Thomas Built Buses and Thomas preliminary evaluation PE11032
Brake Line Chafing. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the hoses, lines/piping, and fittings on 5 model years (2005–2009). Opened Sep 12, 2011, closed Jan 30, 2012 after 5 months. It led to safety recall 11V505000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a complaint alleging brake fluid loss caused by a ruptured brake line that had chafed against a wire harness in the engine compartment of the complainant?s vehicle. It was determined that the chafing was caused by contact between the convoluted tubing covering the fuel supply line and the metal brake lines. This issue only affects units with a Caterpillar (CAT) C7 engine and a fuel water separator mounted in a specific location on the frame rail. Not all units with CAT engines were equipped with fuel water separators, but all units with CAT engines and a fuel water separator have them mounted in the same location. Units with other engines have a different fuel supply line routing and are not affected by this defect. Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) submitted a recall notice on 18 October 2011 involving seven-hundred (700) model year (MY) 2005-2009 vehicles. In its notice, DTNA provided an explanation that MY2010 vehicles were not built with CAT C7 engines and, that of the model years that were built with C7 engines, only 700 had fuel water separators. All 700 such vehicles are included in this recall. DTNA's announcement of a safety recall addresses ODI's concerns. The recall remedy involves replacement of any damaged brake lines and rerouting as needed. This investigation is closed. The ODI report cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) number: 10383939
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: 2005 Thomas C2; 2006 Thomas Built Buses C2; 2007 Thomas Built Buses C2; 2008 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2; 2009 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2.
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 PE11032 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 11V505000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE11032 still open?
No. It closed on Jan 30, 2012 and led to recall 11V505000.
Which vehicles does PE11032 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 5 model years: 2005 Thomas C2, 2006 Thomas Built Buses C2, 2007 Thomas Built Buses C2, 2008 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2, 2009 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.