Infiniti and Nissan preliminary evaluation PE13029
Transmission cooler hose separation. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the cooling unit and lines on 2 model years (2013). Opened Aug 29, 2013, closed Mar 31, 2014 after 7 months. It led to safety recall 14V142000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn March 25, 2014, Nissan North America (Nissan) submitted a Defect Information Report to NHTSA describing a defect of inadequate hose clamping force that may result in the internal transmission oil cooler (ITOC) hose detaching from the cooler. According to Nissan, transmission fluid leakage from a detached ITOC hose results in a progressive series of symptoms beginning with malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) illumination, followed by noise and vibration and culminating in loss of power due to transmission failure. Many of the incident vehicle drivers interviewed by ODI indicated that the loss of power occurred soon after the first symptoms were observed. The recall covers approximately 3,065 Pathfinder vehicles built from the start of MY 2013 production on April 18, 2012, through October 3, 2012, when Nissan implemented several production improvements to address concerns with ITOC hose detachment. Infiniti JX vehicles investigated in PE13-029 are not included in the recall as they are equipped with a different CVT transmission with a lower operating pressure. Owners of all potentially affected vehicles will be notified within 60 days to take their vehicles to a Nissan dealer. The dealer will install an oil hose repair kit at no charge to owners. ODI's analysis of failure data for the 3,065 Pathfinder vehicles that are included in Nissan's recall identified 12 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs), 134 Nissan complaints and field reports and 259 warranty claims. This equates to a complaint/field report rate of 47.6 incidents per thousand vehicles (IPTV) and a warranty claim rate of 8.5 percent. The failure rates for the 120,474 subject vehicles that are not included in the recall are much lower, with complaint rates of 0.4 and 0.8 IPTV and warranty claim rates of 0.1 and 0.2 percent for the remaining MY 2013 Pathfinder and JX vehicles, respectively. This investigation is closed. The VOQ numbers associated with this closing are: 10558389, 10556011, 10546402, 10545032, , 10531793, 10509314, 10507077, 10503884, 10500834, 10499362, 10497685, 10496606, 10494583, 10493759, 10493701, 10490959.
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 Infiniti JX; 2013 Nissan Pathfinder.
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 PE13029 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 14V142000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE13029 still open?
No. It closed on Mar 31, 2014 and led to recall 14V142000.
Which vehicles does PE13029 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2013 Infiniti JX, 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.