Dodge preliminary evaluation PE15024
Brake Power Assist Failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the service brakes on 2 model years (2013–2014). Opened Jun 18, 2015, closed Dec 9, 2015 after 6 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn November 24, 2015, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, US LLC, (FCA), submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA regarding a brake booster defect in approximately 105,458 model year (MY) 2013 through 2014Dodge Dart vehicles equipped with a 2.0L or 2.4L engine and produced between February 27, 2012 and January 23, 2014 (NHTSA Recall# 15V-800, FCA Recall# R63).According to FCA's DIR, the affected vehicles, may experience engine oil migration from the vacuum pump to the brake booster. Brake booster diaphragms exposed to oil may become damaged, resulting in a loss of brake power assist. FCA's recall will inspect the affected vehicles for the presence of engine oil in the brake booster. If no oil is found, the vacuum tube assembly will be replaced with a new design part. If oil is found, the vacuum pump, vacuum tube assembly, brake booster and master cylinder will be replaced. On June 18, 2015, the Office of Defects Investigations opened Preliminary Evaluation PE15-024 to investigate complaints alleging sudden increases in brake pedal effort with corresponding reductions in brake performance in MY 2013 Dodge Dart vehicles. The vehicle population and Failure Report figures in this resume are limited to the MY 2013 Dodge Dart vehicles that are the subject vehicles of PE15-024 all of which are included in the FCA recall. Some of the complaints reported hearing a popping noise during a brake application, which corresponded with sudden reaction force from the brake pedal, increased difficulty in applying the pedal and decreased brake effectiveness. FCA's analysis of field return booster assemblies indicated that some brake booster diaphragms exposed to the engine oil leak condition experienced sudden catastrophic ruptures, resulting in complete loss of booster function. This investigation is hereby closed based on the FCA recall. The VOQs associated with the closing of this investigation are: 10795258, 10795140, 10790670, 10790397, 10786152, 10786142, 10783492, 10783153, 10781418, 10779446, 10778244, 10776581, 10765244, 10765141, 10763566, 10763143, 10762254, 10761075, 10760965, 10759817, 10758707, 10758639, 10750235, 10748935, 10747634, 10745494, 10745395, 10745185, 10744577, 10744361, 10744052, 10736149, 10734443, 10734108, 10732067, 10726648, 10715993, 10713690, 10695212, 10668965, 10660526, 10659435, 10638228, 10620713, 10619184, 10610512, 10597398, 10583883, 10569142, 10565689, 10556239, and 10533008.
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 themAlso named: 2013 Dodge Dart; 2014 Dodge Dart.
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 PE15024 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 PE15024 still open?
No. It closed on Dec 9, 2015 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE15024 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2013 Dodge Dart, 2014 Dodge Dart. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.