Freightliner preliminary evaluation PE16005
Wiper Motor Failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the visibility on 2 model years (2015–2016). Opened Apr 13, 2016, closed Apr 24, 2017 after 12 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn April 13, 2016, the Office of Defects investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation on 2015-2016 MY Freightliner Cascadia trucks, alleging windshield wiper motor failures. The investigation was opened based on EWR field reports describing windshield wipers that intermittently failed to operate, causing a loss of vision and increasing the risk of a crash. Several of the reports alleged multiple vehicles experiencing the failure, while multiple failures happen on the same vehicle. Many of the field reports indicated the windshield wiper problem was resolved once the wiper motor is replaced. Through communications with the manufacturer, ODI learned they had received 4 complaints, 12 field reports and 1,852 warranty reports involving the alleged defect on the subject vehicles. ODI was also made aware of a crash due to wiper failure during a rain storm. ODI interviewed both the owner and driver of the truck. The driver alleged he switched the wiper speed from intermediate to high and the wiper stopped working. During the loss of vision event, he lost control of his vehicle, hitting an embankment on the passenger side. The owner of the truck stated that after towing the vehicle back to their property, the function of the wipers was tested and they were found not to operate. The manufacturer informed ODI they had collected wiper motors from vehicles that allegedly had wipers fail and bench tested them. In each case they state the motor was found to operate normally. The manufacturer states they have not been able to duplicate the wiper failure problem as described in reports. This investigation has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA17-001) for ODI to gather additional information concerning wiper system performance. ODI will also study peer vehicles to understand how they perform relative to the subject vehicles.
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: 2015 Freightliner Cascadia; 2016 Freightliner Cascadia.
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 PE16005 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 PE16005 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 24, 2017 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE16005 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2015 Freightliner Cascadia, 2016 Freightliner Cascadia. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.