Kia preliminary evaluation PE10046
Transmission Shift Cable Detachment. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the gear position indication (prndl) on 3 model years (2006–2008). Opened Nov 22, 2010, closed Apr 5, 2011 after 4 months. It led to safety recall 11V153000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedDuring manufacture the automatic transmission shift cables in certain subject vehicles were installed incorrectly causing extra tension on the cable. This condition can cause the shift cable to detach from the gear shifter assembly's dowel pin preventing the transmission from being shifted. The shift lever can be moved into the Park (P) position while the vehicle transmission is still in the last used gear before detachment. If this were to occur, and if the driver leaves the vehicle without engaging the parking brake, the vehicle may inadvertently roll away thus creating the risk of a crash. Kia is conducting a safety recall (11V-153) to correct the subject problem in approximately 70,115 model year (MY) 2006 through 2008 Kia Optima vehicles produced from 9/29/2005 to 6/13/2007. Kia has stated that the early MY 2006 Optima vehicles built before 9/29/2005 had different automatic transmission shift cables and shift levers than the subsequent MY 2006 through early MY 2008 Optima vehicles built up to 6/13/2007. Beginning 6/14/2007, Kia changed the assembly process for the shift cables to ensure correct installation. As for the recall remedy, Kia dealers will inspect the shift cables for correct installation, and re-install them, if necessary. For more details on the recall, see NHTSA recall 11V-153. 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: 2006 Kia Optima; 2007 Kia Optima; 2008 Kia Optima.
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 PE10046 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 11V153000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE10046 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 5, 2011 and led to recall 11V153000.
Which vehicles does PE10046 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 3 model years: 2006 Kia Optima, 2007 Kia Optima, 2008 Kia Optima. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.