Ford, A-1 Alternative Fuel Syst and 1 others preliminary evaluation PE13038
CNG Fuel Container Securement. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the storage on 3 model years (2011–2012). Opened Nov 15, 2013, closed Mar 9, 2014 after 4 months. It led to safety recall 14V040000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is aware of 1 incident related to the alleged defect. By letter dated January 10, 2014, Almared, Inc. (doing business as A-1 Alternative Fuel Systems) has notified ODI that it has conducted a safety recall (NHTSA Recall No. 14V-040) to address a safety defect in 18 model year 2011-2012 Ford F-550 transit buses manufactured between May 2011 and April 2013. These vehicles have been altered by A-1 to contain one or more compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel containers. According to A-1, the brackets securing passenger side CNG fuel containers to the vehicle chassis may fracture, resulting in a CNG fuel container that is unsecured. A-1 has reportedly inspected all 18 affected vehicles and repaired all vehicles equipped with the defective mounting bracket by installing a new bracket of an improved design. The new bracket has added strength as a result of the following design revisions: the cantilevered mounting plate is reinforced with additional support plates, the cantilevered position is mounted higher on the bracket above the CNG fuel container center line position (thus reducing the moment arm), and it is constructed of heavier gauge steel plate that is also dimensionally wider, which provides for a greater bonding surface area with the vehicle chassis. Based on the recall action taken by Almared, Inc., 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: 2011 Ford F-550; 2012 Ford F-550; 2012 Ford F-550 SD.
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 PE13038 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 14V040000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE13038 still open?
No. It closed on Mar 9, 2014 and led to recall 14V040000.
Which vehicles does PE13038 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 3 model years: 2011 Ford F-550, 2012 Ford F-550, 2012 Ford F-550 SD. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.