Adaptive Equipment preliminary evaluation PE12024
Aux. Brake Failure - Adaptive Equipment. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the equipment adaptive/mobility. Opened Aug 17, 2012, closed Sep 13, 2012 after 27 days. It led to safety recall 12E034000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe subject electronic gas/brake system allows vehicle operation by a driver's hands instead of their feet and is equipped with a redundant (auxiliary) brake system so that a failure of the primary braking system does not result in a total loss of brakes. The cited incident involved a situation where the driver was unaware that auxiliary system was malfunctioning and, when the primary system failed, she was unable to stop the vehicle. The recall will remedy this issue by retrofitting system-equipped vehicles with a warning protocol to alert drivers that the auxiliary system is fully operational. The recall (12E-034) was submitted after agency discussions with Automotive Innovations Inc. staff and before an Information Request letter was sent.
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 themNHTSA filed this action against Automotive Innovations, Inc. without naming a model year — an equipment or manufacturer-level query.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE12024 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 12E034000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE12024 still open?
No. It closed on Sep 13, 2012 and led to recall 12E034000.
Which vehicles does PE12024 cover?
NHTSA filed it against Automotive Innovations, Inc. without naming a model year.