Honda preliminary evaluation PE11017
Low Beam Headlights Stop Working. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the interior/under dash on 3 model years (2002–2004). Opened Apr 29, 2011, closed Sep 23, 2011 after 5 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation based on 12 reports from consumers alleging the low beam headlights stopped working simultaneously. Several of the complainants reported that the headlight switch and/or its wiring harness connector required replacement to repair the low beam headlight circuit, and also reported that the switch and/or the wire harness connector were damaged from overheating. Based on information provided by Honda in response to ODI's Preliminary Evaluation information request, ODI is upgrading the investigation to EA11-012.
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 Honda CR-V; 2003 Honda CR-V; 2004 Honda CR-V.
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 PE11017 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 PE11017 still open?
No. It closed on Sep 23, 2011 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE11017 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 3 model years: 2002 Honda CR-V, 2003 Honda CR-V, 2004 Honda CR-V. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.