Jeep preliminary evaluation PE11013
Rear Suspension Control Arm Failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the rear on 4 model years (2002–2005). Opened Apr 18, 2011, closed Sep 15, 2011 after 5 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedDuring Preliminary Evaluation (PE11-013), the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) conducted an analysis of consumer field data from its Vehicle Owner Questionnaire (VOQ) database and from complaint data submitted to ODI by Chrysler. ODI's analysis of VOQ data identified 13 complaints alleging failure of either the right or left rear lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. All of these complaints were associated with vehicles originally sold or registered in a salt belt state (for the purposes of this investigation, 'salt belt' includes Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia).All of the complaints were associated with vehicles manufactured in model years (MY) 2004 or 2005. Three of these complaints also allege a loss of vehicle control due to the rear lower control arm failure. No complaints related to the alleged defect were identified on vehicles manufactured during MYs 2002 or 2003. Similarly an analysis of Chrysler complaint data identified 11 complaints (2 of which are duplicative of VOQs) alleging failure of a rear lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. All 11 of these complaints were from consumers operating vehicles in a salt belt state and vehicles manufactured in either MY 2004 or 2005. Three of these complaints (not duplicative of VOQs) also allege a loss of vehicle control due to the rear lower control arm failure. The original scope of PE11-013 included MY 2002 through 2005 Jeep Liberty vehicles as they were in the same generation. In response to an Information Request (IR) letter sent by ODI, Chrysler provided information and sample components identifying a substantial design change of the rear lower control arms after MY 2003 and beginning with MY 2004. Analysis of complaint data from both data sources (ODI and Chrysler) did not identify any applicable complaints (lower control arm failures due to excessive corrosion) from vehicles manufactured during MY 2002 or 2003. Similarly no complaints from either data source were found in states outside of those identified as salt belt states. Chrysler stated in its IR letter response that its investigation and analysis is ongoing to determine the scope, possible root causes of the unusual lower control arm corrosion, and define possible consequences to motor vehicle safety. Based on ODI's data analysis from both sources (ODI and Chrysler data), this investigation has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA11-013) focused on vehicles originally sold or registered in a salt belt state and produced during MY 2004 and 2005, to further assess the scope and potential safety consequences of the alleged defect.
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: 2002 Jeep Liberty; 2003 Jeep Liberty; 2004 Jeep Liberty; 2005 Jeep Liberty.
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 PE11013 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 PE11013 still open?
No. It closed on Sep 15, 2011 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE11013 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 4 model years: 2002 Jeep Liberty, 2003 Jeep Liberty, 2004 Jeep Liberty, 2005 Jeep Liberty. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.