Ford and Mazda preliminary evaluation PE12019
Stuck Throttle. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the cables on 8 model years (2001–2004). Opened Jul 17, 2012, closed Feb 21, 2013 after 7 months. It led to safety recall 12V353000, 12V357000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn a letter dated July 25, 2012 Ford Motor Company (Ford) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR), NHTSA Recall No. 12V-353 to NHTSA identifying a safety defect involving inadequate clearance between the engine cover and the speed control cable connector, which could result in a stuck throttle condition. The vehicles involved are model year (MY) 2001 through MY 2004 Ford Escape vehicles equipped with 3.0L V6 engines and speed (cruise) control. A redesigned engine cover was implemented in production beginning in MY 2005, which provided additional clearance of the speed control cable to the engine cover. Similarly on July 26, 2012 Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) on behalf of Mazda Motor Corporation of Hiroshima, Japan submitted a DIR to NHTSA, NHTSA Recall No. 12V-357, identifying the safety defect described above in MY 2001 through MY 2006 and MY 2008 Mazda Tribute vehicles (no Tribute vehicles were produced in MY 2007) equipped with 3.0L V6 engines and speed control. Unlike the Ford Escape recall scope, the Mazda Tribute scope is broader as Mazda Tribute vehicles incorporated a similar engine cover design as related to the clearance to the speed control cable in MYs 2001 through 2006 and MY 2008. The failure report summary above reflects reports identified by ODI in review of data submitted to the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) and reports submitted to Ford and to Mazda. ODI identified 44 reports likely related to the safety defect described in the DIRs; 39 involving Ford Escape vehicles and 5 involving Mazda Tribute vehicles. This Preliminary Evaluation is closed. The ODI report cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) numbers: 10116267, 10128545, 10128681, 10137520, 10153327, 10165007, 10199728, 10234846, 10335779, 10466261, and 10468307.
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: 2001 Ford Escape; 2002 Ford Escape; 2003 Ford Escape; 2004 Ford Escape; 2001 Mazda Tribute; 2002 Mazda Tribute; 2003 Mazda Tribute; 2004 Mazda Tribute.
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 PE12019 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 12V353000, 12V357000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE12019 still open?
No. It closed on Feb 21, 2013 and led to recall 12V353000, 12V357000.
Which vehicles does PE12019 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 8 model years: 2001 Ford Escape, 2002 Ford Escape, 2003 Ford Escape, 2004 Ford Escape, 2001 Mazda Tribute, 2002 Mazda Tribute 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.