Toyota preliminary evaluation PE10006
Braking Performance, Hybrid Vehicle. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the control unit/module on 1 model year (2010). Opened Feb 3, 2010, closed Jul 12, 2010 after 5 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe subject vehicles are the first model year of a new design generation of the Prius model line. The vehicles are powered by a hybrid drive system that uses both a regenerative braking system, which converts vehicle momentum into electrical energy to be stored in onboard batteries, and a hydraulic brake system more typical of the brake system used on non-hybrid vehicles. As is the case for other similarly designed hybrid vehicles the interaction and management of the two braking systems during ABS braking is complex and requires a sophisticated control system. In a February 9, 2010 Defect Information Report, Toyota advised the agency of its plans to conduct a safety recall to address inconsistent brake feel and increased stopping distances that may occur during braking events requiring ABS operation, such as would occur when braking on rough or low friction road surfaces. Toyota will reprogram the ABS control unit with improved software that addresses this condition. Based on Toyota's action the investigation is closed. ODI will continue to monitor the subject vehicles' performance and will take further action as future circumstances dictate.
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: 2010 Toyota Prius.
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 PE10006 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 PE10006 still open?
No. It closed on Jul 12, 2010 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE10006 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2010 Toyota Prius. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.