Freightliner preliminary evaluation PE13001
SmartPlex Multiplexer Module Failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the electrical system on 1 model year (2013). Opened Jan 15, 2013, closed Apr 11, 2013 after 3 months. It led to safety recall 13V074000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received Early Warning Reporting (EWR) data from the manufacturer that indicated some number of subject vehicles may allegedly experience a SmartPlex electronic multiplexing switch hub module failure. This failure may result in inadvertent activation of accessory equipment such as external lighting, outriggers, crane, or power takeoff. By letter dated March 1, 2013, Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) notified ODI that it has initiated a safety recall (NHTSA Recall No. 13V-074 and DTNA Recall No. FL-639) to address a safety defect in approximately 161 model year (MY) 2012 through 2013 Freightliner 108SD, 114SD and Business Class M2 trucks. The affected population was manufactured from December 3, 2011 through October 12, 2012 and originally equipped with a certain SmartPlex electronic multiplexing switch hub module with a suspect serial number. According to DTNA, unpassivated flux residue may be present on the printed circuit board assembly in the switch hub module. Under certain heat and humidity conditions, this flux residue may lead to intermittent short circuits, thereby activating certain outputs in the switch hub module. According to DTNA, they identified the issue with the switch hub module on vehicles undergoing the assembly process. DTNA states they have not received any customer or field reports related to the switch hub module. To date, ODI is unaware of any switch hub module failures on in-service vehicles. DTNA will notify affected owners by mail no later than April 29, 2013. Affected vehicles will be inspected and if the switch hub module is in the suspect range the module will be replaced. Repairs will be performed by DTNA authorized service facilities. Accordingly, 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: 2013 Freightliner Business Class M2.
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 PE13001 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 13V074000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE13001 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 11, 2013 and led to recall 13V074000.
Which vehicles does PE13001 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2013 Freightliner Business Class M2. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.