Road Rescue preliminary evaluation PE12037
Loss of Emergency Power & Accessories. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the cables on 1 model year (2008). Opened Dec 7, 2012, closed Jun 6, 2013 after 6 months. It led to safety recall 13V213000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn December 7, 2012 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE) on 2008 Model Year (MY) Road Rescue EV Ambulances. The PE was opened to determine whether a loss of emergency power and accessories to the patient cab area creates an unreasonable risk to patients or emergency personnel. By letter dated May 17, 2013, Wheeled Coach Industries, Inc. notified ODI that it had initiated a safety recall (NHTSA Recall No. 13V-213) to address a safety defect in the vehicles subject to this investigation. According to Wheeled Coach, a failure of the master power disconnect switch can occur, which terminates flow of 12vDC electrical service to the ambulance patient cab. Failure of the programming in the primary multiplex node can affect portions of 12vDC electrical service, including a complete loss of power to the ambulance patient cab. In the event of a failure, the accessory electrical functions such as siren, warning lights and interior patient compartment lights may be intermittent or fail to operate. Wheeled Coach has informed ODI that the chassis function and drivability are not affected. Wheeled Coach's recall action addresses the issues raised by this investigation and, as a result, this investigation is closed.
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: 2008 Road Rescue Ambulance.
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 PE12037 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 13V213000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE12037 still open?
No. It closed on Jun 6, 2013 and led to recall 13V213000.
Which vehicles does PE12037 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2008 Road Rescue Ambulance. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.