Bosch preliminary evaluation PE14011
Bosch EV charging coupler overheating. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the 12v/24v/48v battery. Opened Apr 15, 2014, closed Nov 21, 2014 after 7 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received a total of 2 allegations of an overheated charging coupler on a Bosch Power Xpress 240V electric vehicle charger. According to the owners, the vehicles began to emit smoke after charging at home for over an hour and the charger coupler to the vehicle was hot to the touch. The overheating condition caused damage to the vehicle and charger, and in some cases, rendering both inoperable. One owner received a mild burn to his finger when attempting to detach the charger from the vehicle. The Bosch Power Xpress 240V charger is designed to recharge the battery of any electric vehicle using the standard, UL approved, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1772 charging coupler. The Bosch charger is hard wired at 240V into a home or business in a stationary installation and is capable of charging a vehicle at a rate of 16 to 32 amps. Testing conducted by Bosch indicates that the overheating condition in the coupler is caused by high electrical resistance in the metal charging pins encased within the J1772 coupler. The high resistance is the result of multiple factors including corrosion, wear on charging pins, charging pin plating materials, charging pin crimp connections and environmental conditions. All reported failures have occurred on vehicles charging at 30 amps with no indicated failures on chargers being operated at less than 30 amps. Throughout the production run of Power Xpress chargers, Bosch has used 3 different coupler designs with 2 different suppliers. However, there is no clear indication that one design is more failure prone than another. There have been no reported fires as a result of this issue. The coupler outer shell is made from a UL tested high temperature resistant material and all reported overheating events have been contained within the coupler. Bosch collects and maintains charger user records which indicate that out of over 6000 chargers sold, approximately 400 customers use the charger at 30 amps, and those are the only chargers susceptible to the overheating condition. To address this issue, Bosch will conduct a customer satisfaction campaign on all Power Xpress chargers sold. Bosch has redesigned the coupler to include a temperature sensing feature that will cut power to the charger if an overheating condition is detected, a technology at least one OEM has incorporated into the vehicle side receptacle. Bosch will provide and install, free of charge, the redesigned coupler with new cables on the approximately 400 customers who currently use the chargers at 30 amps. Bosch will notify the remaining customers and provide a label to be affixed on the charger advising that if the charger is to be used at 30 amps in the future, a cable and coupler upgrade is recommended. In addition, those customers can request the new coupler and cables free of charge for six months after program launch, however, the customer will be responsible for having the cord installed. Bosch will begin notifying affected customers in December 2014. A safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists. The agency will monitor the issue and reserves the right to take future action if warranted by the circumstances. The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchSafetyIssues under the following identification (ODI) numbers: 10537862 and 10586711.
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 closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themNHTSA filed this action against Robert Bosch, LLC without naming a model year — an equipment or manufacturer-level query.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE14011 a recall?
No. A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is PE14011 still open?
No. It closed on Nov 21, 2014 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE14011 cover?
NHTSA filed it against Robert Bosch, LLC without naming a model year.