Agility Fuel Systems and Young DO preliminary evaluation PE13019
Loose Mounting Straps and Stuck Valves. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the hoses, lines/piping, and fittings. Opened Jun 6, 2013, closed Jun 12, 2014 after 12 months. It led to safety recall 14E025000, 14E026000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedBy letters dated May 16, 2014, Agility Fuel Systems, Inc. (Agility) has notified the agency that it is conducting two safety recalls (NHTSA Recall No. 14E-025 and 14E-026) to address safety defects in certain compressed natural gas (CNG) equipment sold for use in certain heavy-duty truck applications. Safety recall 14E-025 addresses potentially defective CNG fuel container manual shutoff/ isolation valves manufactured by Young Do Industrial Co., Ltd. (Young Do).Approximately 462 vehicles were equipped by Agility with 829 subject Young Do valves between September 2010 and January 2013. When the valve is closed it may remain stuck in the closed position due to the valve seat becoming detached from the valve stem, thus blocking the flow of fuel from the fuel container to the engine. Such a condition poses a safety risk primarily to service personnel as there is no safe way to depressurize the fuel system and service the subject valve when it is stuck in the closed position. There may also be a small fuel leak through the valve stem when the valve seat becomes detached. The affected fuel container may also become over-pressurized if the stuck valve goes undetected for a period of time, or is not repaired in a timely manner, and the ambient temperature increases significantly. To date, Agility has repaired 566 of 829 potentially defective Young Do valves on 216 vehicles. The remainder will be repaired by Agility free of charge by installing a new valve seat and stem assembly. Safety recall 14E-026 addresses potentially defective CNG frame rail side-mount fuel container mounting straps that may become loose. Approximately 566 vehicles were equipped by Agility with 1,036 subject fuel container mounting systems between September 2010 and January 2013. A loose fuel container may experience abrasion damage. High-pressure fuel and vent lines may also become compromised, increasing the risk of fuel container rupture, fuel leak, disruption of fuel flow to the engine (possibly resulting in engine stall) and disruption of fuel flow to the atmosphere in the event of pressure relief device activation. To date, Agility has repaired 596 potentially defective mounting systems on 324 vehicles. The remainder will be repaired by Agility free of charge by installing revised design stainless steel mounting straps, hardware and rubber isolators. Based on the recall action taken by Agility, 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 themNHTSA filed this action against Agility Fuel Solutions without naming a model year — an equipment or manufacturer-level query.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE13019 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 14E025000, 14E026000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE13019 still open?
No. It closed on Jun 12, 2014 and led to recall 14E025000, 14E026000.
Which vehicles does PE13019 cover?
NHTSA filed it against Agility Fuel Solutions without naming a model year.