Mazda preliminary evaluation PE15022
Lower ball joint separation. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the lower ball joint on 8 model years (2007–2014). Opened Jun 9, 2015, closed Aug 20, 2015 after 2 months. It led to safety recall 15V451000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn an July 7,2015 letter to NHTSA, Mazda identified a safety defect that could result in lower ball joint separation in approximately 193,484 model year (MY) 2007 through 2014 Mazda CX-9 vehicles (NHTSA Recall No. 15V-451,Mazda 8515G).Mazda indicated that damage to the ball joint boot may allow water to enter the front suspension ball joint fitting during use which may result in premature ball joint wear and a progressively looser joint. In January 2014, Mazda implemented redesigned lower control arms in production vehicles to improve the durability of the lower ball joints. The redesign involved changing the shape of the top surface of the ball joint boot cover and adding a suspension plate to the undersurface of the knuckle. Mazda's recall will replace the defect lower control arms with the redesigned parts. ODI's analysis of information collected during PE15-022 identified a total of 62 ball joint separation incidents, including 34 identified in ODI complaints and 31 identified in Mazda complaints and field reports (3 of the Mazda records involve vehicles/incidents that were also reported to ODI).When Mazda's design change was implemented, most of the field experience related to lower ball joints involved complaints of noise and premature wear-out. Only 1 of the ODI and 6 of the additional Mazda separation complaints identified in ODI's analysis were reported prior to January 2014. Significant increases in the number and trend in separation complaints were observed in 2015, when 30 of the ODI complaints and 16 of the additional Mazda complaints were reported. The report trend appears to be accelerating, with 29 of the reports received after ODI opened PE15-022 on June 9, 2015. There has been one crash reported to ODI related to the alleged defect (VOQ 10746510). This investigation is closed based on Mazda's recall. The 34 VOQs associated with this investigation are: 10747358, 10746510, 10744897, 10743509, 10736229, 10735938, 10734763, 10734302, 10734290, 10733813, 10732578, 10732217, 10732154, 10731850, 10730736, 10730280, 10730143, 10730114, 10726622, 10726480 10726448, 10726168, 10725839, 10725567, 10725488, 10725427, 10725390, 10717510, 10714469, 10695142, 10668978, 10648429, 10640541, 10546535
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: 2007 Mazda CX-9; 2008 Mazda CX-9; 2009 Mazda CX-9; 2010 Mazda CX-9; 2011 Mazda CX-9; 2012 Mazda CX-9; 2013 Mazda CX-9; 2014 Mazda CX-9.
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 PE15022 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 15V451000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE15022 still open?
No. It closed on Aug 20, 2015 and led to recall 15V451000.
Which vehicles does PE15022 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 8 model years: 2007 Mazda CX-9, 2008 Mazda CX-9, 2009 Mazda CX-9, 2010 Mazda CX-9, 2011 Mazda CX-9, 2012 Mazda CX-9 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.