Nissan and Infiniti preliminary evaluation PE11004
Frame/Body Structure Corrosion. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the column on 16 model years (1996–2004). Opened Jan 28, 2011, closed Jun 30, 2011 after 5 months. It led to safety recall 11V244000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn their Defect Information Report (DIR) of April 20, 2011, Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) notified NHTSA that it would conduct a safety recall of certain 1996-2004 Nissan Pathfinder and 1997-2003 Infinity QX4 vehicles to repair corrosion damage to the driver's side front strut tower. The vehicles included in the recall are those that were originally sold, or are currently registered in salt belt states including Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. The DIR states in part, ...the strut housing may crack and pull away from the inner hood ledge assembly. This could lead to the strut housing panel separating and contacting the steering column lower shaft. Contact with the steering column lower shaft can cause steering difficulties and may require an increase in steering effort by the driver. If the steering column lower shaft completely fractured it would result in a total loss of steering control. In some cases, the strut housing panel can contact or affect adjacent brake system components. Complainants reported experiencing either steering or brake system issues, and in some cases, both. Nissan dealer's will inspect the strut housing and, based on the level of corrosion found, make an assessment as to how to remedy the vehicle (see defect information report for additional details). Brake system components adjacent to, and in the area of, the strut tower (i.e., brake master cylinder, left front brake line, ABS wire harness, etc.) will also be inspected.
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: 1997 Infiniti QX4; 1998 Infiniti QX4; 1999 Infiniti QX4; 2000 Infiniti QX4; 2001 Infiniti QX4; 2002 Infiniti QX4; 2003 Infiniti QX4; 1996 Nissan Pathfinder; 1997 Nissan Pathfinder; 1998 Nissan Pathfinder; 1999 Nissan Pathfinder; 2000 Nissan Pathfinder; 2001 Nissan Pathfinder; 2002 Nissan Pathfinder; 2003 Nissan Pathfinder; 2004 Nissan Pathfinder.
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 PE11004 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 11V244000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE11004 still open?
No. It closed on Jun 30, 2011 and led to recall 11V244000.
Which vehicles does PE11004 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 16 model years: 1997 Infiniti QX4, 1998 Infiniti QX4, 1999 Infiniti QX4, 2000 Infiniti QX4, 2001 Infiniti QX4, 2002 Infiniti QX4 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.