Ducati preliminary evaluation PE10044
Motorcycle coolant leak...radiator. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the radiator assembly on 2 model years (2008–2009). Opened Nov 4, 2010, closed Feb 7, 2011 after 3 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedAfter opening this PE, ODI gathered information from involved owners, Ducati dealers, and Ducati North America personnel. We were particularly interested in ascertaining how much hot coolant was leaking and whether it had the potential to burn the rider and/or wash the rear tire contact patch. On November 23, 2010, using a complaint radiator installed in a MY 2010 Ducati 848, we observed the subject leakage noting its consistency with what we were told by various dealers and owners. Over the course of 15 minutes, after reaching operating temperature, we noted the volume of leaked coolant to be de minimis. In the absence of alleged lower extremity burns and/or loss of rear tire traction (let alone, crashes), this supports a finding that no defect trend currently exists involving alleged coolant leakage from the subject radiator(s).Accordingly, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. The Agency will continue to monitor complaints and other information relating to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles and take further action if warranted in the future.
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: 2008 Ducati 848; 2009 Ducati 848.
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 PE10044 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 PE10044 still open?
No. It closed on Feb 7, 2011 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE10044 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2008 Ducati 848, 2009 Ducati 848. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.