Ford and Mercury preliminary evaluation PE11039
Corrosion of Third-Row Seat Attachment. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the latches/locks/linkages on 2 model years (2004). Opened Dec 21, 2011, closed Apr 27, 2012 after 4 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedODI has received 18 complaints on the subject vehicles from the salt belt states that allege severe corrosion at the rear wheel wells. Additionally, ODI identified 4 similar reports from Ford's response to the investigation. Ford submitted a total of 10 reports to ODI (6 of 10 Ford reports are duplicates of ODI reports).The complaints indicated difficulty or inability to latch the rear seat as some of the complaints reported the entire anchor plate completely detached from the vehicle (rear wheel well).The first report of this condition was received in March 2011 and subsequent reporting frequency indicates a potentially increasing trend over time. ODI seeks to evaluate the potential occupant safety risks resulting from structurally degraded seat anchorages. In addition to the subject vehicles, ODI also will collect and review information on MY 2005-2007 Freestar/Monterey vehicles that appear to have a seat design identical to the subject vehicles. To date, ODI is not aware of any similar complaints on the MY 2005-2007 vehicles. ODI also will collect and review information on Freestar/Monterey vehicles used outside of the salt belt states. This Preliminary Evaluation has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA12-003) to further assess whether a safety defect exists in the subject vehicles. The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) numbers: 10454977, 10453826, 10452933, 10450587, 10450559, 10450295, 10446564, 10442809, 10441641, 10441489, 10440616, 10438529, 10436592, 10433928, 10424850, 10420028, 10410491 and 10399896.
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: 2004 Ford Freestar; 2004 Mercury Monterey.
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 PE11039 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 PE11039 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 27, 2012 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE11039 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2004 Ford Freestar, 2004 Mercury Monterey. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.