Freightliner preliminary evaluation PE11012
Fontaine Ultra LT 5th Wheel False Latch. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the fifth wheel assembly on 4 model years (2011–2012). Opened Apr 15, 2011, closed Jun 27, 2011 after 2 months. It led to safety recall 11V289000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedDTNA submitted a 573 Recall notice (11V-289) prior to the IR response date and therefore was granted permission to forgo submission of the IR response. Freightliner reported that Fontaine's TSB issued in March had resulted in the remedy of 55 percent of all subject vehicles with an additional 33% scheduled by the time of their 573 submission. Freightliner will issue another notification 1 July if 100% of the subject population is not remedied by that time. ODI is aware that the Ultra LT 5th wheel was also installed on several other OEM's vehicles. ODI will work with Fontaine and the manufacturers to ensure that the remaining vehicles are identified and remedied.
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: 2011 Freightliner Cascadia; 2012 Freightliner Cascadia; 2011 Freightliner Coronado; 2011 Freightliner M2.
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 PE11012 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 11V289000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE11012 still open?
No. It closed on Jun 27, 2011 and led to recall 11V289000.
Which vehicles does PE11012 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 4 model years: 2011 Freightliner Cascadia, 2012 Freightliner Cascadia, 2011 Freightliner Coronado, 2011 Freightliner M2. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.