Chevrolet, GMC and 1 others preliminary evaluation PE10049
Engine Cooling Fan Fracture. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the fan on 6 model years (2006). Opened Dec 7, 2010, closed Feb 17, 2012 after 14 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedPast recalls and complaint experience indicate that the disintegration of vehicular components (not necessarily limited to fan blade assemblies) rotating at or near engine speeds can pose a hazard to individuals in proximity to the affected vehicle. This risk has frequently prompted responsive corrective field actions. This investigation (PE10-049) has not identified any (a) fatalities; (b) injuries; and/or (c) ?close-call incidents which, if reported, might provide an indication of the nature and severity of injuries which may occur if a fan blade installed in subject GMT vehicles were to fracture. Although ODI remains concerned about the potential for injury, ODI is closing this investigation because (1) the absence of an identified root cause or causal factors; and (2) the modest and declining level of complaint activity associated with fan blade breakage which indicates that the potential risk of injury is also small and diminishing. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety related defect exists. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by circumstances. Further details are provided in the attached Executive Summary and ODI Technical Report Summary for PE10-049.
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: 2006 Chevrolet W4500; 2006 Chevrolet W5500; 2006 GMC C4500; 2006 GMC C5500; 2006 Isuzu 4500 Series; 2006 Isuzu 5000 Series.
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 PE10049 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 PE10049 still open?
No. It closed on Feb 17, 2012 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE10049 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 6 model years: 2006 Chevrolet W4500, 2006 Chevrolet W5500, 2006 GMC C4500, 2006 GMC C5500, 2006 Isuzu 4500 Series, 2006 Isuzu 5000 Series. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.