 2005 through 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt and MY 2007 through 2010 Pontiac G5 vehicles equipped with electric power steering (EPS).The letter indicates that the loss of steering assist could occur at any time while driving and that, once assist is lost, a message is displayed on the Driver Information Center (DIC) and a chime sounds to inform the driver. The letter further states that steering control is maintained in manual mode, but would require greater driver effort at low vehicle speeds. In the next ignition cycle, power assist is typically regained and the DIC message is no longer displayed. GM's letter identifies the root cause of the EPS failure as the EPS motor and indicates that production of a new motor started in December 2009. GM's recall repair procedure instructs dealers to replace the EPS motor in all recalled vehicles. ODI's analysis of all information available related to sudden loss of EPS assist while driving in the MY 2005 through 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt vehicles shows current complaint and warranty rates of 323/100,000 vehicles and 0.4% respectively. In response to ODI's request for information, GM identified 81 complaints where a crash was claimed that may be related to loss of EPS assist. ODI's analysis of all crash claims was based on verifiable factors such as; whether a loss of EPS was indicated at the time of the crash by a chime or malfunction indicator lamp or if a EPS related component malfunction was identified after the crash occurred. With this method ODI identified 36 possible crashes related to EPS failure. GM assessed crash claims based on the available facts and excluded crash claims that indicated that the vehicle was travelling at speeds in the range of 30 mph or greater. GM said that it believes if power assist is lost while a vehicle is moving at speeds in the range of 30 mph or greater there is a small difference in steering efforts perceived in subjective evaluations at those speeds and it is unlikely to lead to loss of vehicle control. Based on GM's safety recall, 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: 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt; 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt; 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt; 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt; 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt; 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt SS; 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt SS; 2007 Pontiac G5; 2008 Pontiac G5; 2009 Pontiac G5; 2010 Pontiac G5.
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 PE10005 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 10V073000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE10005 still open?
No. It closed on Jul 19, 2010 and led to recall 10V073000.
Which vehicles does PE10005 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 11 model years: 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt SS and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.