Ford preliminary evaluation PE12025
Loss of Steering Control. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the column on 4 model years (2005–2008). Opened Sep 14, 2012, closed Apr 26, 2013 after 7 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn the subject vehicles, the mechanical connection between the steering wheel and rack and pinion steering assembly consist of the steering column and an upper and lower intermediate shaft. A disconnection of any of these components from the steering system can create a loss of steering control. Allegations of a loss of steering control incidents reviewed during the Preliminary Evaluation PE12-025 appear to be related to a separation of the upper and lower shafts within the steering the column. In response to the Office of Defects Investigation's (ODI) Information Request (IR) during PE12-025, Ford provided 2 complaints and 9 warranty claims related to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles (see Figure 1 for an exemplar picture).ODI has received 5 complaints related to the alleged defect, including 1 related to an incident reported in one of the Ford complaints. The incident rate involving subject vehicles is 7.7 per 100,000 vehicles (15 total incidents).Five of the 15 incident vehicles were associated with a prior history report of a frontal impact incident. ODI also analyzed field data for MY 2005 through MY 2008 non-CVPI Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis models and MY 2009 through MY 2011 CVPI models, which use a similar steering column and intermediate shaft design. This analysis identified 4 reports from Ford and 2 complaints to ODI, including 1 duplicative of a complaint provided by Ford, resulting in 5 total incidents and an incident rate of 1.1 per 100,000 vehicles for a vehicle population of approximately 436,000 vehicles. In the peer vehicle analysis, 4 of 5 incident vehicles had a prior history report of a frontal impact incident. ODI also identified 42 reports (39 reports associated with subject vehicles and 3 reports associated peer vehicles) of the lower steering column shaft bearing displacement that did not result in complete separations of the upper to lower steering column shafts (see Figure 2). Vehicles with this condition were identified during inspections of police fleets or during vehicle repairs for complaints of looseness, binding or noise in the steering system while turning. This Preliminary Evaluation has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA13-004) has been opened to further assess the scope, frequency, consequence, and contributing factors to the steering column shaft separations. The VOQs associated with the opening of this investigation and a loss of steering control are: 10347404, 10474596, 10475950, 10477192, and 10479893.
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 resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
- Closing resume — ODI’s own summary of why it closed this, and what it concluded.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2012 | |
| Closing resume | INCLA | 2012 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2012 | |
| Manufacturer's response — data | INRD | 2012 | 2 files 12 |
| Manufacturer's response — full submission | INRL | 2012 |
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
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: 2005 Ford Crown Victoria; 2006 Ford Crown Victoria; 2007 Ford Crown Victoria; 2008 Ford Crown Victoria.
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 PE12025 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 PE12025 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 26, 2013 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE12025 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 4 model years: 2005 Ford Crown Victoria, 2006 Ford Crown Victoria, 2007 Ford Crown Victoria, 2008 Ford Crown Victoria. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.