Suzuki preliminary evaluation PE13021
Occupant Classification System Failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the sensor/control module-inactive on 11 model years (2006–2011). Opened Jun 14, 2013, closed Sep 30, 2013 after 4 months. It led to safety recall 13V405000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedSuzuki Motor of America is conducting a safety recall to remedy the occupant classification system's (OCS) sensor mats in approximately 193,936 model year 2006-2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara and 2007-2011 Suzuki SX4 vehicles (see NHTSA recall 13V-405 for more details).The sensor mat installed in the front passenger seat can develop an electrical circuit disconnection as a result of repeated flexing of the seat from use of the seat. According to Suzuki, when the failure occurs, the OCS system, by design, will not suppress the frontal passenger air bag for a seated child or small-stature adult. A deploying passenger air bag can cause serious injury to such an occupant. The recall population excludes those vehicles that previously had proper remedies under the special coverage campaign for this issue (~11,600) that began in July 2012. The recall remedy will be to install a new front passenger seat cushion assembly that includes an improved OCS sensor mat and an OCS control module with updated algorithms designed to properly identify the type/size of the seated occupant. Consequently, this recall action will address various OCS related problems, including a programming error (associated with diagnostic trouble code B1318) related to detecting a change or shifting in load on the front passenger seat in the model year 2009 Grand Vitara and SX4 vehicles. This Preliminary Evaluation is closed. The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification numbers: 10178750, 10185778, 10200217, 10200123, 10206368, 10217021, 10250561, 10254251, 10263756, 10283309, 10285166, 10294320, 10316125, 10323718, 10324530, 10326910, 10332645, 10347204, 10348957, 10349038, 10350237, 10353604, 10354901, 10355400, 10364190, 10367631, 10369777, 10371056, 10373558, 10375165, 10375789, 10376071, 10376621, 10378154, 10380794, 10382860, 10392447, 10392434, 10392599, 10393975, 10395430, 10395602, 10395821, 10395983, 10398172, 10400092, 10400035, 10401106, 10401424, 10404772, 10405359, 10406459, 10407500, 10409412, 10409993, 10413235, 10418162, 10419237, 10419578, 10425035, 10425212, 10426703, 10434905, 10435090, 10435091, 10437600, 10437892, 10437994, 10438100, 10438501, 10438613, 10439357, 10439979, 10440088, 10442968, 10442759, 10442883, 10443173, 10443592, 10443594, 10444434, 10445034, 10445447, 10446215, 10446580, 10447689, 10448161, 10448446, 10448499, 10448554, 10449238, 10450746, 10451260, 10452961, 10453168, 10453403, 10453376, 10454445, 10454978, 10455231, 10455529, 10456043, 10456367, 10456407, 10459063, 10460417, 10460510, 10462016, 10463337, 10464941, 10464693, 10467988, 10468641, 10479583, 10479929, 10481120, 10484053, 10484863, 10486369, 10486729, 10487379, 10491755, 10499622, 10506034, 10508282, 10511057, 10511439, 10512962, 10521656, 10521779, 10523512, 10523931, 10524266, 10526435, 10533196, 10535513, 10537314, 10537619, 10543672, 10544287.
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: 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara; 2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara; 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara; 2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara; 2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara; 2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara; 2007 Suzuki SX4; 2008 Suzuki SX4; 2009 Suzuki SX4; 2010 Suzuki SX4; 2011 Suzuki SX4.
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 PE13021 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 13V405000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE13021 still open?
No. It closed on Sep 30, 2013 and led to recall 13V405000.
Which vehicles does PE13021 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 11 model years: 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.