Mercedes-Benz preliminary evaluation PE10017
Driver Air Bag Circuit High Resistance. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the frontal on 16 model years (2005–2006). Opened May 14, 2010, closed Nov 24, 2010 after 6 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedMercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) has reported a high number of warranty claims for air bag warning lamp illumination due to a diagnostic fault code 9103 or 9123 indicating a high resistance in the driver's frontal air bag firing circuit. MBUSA's testing and evaluation have shown that this condition is the result of a faulty connector (specifically, improper wire crimp) but that it will not prevent proper deployment of the driver's frontal air bag. The faulty connector can cause the air bag circuit resistance levels to exceed the threshold that illuminates the air bag warning lamp, but they do not exceed a higher limit at which proper deployment of the air bag may no longer occur. The agency believes that further expenditure of agency resources does not appear to be warranted at this time. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists. The agency will monitor the issue and reserves the right to take future action if warranted by the circumstances. During the investigation, ODI learned that MBUSA will initiate a warranty extension program to address the faulty connectors in subject model year 2005 and 2006 E-Class and other MBUSA model/model year vehicles. This action will extend the warranty coverage for this issue to 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first. MBUSA will notify all affected vehicle owners of this action. A bulletin describing this program is available in the investigative file.
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: 2005 Mercedes-Benz AMG E55; 2006 Mercedes-Benz AMG E55; 2005 Mercedes-Benz E; 2006 Mercedes-Benz E; 2005 Mercedes-Benz E Class; 2006 Mercedes-Benz E Class; 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320; 2006 Mercedes-Benz E320; 2005 Mercedes-Benz E350; 2006 Mercedes-Benz E350; 2005 Mercedes-Benz E500; 2006 Mercedes-Benz E500; 2005 Mercedes-Benz E550; 2006 Mercedes-Benz E550; 2005 Mercedes-Benz E63; 2006 Mercedes-Benz E63.
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 PE10017 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 PE10017 still open?
No. It closed on Nov 24, 2010 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE10017 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 16 model years: 2005 Mercedes-Benz AMG E55, 2006 Mercedes-Benz AMG E55, 2005 Mercedes-Benz E, 2006 Mercedes-Benz E, 2005 Mercedes-Benz E Class, 2006 Mercedes-Benz E Class 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.