KME preliminary evaluation PE11027
Fire truck aerial ladder failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the equipment on 10 model years (2003–2011). Opened Aug 16, 2011, closed Feb 17, 2012 after 6 months. It led to safety recall 12V027000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn August 16th 2011 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE11-027) on Kovatch Mobile Equipment (KME) Aerial Cat 2003 - 2011 Fire trucks concerning an alleged failure related to a fire truck's aerial ladder. The electronic-over-hydraulic controller that is used to move the aerial bucket fails, causing an unintended movement of the aerial device on certain KME aerial ladder/platform trucks. This unintended movement of the aerial ladder bucket constitutes an unreasonable risk to safety as the movement may occur in an unintended direction possibly near electrical power lines, structures, or a fire. The manufacturer will conduct a safety recall. The remedy KME will implement updates the software for the controller, including a triple redundancy system. One of the systems disables all platform aerial movement controls immediately upon actuation of the dead man's switch at the turntable. This PE is closed with a Safety Recall (12V-027).The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) number: 10418106
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: 2003 KME Aerialcat; 2004 KME Aerialcat; 2005 KME Aerialcat; 2006 KME Aerialcat; 2007 KME Aerialcat; 2008 KME Aerialcat; 2009 KME Aerialcat; 2010 KME Aerialcat; 2011 KME Aerialcat; 2008 KME Ariel CAT.
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 PE11027 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 12V027000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE11027 still open?
No. It closed on Feb 17, 2012 and led to recall 12V027000.
Which vehicles does PE11027 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 10 model years: 2003 KME Aerialcat, 2004 KME Aerialcat, 2005 KME Aerialcat, 2006 KME Aerialcat, 2007 KME Aerialcat, 2008 KME Aerialcat 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.