Ford preliminary evaluation PE13008
High exhaust temperature causing fire. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the exhaust system on 1 model year (2012). Opened Mar 29, 2013, closed Sep 3, 2013 after 5 months. It led to safety recall 13V380000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedDuring communications with Government Services Administration (GSA) staff, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) was made aware of a 2012 Ford F350 utility truck vehicle fire. The fire allegedly resulted from high exhaust temperatures igniting materials within the passenger side, lower rear storage compartment of the Manning utility body. As a result of this incident, an equipment alert (USFS-EA-2012-01) was issued by GSA to operators of GSA-owned fleet vehicles equipped with the subject Manning utility body instructing them not to store flammable liquids or combustible materials in the subject storage compartment. The San Dimas Technology and Development Center (SDTDC) was contracted by GSA to conduct testing of the Manning utility body to determine the cause of the fire. Testing performed by SDTDC engineers found temperatures in the subject utility body compartment well above those of peer vehicles. The elevated temperatures were found to be the result of the exhaust pipe routing configuration that directed exhaust gases onto the utility body undercarriage. Furthermore, above average temperatures were found to melt plastic and rubber parts located just below the exhaust outlet. By its letter dated August 21, 2013, Manning Equipment Inc. LLC notified ODI that it initiated a safety recall (NHTSA Recall No. 13V-380) to address a safety defect in 37 model year (MY) 2012 Ford F-Series gas, dual rear wheel chassis cabs equipped with Manning Equipment installed service bodies. The affected vehicles were manufactured from October 2011 through June 2012. Manning has informed ODI they will remedy the subject vehicles with a tailpipe extension that will direct exhaust out and away from rear compartment and a decal placed above the compartment instructing users not to store flammable liquids or combustible materials in the subject compartment. Based on Manning?s action to remedy the subject vehicles for the defective exhaust pipe design, 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: 2012 Ford Manning Equipment F-350.
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 PE13008 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 13V380000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE13008 still open?
No. It closed on Sep 3, 2013 and led to recall 13V380000.
Which vehicles does PE13008 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2012 Ford Manning Equipment F-350. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.