Chevrolet preliminary evaluation PE11040
Fuel Filler Pipe Corrosion/Leakage. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the delivery on 4 model years (2003). Opened Dec 14, 2011, closed Aug 16, 2012 after 8 months. It led to safety recall 12V388000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn August 7, 2012 General Motors (GM) notified the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) that it will conduct a safety related recall for model year (MY) 2003-2004 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vehicles. The recall affects vehicles equipped with a left side cargo door and that were originally sold or currently registered in the corrosion or salt-belt states of Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Dealers are to install a new fuel filler neck. Consumer notification letters will be sent in early October 2012, when sufficient parts are available. ODI has received 12 complaints alleging unique incidents of fuel leakage during refueling of a subject vehicle. Eleven of the complaints occurred on Chevrolet Express vans, and 1 of the complaints involved a GMC Savana. All vehicles were equipped with the left side cargo door option. For vehicles so equipped, water and road debris can become trapped in the protective conduit that covers the fuel filler pipe and may subsequently cause the pipe to corrode. If the corrosion creates a significant perforation in the pipe, fuel may leak onto the ground while refueling the vehicle. An illuminated Check Engine light (on some vehicles) or the presence of fuel odor may also act as precursors to fuel leakage. Fuel in the presence of an ignition source could cause a fire to occur. In their response to ODI's information request, GM reported 24 owner reports and 1 field report alleging fuel filler pipe failure/corrosion in the subject vehicle population. Six additional records were also provided that included the replacement of the fuel filler pipe, however not enough information existed to determine a relation to the alleged problem. After further review of the reports, ODI determined that a total of 27 individual GM reports were related to filler pipe corrosion. The complaints received from both ODI and GM primarily occurred in the corrosion states. During the investigation, the scope of the subject vehicle population was expanded to include MY 2004 Express vans, and MY 2003 and 2004 GMC Savana vans (with V6 engines) also equipped with left hand side door options, since the Savana vans also utilize the same, or substantially similar fuel filler pipe configuration. GM subsequently modified the design of the fuel filler pipe on vehicles equipped with side doors to correct the corrosion concern, so these vehicles do not have the defect issue. The affected vehicle population shown above reflects the total number of vehicles registered in the salt-belt states listed in GM's defect information report (DIR). Prior to the safety recall announcement, GM had issued a special coverage adjustment for vehicles in these states, during which a total of 771 repairs were made. Accordingly the vehicle population noted in the DIR reflects that of the remaining vehicle population. The investigation is closed based on GM's announcement of safety recall 12V388. The reports cited above can be reviewed online at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) numbers: 10463398, 10459328, 10456403, 10453725, 10445925, 10443143, 10441615, 10413568, 10413214, 10411911, 10353717, 10259377.
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 Chevrolet Express; 2003 Chevrolet Express 1500; 2003 Chevrolet Express 2500; 2003 Chevrolet Express 3500.
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 PE11040 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 12V388000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE11040 still open?
No. It closed on Aug 16, 2012 and led to recall 12V388000.
Which vehicles does PE11040 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 4 model years: 2003 Chevrolet Express, 2003 Chevrolet Express 1500, 2003 Chevrolet Express 2500, 2003 Chevrolet Express 3500. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.